Free Like Arrows (Cedar Tree #6) by Freya Barker

heart starts hammering in my chest. Afraid to move, I wedge myself further between the toilet and the wall. All I can hear is the sound of my blood rushing in my ears. I squeeze my eyes shut and wrap my arms over my head protectively. When the door opens I make myself even smaller.
    "Fuck," I hear, before I'm yanked up on my feet. I struggle against the big arms surrounding me, but they won't budge.
    "Hush, Kimeo. You're safe."
    The whispered words finally penetrate when a wet nose presses against my hand. "Boo?" The responding licks and distressed doggie whimper pulling me all the way into the here and now. Back into the hallway just outside the bathroom, with Mal holding on tight and Boo pushing his head against my side. I’m home—safe. There are no guys wielding guns here, just Mal and Boo coming back from a walk.
    Fuck, I'm losing it.
    "Let's go clean up," Mal's deep voice rumbles. I finally open my eyes and tilt my head back to find his eyes warm and concerned.
    Right. I'm suddenly very aware of the fact I probably have puke-breath. That thought alone is mortifying enough, but add that to my smelly shirt, stringy hair and whatever my face looks like now, and I want the ground to open up and swallow me. Determined to create as much space as possible, I push hard against his chest. He immediately releases his arms and allows me to step back.
    "I'll be okay now. You can go home." I try to make my voice sound firm, but the little hitch in my breath at the end ruins the effect.
    "Not happening." Mal doesn't seem to have a problem sounding firm. I have no energy to fight him and without another word, I turn and walk to my bedroom, close the door and peel out of all my clothes, tossing them in the hamper on my way into the bathroom. There I turn on the tap until the water runs hot and I numbly step into the shower where I scrub myself raw, the faint light of dawn slipping through my window by the time I’m done.
    After a quick dry off with a clean towel from the shelf, I slip on my nightie and pad into the bedroom where I climb into bed, vaguely hearing the deep rumble of Mal's voice down the hall. He's either talking on the phone or to the dog, but I don't have the energy to wonder too long. Instead I slip into a deep, exhausted sleep.

    M al
    "I want to put protection on her."
    After only a brief conversation right after I pulled Kim out of the closet at the office, I called Gus back to give him the complete report.
    "Absolutely. Any thoughts?" Gus easily agrees.
    "I can do it," I say, volunteering myself.
    "You? What about Neil? Or calling someone else in?"
    "Neil will be busy with the flash drive Drew is gonna drop of this morning and I don't want to bring a stranger in. She's skittish enough as it is."
    In the background I hear the water turn off, indicating Kim is out of the shower. I keep my eye on the hallway, but I don't hear anything else. I figure she's gone to bed. Good.
    "I'm also going to try and convince her to come to Cedar Tree with me. It'll be safer for her. At least until we know what or who we're dealing with."
    "How do you propose to do that?" Gus sounds amused. He's thinking of the women in our circle, all of who are forces to be reckoned with and not easily swayed to do anything against their will. But he doesn't know Kim—doesn't know she's different, softer, more submissive. Although, she has shown herself to be a tiger a few times.
    "I'll bring her for breakfast to the diner later this morning. Maybe meet us there? We'll see if we can't convince her."
    "Sure. I'll bring Emma, make it seem less like we're strong-arming her."
    That elicits a chuckle from me. "Hell, Emma will do all the convincing for us."
    "I'm thinking my wife can handle the task. Gonna grab a few hours of shuteye. See you around nine?"
    "Yup. Later."
    Just as I hang up, I hear the dog, which's been lying at my feet, whimper. When I scratch his head, he briefly flicks his eyes over to me but quickly turns them back to the hallway,