Argeneau Family 12. The Renegade Hunter(29)

"Jo, open the door or he'll hurt me." The words were spoken in the same dead voice, no emotion at all, and that was scarier than if Gina had been shrieking with fear.

Swallowing, Jo reached for the lock, and then hesitated, her head swiveling to the windows again. She could climb out and get Bricker and Anders and—

"Open the damned door, bitch, or I'll rip her throat open right now," Bad-Breath Boy snapped, his patience apparently at an end.

Cursing, Jo glanced to Charlie, and then quickly unlocked and threw open the door. Charlie was out of the apartment before she'd even opened the door all the way. Teeth snapping, he lunged at the man beside Gina, catching him by surprise and knocking him down, his teeth buried in his throat. Jo was hard on his heels, catching Gina, whose face was no longer blank, but now confused as she took in the chaos around her.

"What's going on?" Gina asked with bewilderment as Jo grabbed her arm.

"Run!" Jo shouted, urging her past the battling man and dog and up the hall. "Run outside and scream for all you're worth, Bricker will come."

"But—" Gina began uncertainly, craning her neck to peer back at Charlie and Bad-Breath Boy.

"Run!" Jo shrieked. She pushed Gina toward the stairs, and then turned away to hurry back up the hall to help Charlie. But Bad-Breath Boy had recovered from his surprise and was already hurling the dog off. Jo cried out as she saw Charlie fly through the air, and back through the apartment door. The dog's yelp of pain could be heard over the loud crash that followed, and the combination was nearly enough to stop her heart. In a panic now, Jo rushed past Bad-Breath Boy. The man was shifting to a sitting position, one hand pressed to a gushing wound on his neck. Charlie had gone for the throat.

Good dog, she thought grimly. Jo had only had Charlie for a year and a half. Despite his size, he was really still a puppy, but he'd already burrowed his way into her heart. Leaving him to run to safety herself wasn't even an option in her mind.

"Charlie?" She rushed into her apartment to find his still body lying on the remains of what used to be a small hall table just inside the door. Jo dropped to her knees beside the dog, relief roaring through her when Charlie opened his eyes at her voice. He looked stunned, but he was alive, she saw, and then stiffened when his eyes slid past her and he growled.

Jo glanced toward the hall, mouth flattening with anger when she saw that Bad-Breath Boy had let go of his neck and was getting to his feet. The dog had gone after him with a vengeance. It was rather surprising considering the man hadn't really been doing anything threatening. It was as if Charlie had some doggie sense that had told him the man was up to no good and so had done his damnedest to rip out his throat. As bad as the wound looked, though, it wasn't bad enough. Bad-Breath Boy wasn't only on his feet, he was coming toward them, ready to continue the battle.

Jo lunged forward to slam the apartment door closed. She managed to lock it just nanoseconds before he crashed against the other side with a roar of fury. The way the door shuddered under his weight was rather alarming, and Jo didn't think it would hold long.

She turned back to Charlie, swallowing hard when she saw the German shepherd trying to get to his feet, only to collapse back to the floor, landing half on the rag mat in the hall. Jo set her teeth and moved to kneel beside him again.

"It's all right, fella. I've got you. You just rest for now," she murmured, catching the edge of the mat and dragging it down the hall as Bad-Breath Boy hit the door again. She had gotten Charlie into the living room and was dragging him toward the door leading to the balcony over the garage when the third crash came. This time it was accompanied by a cracking sound that put her heart in her throat. They were running out of time. Where the hell was Bricker? Gina half naked and shrieking should have brought help at once.

Jo had nearly reached the door to the balcony when it suddenly opened behind her. She released the mat and whirled around, her eyes widening incredulously when she saw Nicholas standing there. Before she could say anything, Bad-Breath Boy hit the door again, and this time it gave way, crashing open with a thud. For one second everyone froze and simply stared at one another. It was a shout from the hallway that Jo recognized as Bricker's voice that started them all moving again. Bad-Breath Boy growled and started into the apartment. Nicholas grabbed her hand to drag her toward the door, and Jo grabbed for the mat Charlie lay on and pulled him along.

"Nicholas, wait, Charlie's hurt," she cried as he pulled her over the threshold. He stopped at once, his eyes shooting to Bad-Breath Boy and then the German shepherd. Before she could even blink he was past her, scooping up Charlie and turning back.