THE LOST SPANIEL – RELEASE BLITZ

It was pure luck that saved us. A slight reflection of light in the window caught my eye. Instinctively, I crashed into Eddie dropping both of us to the ground just as a bullet whizzed by our heads. The glass in the lower window shattered. Another bullet pinged on the metal leg of the platform. I rose to my knees and started crawling.

“The dumpster,” I shouted. “Get behind the dumpster.”

Eddie lay frozen on the ground. I grabbed his arm and pulled. He didn’t move.

“Eddie,” I yelled shaking his arm. I wasn’t strong enough to carry him, but he wasn’t moving. Trying to stay low, I stood hunched over, grabbed him under both arms, and started to pull. It was enough to get him moving. He rolled over to his knees. We scurried over to the dumpster as a couple more bullets hit the ground around us. I heard a yelp behind me just as we made it behind the dumpster.

“Hero,” I screamed. I turned to see my dog staggering. Heart pounding, tears filling my eyes, I called to him. “Here, boy. Come on. Over here.”

Hero shuffled over to us. I grasped him and pulled him to safety. I then ran my hands through his fur. He whined when I reached his hindquarters. When I pulled my hand away, I had blood on my fingers. I started to reach for my backpack when another bullet hit the glass window above the scaffolding.

“Daisy,” Eddie said as he started to step out from behind the dumpster. I clutched him from behind to keep him in place.

“Wait!”

“Let me go,” he yelled. “I need to get her.”

“They have a gun, Eddie,” I said trying to remain calm. My heart was pounding, and I was worried about Hero, but I couldn’t let him go. “We need to call for help.”

“Hey, what’s going on?”

I turned to see a man standing in his backyard across the street. The noise of the shots and breaking glass must have attracted the attention of the neighborhood. I didn’t know if the shooter was still around and didn’t want anyone else in danger.

“Gun shots. Go back inside,” I screamed. “Call for help.”

I saw him pulling his phone from his pocket as he rushed back into his house. I glanced around the area to see if anyone else had come outside. Hopefully, the attention we were attracting would scare the shooter away as well as keep all the neighbors inside. Eddie was shaking and muttering under his breath. He needed something to do. I turned back to Hero, blinking back tears as I dug through my backpack for bandages.

“Eddie,” I said catching his attention. When he looked at me, I shoved the bandages at him. “Help Hero. I’ll see if I can tell if the shooter is gone, and then I’ll get Daisy.”

I peered around the dumpster. I didn’t see any movement, but I wasn’t sure exactly where the shots had been coming from. A car started down Pine and drove past us. When nothing else happened, I decided to risk it.

“Okay, I’m going to try to get to Daisy,” I told Eddie.

He looked up, worried, but nodded. I watched him a moment while he carefully placed a bandage over the wound on Hero’s hip. I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned back around.

The end of the platform was only a few feet away. I inched my way over, hugging the wall, and climbed up the side of the scaffolding. There was glass all around. Daisy was huddled in the middle shaking like a leaf. I coaxed her closer all the while hoping the shooter was gone. Once she was close enough, I grabbed her and quickly moved back to the relative safety behind the dumpster just as the first siren sounded in the distance.

B. L. Blair writes mystery/romance stories. Like most authors, she has been writing most of her life and has dozens of books started. She just needs the time to finish them.

She is the author of the Holton Romance Series, the Leah Norwood Mysteries, and the Lost and Found Pets Novellas. She enjoys reading books, writing books, and traveling wherever and as often as time and money allows. She is currently working on her latest book set in Texas, where she lives with her family.

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