Free Taken Over (Book 2 The Ravening Series) by Erica Stevens

it to me . I could feel the sharp edge of its bones through its thick fur. My heart ached for the poor thing but it was one of the most wonderful things I had felt in a long time. In this small, emaciated creature I felt a kindred wounded and forsaken soul. I clung to it for a long moment, its scent was pungent but I did not pull away from the pitiful animal. I pulled away from the dog and tugged its tags toward me.
       The dog’s ears cocked as I whispered his name. “Barney.” Then his tongue licked over my face and he buried himself against m e . For some strange reason tears welled up in my eyes as I buried my face in his neck. Barney had lost people that loved and cared for him also , he had been completely alone, until now.
       I pulled back from him as Lloyd and Bret emerged from the kitchen. Lloyd’s bright blue eyes narrowed on Barney and I, he frowned intently as he eyed the dog. Bret offered a half smile, but his eyes looked troubled as he glanced toward the doorway. “We found some stale bread, not the best but better than nothing.”
       I held out my hand for a piece of bread. Lloyd stared at me before ey e ing Barney again. I thought he was going to protest, thought the soldier in him was going to come rearing back to life, but he didn’t offer any complaint . He simply broke off a piece of bread and handed it to me. I offered him a small smile as I took the hard bread and offered it to Barney. He sniffed it cautiously for a moment before taking it with surprising gentleness , considering his obvious lack of food, from my hand.
       “Take his collar off,” Lloyd said briskly. I nodded as I slipped the jingling collar from Barney’s thin neck. The dog’s soft brown eyes followed me as I dropped it on the counter. “We need to get moving if we’re going to make it through this town.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 5
     
     
       We slipped swiftly down the street, darting through buildings, hiding within the shadows. Lloyd and Bret searched another restaurant but came up with only more stale bread and frozen hamburger patties. After that crappy gathering, it was determined to just skip the restaurants that had been picked over already in an attempt to make it down the street faster.
       Lloyd took the lead ; he maintain ed a conversation with gestures alone as we moved steadily forward. Barney stayed close by m y side , his head raised, his ears perked as he listened for danger. It made no sense but I felt oddly safer with him next to me, there wasn’t much Barney could do, but I knew he would sense any danger long before we did.
       Lloyd stopped as he reached the end of the street . He held his hand to halt us as he poked his head around the corner of the last building. He nodded briskly toward us. I took a deep breath before plunging into the open behind Lloyd. It was only thirty feet until we hit the woods again, but it seemed more like thirty miles as we were exposed, open, and even more vulnerable than we had been throughout the whole trip down the street. My heart hammered, my lungs burned as I pushed my legs to their very limits of speed and endurance. I’d never run so fast in my life but I was afraid that it wasn’t going to be fast enough, that I was going to be spotted long before I reached the shelter of the woods.
       Lloyd plummeted into the woods, disappearing from sight as he dropped down an embankment. I followed swiftly behind him, not caring where he had disappeared to, what might be waiting for me. I only car ed that I was no longer on the street . The drop was further than I had expected. The ground fell out from underneath me, my arms pin-wheeled as I fell a good eight feet through the air. Lloyd was already rolling out of my way and climbing swiftly to his feet.
       An involuntary grunt escaped me as I landed hard. My ankles ached but I was falling, rolling as I tumbled swiftly over. Lloyd grabbed hold of