Page 153 of Unseen Danger
Alvarez growled again, his stare locked on the house, his flopped ears lifted high. He tilted his nose up into the air.
Did he smell Nevaeh?
“Easy, boys.” Phoenix didn’t look at either of them as she held maddeningly still.
“Fifteen…”
“Follow me.” Phoenix finally moved, a picture of stealth and tactics as she stayed low and darted quickly from a trash can to the pickup, to a tree, then a bush, her Glock in hand.
Branson followed her lead, keeping Alvarez’s leash in one hand as he drew his weapon with the other. Nevaeh had teased him for wearing the Glock to the wedding, concealed beneath the tuxedo jacket he’d since ditched at the country club. He hoped it would help him rescue her now.
As they stepped onto the rotting porch, he anticipated Phoenix would step aside and signal for him to knock in the front door.
But exactly as Cora counted the last second, they reached the door, and Phoenix kicked it below the knob.
The door crashed in. “Dag, on it.”
Her K-9 launched himself into the house with snarls that would’ve turned Branson’s blood cold if he’d been on the receiving end.
Phoenix darted in after the dog.
Branson followed on her heals with Alvarez.
Just to the right of the door, Dag swung from a man’s arm, hanging on with his teeth as he snarled over the perp’s yells. A gun had fallen to the floor at his feet.
Branson snatched up the weapon and stuffed it in his waistband as he glanced toward Phoenix.
She was engaged with another thug in the corner, a muscled guy twice her size. She must not have been able to shoot him before he’d grabbed her. He held onto her from behind, his arms across her shoulders and waist as he glared at Branson.
Branson took a step toward them to help.
“Find Nevaeh.” Phoenix delivered the order in a sterner tone than normal, but her eyes held the same indecipherable expression she always wore. No fear. No anger.
He couldn’t just leave her behind to get beat up.
But before he could decipher the best approach to help, she twisted and dropped the man down to the ground. She was suddenly on top of his back, choking him out as she stared at Branson. “Go.”
She was good. Very good.
Branson nodded and spun away.
Alvarez strained at his leash, barking.
More growls and yells came from the back of the house. Sofia, Jazz, and Kent must’ve breached the back with their two dogs as planned. Bristol and Rem would wait outside initially to catch any escapees, then enter if none snuck out.
“Find Nevaeh, boy.” Branson dropped the leash, hoping the dog understood. Maybe he knew to find her on his own.
Alvarez sprinted through the nearest opening.
Branson ran after the dog, ducking into a narrow hallway with a low ceiling.
Two doorways opened onto the hallway.
Branson forced himself to slow as he reached the first one on the right. He should clear it before potentially stepping into the line of fire.
A man flew out of the doorway with a growl that riveled the dogs’, a knife in his hand.
Branson ducked and charged into the guy’s torso with his shoulder, slamming him against the wall with a frustrated grunt.