Page 32 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Bear

Chapter Fourteen

The Truth about Leto

Cal plodded into the kitchen, bare from the waist up, and poured himself a glass of milk. His gaze swiveled about as he drank. No sign of Bryon or Henry. He couldn’t hear them moving around the house either. Good. With any luck, they were somewhere off the property, which meant they hadn’t heard the sounds of his lovemaking session with Melissa earlier.

And they certainly hadn’t heard a word of the argument that followed.

He set the glass down with a sigh, a memory filling his mind for the umpteenth time: Melissa moaning and clutching his body as he drove into her. His cock stirred in response, and he gritted his teeth. Granted, the sex had been mind-blowing. Cal couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so much at once. For a moment there, he’d all but let go of his pain, his anger. In that moment, she convulsed around him and triggered his own release, he’d been aware of nothing but her—the woman he loved.

The woman he shouldn’t be with.

That fact had returned to him in the aftermath, along with the painful details. Sleeping with her had been a mistake, one that couldn’t possibly happen again. It was as simple as that. He’d decided the logical thing: They simply wouldn’t work.

So why, when she tossed the engagement ring at him, had it felt like she’d squeezed his heart into a pulp? The ring sat in his pocket now, next to his phone, growing heavier by the minute.

He took another sip from his glass, spilling a bit of milk down his front in the process.

“Crap,” he groaned.

He grabbed a wad of tissues and began cleaning up the mess. The memory of Melissa, rushing out of his bedroom, fluttered through his mind, and his jaw clenched. Should he have tried to stop her from leaving? Should he have gone after her? For all he knew, after what had happened just minutes ago, he might never see her again.

Which shouldn’t be a problem...except the mere thought felt like a blade ripping through his chest.

Should he go after her now? After everything he’d said to her, he wasn’t even sure she’d want to see him again.

But what if she’d been right? What if there was a way to make things work between them?

Before he could dwell any further on that thought, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He fished it out, half expecting a notification from Henry or Bryon.

It was a text message from Melissa.

Cal stared at the screen for a few seconds, his pulse suddenly racing. What could she possibly be texting him about? Confusion fluttered in his gut, mixed with some excitement. Did she want to have another conversation, perhaps?

He’d never know if he just kept wondering. Sucking a breath, he clicked on the notification. The message popped up. It wasn’t a long text like he’d been anticipating. His breath faltering in his throat, he stared at the three words on his screen.

Help, the message read. It’s Dale.

***

“You’re crazy,” Melissa spat.

Dale gave the rope another tug, causing her to yelp in pain. He stepped out from behind the tree, turning to face her, and the corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smirk.

“That’s the seventh time you said that, unless I’m wrong,” he said. “That rope snug enough for you, Doc?”

Melissa bit back a curse, straining against the ropes digging into her flesh. They encircled her waist as well, binding her to the tree. Try as she might, she couldn’t break herself free. Yelling for help wasn’t much of an option either. Not when they were so deep in Paradise Woods.

She squeezed her eyes shut, wincing as pain flared in the base of her skull, and cursed under her breath. Dale had knocked her out at his house. She’d regained consciousness a few minutes ago with a slight headache, only to find Dale tying her to a tree. One look at the determined look on his face, and she already knew what was in store for her.

She looked around. They stood in a small clearing, rays of sunlight barely poking through the treetops. A couple of blades lay on the ground a few feet away. By a tree, sitting on her hind legs and watching calmly, was Leto. Looking at the dog, Melissa couldn’t help feeling a slight sense of betrayal. The details from earlier replayed themselves in her mind: the white door she’d opened, the animal heads on the wall...

And Dale.

She glared at him. “You’re a monster.”

“That one’s a first,” he replied. “But I’m not that either. What I am is a collector.”

She would’ve hurled herself at him, but the ropes were digging harder into her flesh. “Yeah, you said that. You just forgot to mention that you’re the one behind the recent attacks in the woods. You’ve been killing animals for sport.”