Read Online Kick Start: Dangerous Ground 5 by Josh Lanyon - Free Book Online

it was a joke, the joke was on him. Taylor took off after Dennis, the dogs loping alongside. His feet pounded the soft earth, the air was sweet and clear. Also thinner than he was used to and he had to work a little harder to get up to full speed. Dennis had a good head start, but Taylor wasn’t worried. He figured he was in a hell of a lot better shape. He set his pace and quickly closed the distance between them, but not in time to keep Dennis from reaching the trees and vanishing in the green and blue shadows.
    Oh no you don’t, you bastard . Taylor slowed, stopped and reached for Riley, grabbing his collar and looking into Riley’s golden-brown eyes. “Find him, Riley. Go get him. Go get him, Riley!”
    Riley was no police dog, but this was a game Will and Taylor played with him, and he gave Taylor a happy, hopeful look and darted ahead after Dennis.
    Roxie followed, tongue lolling, as though she was laughing at them both.
    Of course Riley was probably looking for Will, but maybe he would stumble over Dennis while he was at it.
    Taylor, bringing up the rear, ducked under the pine branches, and stopped. He braced his hands on his thighs, catching his breath and listening. He straightened, wiped his damp face on his flannel sleeve and listened harder. The trees seemed to swallow all sound.
    No. Not all sound. A couple of yards ahead, he could hear the dogs crashing through the undergrowth — and beyond that, something that sounded like a moose charging through the brush. Of course, maybe it was a moose. Did they have moose in Oregon?
    Hopefully not. He’d seen moose in museums and those suckers were huge. He really did not want to run into a moose.
    Or a bear.
    Taylor began to move again, this time angling to the east of where he estimated Dennis was headed.
    “Dennis, it’s MacAllister,” he called. “Stop running. It’s all clear.”
    The thrashing sounds stopped.
    “Dennis? You hear me? It’s okay. You can come back to the house.”
    Taylor kept working his way forward, clambering over a fallen tree, avoiding a patch of something that looked suspiciously like poison ivy. Somewhere to his distant right he could hear the dogs. Whatever they were chasing now it wasn’t Dennis.
    It wasn’t Dennis because Dennis was close by. Taylor could sense him, even if he couldn’t see him yet. He stopped walking, scanning the gloom.
    “Dennis?”
    What the hell was this guy so afraid of?
    A bird suddenly burst out of the brush, wings flapping, twittering its distress call. Taylor jumped. There was movement to his left. He half turned and something swung out of the darkness and slammed into his head.
     
     
    Gusts of dog breath and a rough, warm tongue frantically licking his face…
    Taylor opened his eyes and pushed away Riley, who ducked under his arm and resumed efforts at resuscitation.
    Taylor swore thickly. “Okay, Riley. I’m okay…”
    Mostly. His face hurt like hell. His nose felt like it had exploded and there was warm, coppery, salty sludge slipping down the back of his throat. He gagged at the taste of his own blood, rolling onto his side and spitting it out into the pine needles. “God damn it.”
    He cautiously felt his nose. Was it broken? His lip was definitely split. He looked at his hand, focusing blearily on the red smearing his fingers. “Jesus. That’s just great.”
    How long had he been out? Not more than a minute or two, surely? Plenty of time for Cousin Dennis to make himself scarce. And what the hell was the guy’s problem? Even if he hadn’t recognized Taylor before he swung at him, he had to know after he knocked him down.
    Taylor spread his palms and pushed up onto his knees. He reached for the nearest tree trunk and hauled himself to his feet. Roxie sat a few feet away, watching him curiously. Riley was much more agitated about recent events and kept dancing in front of Taylor like he was trying to encourage him to take action.
    The only action Taylor was taking was going back to