Page 26 of Steel

At least when morning hit.

As I brought the edge of the thick ceramic to my lips, I stared out the window into my backyard. The recent storms had left it a mess. With winds in excess of fifty miles per hour, Missoula had been lucky there’d been no fires close by. California hadn’t been so lucky, the huge front causing havoc.

Yeah, maybe I’d take my day off and do a little work around the yard. Or maybe I’d go back to bed. I was freaking exhausted. Enough so I had to lean against the counter to stay upright. I took a couple of swallows, wishing I could mainline the stuff.

I had a bad feeling that nothing was going to keep me awake today.

Time for a shower and to grab some grub. I was a mess. I held out my hand, staring at the bruises. As soon as I flexed then fisted my hand, I winced. I’d gone a little off the deep end with that as well, finishing two more beers while fighting my invisible enemy on the punching bag.

Fuck. Maybe being worn out was good at this point. I started to turn away to head to the shower when I noticed something in the backyard. Leaning forward, I strained to figure out what I was seeing.

Someone was in my backyard. And they were trying to break into the storage shed. What the fuck? In broad daylight?

Without hesitation, I slammed my mug down and took long strides into my bedroom, yanking the weapon from the dresser drawer where I kept it. I checked the ammunition but left the safety on, not bothering with shoes.

I rushed outside, but as soon as I did, I couldn’t see a thing. Yet someone had been there. I wasn’t seeing things. As I moved toward the shed, I heard a sound. Was that a dog barking? A puppy? What?

Movement caught my eye and I took off running. The fucker wasn’t going to get away. I didn’t have many things of value in the shed, but that wasn’t the point. No one dared come on my property and think they were going to steal from me.

I noticed the culprit seconds later at the same time I heard someone screaming. While I lowered the weapon, I continued running. Suddenly, there was a blur of activity in front of me.

“Damon!” The scream was sharp, full of terror.

More movement, a head popping up.

A bark.

What in the hell was going on? I didn’t stop, moving closer. More movement. Then another blur.

“Get away from him!”

A woman appeared from the thick of the trees.

“Mommy. A puppy. Can we keep him?”

While I stopped short, confused as fuck, the woman racing toward me didn’t. I didn’t see what she had in her hand until it was too late.

“You bastard!” She was only a few feet away, swinging a huge object she’d grabbed off the ground.

When it connected, I was down for the count, pitching backward from the force used and tumbling to the ground. The wind was knocked out of me and so was the weapon I’d been carrying. “What the fuck?”

“Damon. Come here, baby.”

“Mom. See the puppy?”

“Take the puppy and go back home. Okay?”

Whoever the woman was, she had an edge to her voice, but not like the goddamn edge I had to my anger. She’d hit me with a branch. A fucking branch. I remained dazed, staring up at the sky. With a slight drag of my tongue, I tasted blood.

“What’s wrong, Mom? I just heard the puppy cry and I saved him. He was tangled in some rope and I got him out. We can keep him. Right? Right?”

“Damon. Just go back to the house. Do not stop anywhere. Take the puppy with you.”

Wow. Her voice had a lilt as well. I’d call it sultry if I wasn’t in pain.

“Okay. Come on, little man,” the kid said, happy as could be while I remained in pain. “Mom said I could keep you.”

With a grunt, I sat up.