Page 23 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Dragon

Henry shifted his gaze momentarily to the crowd. More people had gathered, observing the commotion. It wouldn’t be long before the authorities arrived to see what was going on. He needed to act, and fast.

Ergog acted first. The hunter hurled one of his blades at Henry, who promptly dodged it. It took Henry a split second to realize he’d made another mistake, but by then the blade had reversed its trajectory, slicing him in the shoulder before zipping back into its owner’s palm.

“Fuck,” he muttered. Another surface wound. It wasn’t enough to incapacitate him, but how much more could he possibly take?

Death by a thousand cuts...from a boomerang blade,said a voice drily in his head.Only nine hundred and ninety-eight to go.

Ergog charged at him once more, but this time, Henry was quicker to react. He sidestepped the hunter, grabbing him by the middle and tackling him to the ground. He shot instantly to his feet, scrambling as fast as he could away from the scene, and had burst through the crowd before the hunter even got to his feet.

A few people gasped and cried out as he pushed past them, but he paid them no notice. Ergog was afterhim, not them. And none of them would possibly be foolish enough to stand in his way. He raced through the park, ducking between several tents until he was out in the street. Then, without pausing to catch his breath, he headed for the spot where he’d parked his truck.

Thank goodness Nora was already waiting for him there. He unlocked the truck and they climbed inside, Henry pulling the vehicle into the road. Nora didn’t even bother asking him whether he’d stopped the hunter. From the way she kept glancing toward the wing mirror, he could tell she already knew the answer.

He rounded the corner, checking to make sure Ergog wasn’t following them. No sign of the hunter. Henry sighed, keeping his foot on the gas.

“Where are we going?” Nora asked after a minute of silence.

“The only place I can think of in this town,” he replied. “Green Sanctuary.”

It wouldn’t necessarily keep Ergog away, and the last thing he needed was to rope Cal and Melissa into his problems if he could avoid it, but right now, heading back to the sanctuary was the only thing that made sense.

“I could portal us there,” she suggested. “Make it harder for him to track us or—”

“No.” His jaw clenched. “No magic. That’spreciselyhow he tracks you. It’s what brought him back to the fair. You can’t use your magic.”

He cursed under his breath, speeding past a red light.

***

For what must have been the fortieth time, Nora glanced in the wing mirror, expecting to see Ergog racing after the truck, but there was no sign of him. They’d lost him. Or had they? When it came to the hunter, one couldn’t afford to be too relaxed. She sank back in the passenger seat.

Next to her, Henry was driving at top speed, careening through the streets with surprising expertise. His jaw was clenched, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. Just minutes ago, she’d been beyond certain he would step aside as Ergog had instructed and let the hunter kill her. He’d had every reason to. Instead, he’d attacked Ergog. It was insane, dangerous—stupid, even.

But looking at him, she felt a swell of gratitude. More than once today, she would’ve died if not for him.

“Thank you,” she said.

If he’d heard her, he didn’t show it. He steered the truck through the streets for a few minutes longer before taking his foot off the gas.

By the time they arrived at the sanctuary, Nora was still rattled. Henry didn’t head straight for the house, but instead guided the truck in the opposite direction, driving across the grassy plain toward the dense woods. He brought the vehicle to a stop at the fence, just under the canopy of a few nearby trees. It took Nora a second to see why: they were mostly hidden in the shade, out of sight of anyone who came onto the property.

They were safe.

For now.

“Thank you,” Nora said again. She felt like she’d said those words a lot of times today. Not enough times, it seemed. How many more times was he going to save her life?

Henry said nothing, simply staring through the windshield. The seconds ticked by in uncomfortable silence.

“This is all my fault,” she finally heard him say.

When he looked at her, his expression was stormy. Nora’s breath caught in her throat.

“Henry, I—”

“I could have been having a regular boring day,” he said, cutting her short. “I could still be working at the fair, trying to make five grand. Instead, I’m running from a man that managed to hurt me even without eyes, all because I decided to protect a hybrid.”

Something about the way he spat out that last word made Nora’s gut clench. She pressed her lips together for a second, thinking of an acceptable response.