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"I know You want to keep me safe" She tried to force her voice to rehts She wasn’t a warrior at heart But she had the courage to overcos when the circumstances warranted it And these definitely did She certainly didn’t want Ryan to think he’dher

Ryan drove down the bumpy, rutted road where tree li the sides of the truck He gru a new paint job after this operation She figured his edginess probably had erous investigative missions than with the paint job on his truck, especially the way he kept a tight grip on her fingers

She couldn’t coood to have a man care about her the way he did She was ready to move to Green Valley and start a life with hi, she saw the house rass brushing against the botto off the exterior clapboards, while the weathered shutters bordering the ere h stone stuck to one side of the house with a couple of the corner stonesThe house looked abandoned, except for the s out of the chiht Carol’s eye

"Soet in?" Carol asked

"Most lupus garous carry lock picks"

She raised her brows in question

He shrugged "If we’re in a city and have an uncontrollable urge to shift, finding an unoccupied house could be our only salvation Lock picks are preferable to breaking s"

She stared at hi in a city without a place to hide in the event of shifting She could just envision herself in that dileaveyou out of their sight, either"

She sighed, realizing just how good she had it living in a olf-run town Hoould it be for her living with Ryan in Green Valley where humans ran the place for theinto herat the same time, "Stay here until we secure the place Lock the doors Doc, you want to stay and guard Carol?" He posed the comment as a question, but the intonation was ave a little woof She took it as a yes But she wanted Ryan and the others to have the doc’s added protection since they were facing unknown perils

"Take him with you," Carol said "He can help"

Ryan shook his head, his gaze studying her in a worried way "He stays with you"

He leaned over and gave her a ful kiss that briefly chased away the chill in her bones He squeezed her hand one last tination and climbed out of the truck Then he let out Doc Mitchell, who raced around to sit in wolf-guarding mode next to Carol’s door

She watched Ryan, her stoht knots, her skin icy with trepidation, praying that he wouldn’t get hier door, and he and Sam hurried out of the truck to join Ryan To Carol the silent order to stay put They didn’t have to tell her that she most likely would cause more problems if she entered the house before they checked it out She folded her arave her a short nod

Then he turned, and Ryan, Saht, postures determined, like the Three Musketeers, except without the pluave Carol another shiver of worry

She barely breathed as To tools to unlock the front door Doc Mitchell’s ears twitched with alertness, his body stiff with tension,her er

When the front door opened Ryan rushed in first, while Tom and Sam followed The door remained wide open, and Doc Mitchell stood, his attention focused on the doorway, his hackles raised Every hair on Doc’s body stood on end,erupted inside the house, and Doc Mitchell growled softly in response, his ears positioned to hear the sounds inside

Carol’sher foot against the truck’s floorboard to work out the painful kink when Doc Mitchell started forward Maybe he just wanted to assist Ryan and the others Or maybe he was anxious to see what the others had found

She wanted hiht she’d be safe enough in the vehicle Yet the idea she’d be alone without any kind of protection made her spine stiffen with dread

The way he stood, muscles taut, wired to the max, Doc Mitchell seelanced back at Carol

For a long azes held His amber eyes asked her a wealth of questions Did she want him to stay? Did she want him to watch the men’s backs? What did she want hi toward the house with tears in her eyes She’d never forgive herself if anything bad happened to Ryan, Tom, or Sam and she’d denied Doc Mitchell the chance to help

Doc hesitated, his head riveting back on the house

She again said, "Go Help theain, bowed his head, turned, and dashed around the back side of the place

Her one inside? The doorway still stood wide open, as if daring her to co breath and prayed the men would all be okay That whoever was inside wouldn’t attack thele" style="display:block" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7451196230453695" data-ad-slot="9930101810" data-ad-format="auto" data-full-width-responsive="true"></ins>