Page 69 of Deadly Revenge
Abigail smiled. “That’s right, I’m still here.”
Maya had been holding Abigail’s arm below where Juniper bit her. Seeing Abigail still trying to intimidate Hope, Maya moved her hand up a little bit, putting pressure on one of the areas Juniper tore up. Abigail made a small noise in pain. “Don’t speak to her. Don’t look at her. I have no problem letting Juniper hang off your arm again. She’d be happy to do it.”
Juniper gave a low, guttural growl in agreement. Hope’s eyes went wide at the change in Maya’s tone. Maya realized that she needed to keep Abigail away from Hope. She took Abigail over to another area that separated her from Hope. Maya shoved her down and double-checked that the cuffs were tight. “Juniper. Guard.”
The Mal happily stood and stared at Abigail. She licked her lips in anticipation of another possible bite. Maya was a little worried leaving Juniper with Abigail. Juniper knew that if she could get Abigail to move or even startle, it would give her an excuse to apprehend her. And probably drag her back into the lake.
Maya watched for a second or two. SometimesJuniper would poke her nose at someone to get them to react and even though Maya wouldn’t mind seeing Abigail bit again, she didn’t feel like going back into the water.
After a few minutes, Maya left Abigail, satisfied that Juniper wasn’t going to play the nose poking game. She also knew that the Mal would guard better than Maya would herself. She walked over to where Hope was and crouched down, hoping to get the girl to relax a bit.
“I’m sorry,” Hope said as tears welled up in her eyes. “I know I was supposed to go, but I was so scared. I know I shouldn’t be. I’m fourteen already. I should be braver.”
“No apologies,” Maya said. “And I remember being fourteen. I thought I knew everything, but you know what? I didn’t. There have been so many times I’ve been scared in my life.”
“You have? But you’re like my uncle. You’re a law enforcement officer. You have to be brave.”
Maya shrugged. “Well, we try to be brave, but that doesn’t always mean that you are. Your uncle ever mention a slang term called the pucker factor?”
That got Hope to smile and even give a little laugh. “Yeah, he has.”
“You know what that means, right?”
“I do,” Hope said. “And it’s so gross!”
Maya laughed. “It is. It’s crass. Sometimes cops have a warped sense of humor, but we develop that because of the things we see and do and sometimes those things scare us.”
Hope stared down at her hands then back up at Maya. “Now that you have Abigail, are you going to walk her to where the helicopter is going to meet us?”
“Yes. I know she’s trying to intimidate you, but do you think you can come with us? I don’t want to leave you behind.”
“Is Juniper coming too? I feel safer with her.”
Maya smiled and answered, “Juniper is always with me. I feel safer with her too.”
“Okay, then I’ll ignore my pucker factor and go with you,” Hope said, standing up. Her legs shook a little.
Maya figured it was both fatigue and fear. “Come with me. I’ll make sure Abigail is in front of me and can’t see you. Okay?”
“Okay. Where will Juniper be?”
“Probably by my side, but she can be near you too,” Maya said.
“As long as I can see her, I’m good.”
Maya walked ahead of Hope and went back to where Juniper was waiting. Her dog was staring down Abigail, and every now and then continuing to lick her lips. Abigail was smart enough not to stare Juniper back. Juniper was well-trained and wanted to protect and please her handler. But instincts could override that and Maya knew that if Abigail looked Juniper in the eye, that might make the dog snap and go after her again.
“Release,” Maya said to Juniper. The Mal glanced quickly at Maya. Her golden eyes asked if she could possibly take just one more bite. Juniper realized Maya wasn’t going to let her and backed off, but not far.
Maya hoisted Abigail to her feet and made sure she kept her promise to Hope that Abigail would be ahead of them. She double-checked the cuffs and they all headed out along the shoreline.
About halfway across, Maya peered around. Her heart was pounding. They were exposed here. A perfect place for a sniper shot. There was nowhere to duck for cover because of the drop-off at the tree line. Maya felt like they were being watched. Something was off. The image of Aaron’s H.O.G. tattoo came into her mind. Was he waiting?
Juniper suddenly whirled around and started growling.
Maya shoved Hope behind her, scanning the ridge for a sign of anyone. All she saw were some new flames as the fire continued creeping toward them. There was no movement in the tree line. Maya tried to see where her dog was looking.
Abigail stood to her side and said, “Told you I wasn’t going to prison.”
