Free 15 Targeted by Evangeline Anderson

whimper—the puppy sound it had used to lure her out into the yard—and then stopped moving.
    “Oh my God,” Emily whispered. All the strength seemed to have run out of her legs and she felt like she was going to fall. She started to sag to the cold grass but suddenly a large, warm hand gripped her arm, pulling her upright.
    “I told you it wasn’t safe here,” a deep, rumbling voice said in her ear.
    Emily turned her head and saw the huge Kindred warrior standing there. What had he said he name was? Telgar? Tragar? He had one hand wrapped around her arm and the other held a handgun type weapon with a muzzle as wide as a shotgun.
    “I…you…” She didn’t know what to say—both her tongue and her brain felt numb. “What…what was that?” she finally managed, nodding at the twisted silver heap.
    “Sniffer. Used by the Dark Kindred to sniff out emotions only in this case, it was tuned exclusively to you.” He frowned. “Not surprising since the male who put the contract on you was Dark Kindred. He must have decided I was taking too long to do the job.”
    “Oh my God,” Emily whispered faintly. “You mean…there really is someone trying to kill me?”
    “Didn’t I tell you so earlier?” He frowned at her.
    “Yes but…” Emily shook her head. “But I didn’t know what to believe—it didn’t seem real.”
    “The threat is real, all right.” He sounded grim. “And where there’s one sniffer, there are usually more. Maybe even a pack of them. Come on—we have to get away.”
    “Get away?” He was already dragging her across the dark lawn but Emily dug in her heels, trying unsuccessfully to put on the brakes. “Wait a minute, what do you mean? Where are you taking me?”
    “With me. To my ship.”
    “What? No!” She tried to break free of his grip but it was like trying to break out of handcuffs—there was no way. “Stop!” she exclaimed. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”
    The big Kindred paused his relentless forward motion for a moment and looked at her.
    “ Khalla,” he began.
    “That’s not my name!”
    “Emily, then. I am aware that this is a distressing situation for you but it’s also very dangerous. We need to go before more sniffers show up to finish the job.”
    Me—I’m the job! Emily thought and shivered.
    “But why can’t we just go inside my house and lock the doors? We can call the police—tell them what happened.”
    He gave her an incredulous look.
    “Why? So more of them can be killed? I may be an assassin but I do not condone unnecessary death. Besides, as I pointed out earlier, the defenses of your domicile are extremely flimsy. We would simply be backing ourselves into a corner, waiting to be attacked.”
    “But—”
    Her words were cut off by a long, liquid howl. It was far in the distance but it sounded like it was getting closer.
    “Come on!” The big Kindred tugged on her arm but the bone chilling sound had frozen Emily to the spot. She literally couldn’t move.
    “I…I can’t,” she whispered. “Please…I just can’t.”
    To her surprise, the Kindred crouched down so that he could get eye to eye with her and looked into her face. His voice, when he spoke, was surprisingly gentle.
    “Emily,” he murmured. “ I am sorry that the idea of leaving with me distresses you. However, it is better for you to be distressed than for you to be dead. And since I am sworn to protect you, I have to act in your best interests, even if you dislike it.”
    “But I—oh!” Her words ended in a gasp because he had reached down and scooped her up, wrapping her in his massive arms as though she weighed no more than a kitten.
    “Hey, let me down—let me go!” Emily beat against his broad chest but it did exactly as much good as if she’d been beating against a brick wall. The Kindred jogged quickly around the side of the house and out into the street, ignoring her completely.
    “Forgive me, Khalla,” he said formally, opening the door of a