KILLER TRAIL: Whisper Island Mysteries - 1 by Elaine Jenny

Author:Elaine, Jenny
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Ryker scooped Smutti into his arms and hurried around to the front of the house. Zaylie raced inside on trembling legs, grabbed her purse, and ran out front to meet him.

“Here, you drive,” she said, thrusting her keys into his waiting hand as she climbed into the back seat of her car next to Smutti.

The drive to the emergency vet clinic felt like an eternity. Smutti was breathing, but her heart rate was fast and she kept whining softly. As tears splashed from her eyes, Zaylie held Smutti's head in her lap and gently rubbed her behind the ears. What would she do if something happened to her dog?

“Hold on, girl,” she whispered. “We’re almost there.”

It took nearly ten minutes to reach the clinic, and when they hurried inside, they were greeted by a young girl behind the desk.

“What happened?” she immediately asked.

“We think she was poisoned,” Zaylie said in a shaky voice.

Nodding, the girl motioned for them to follow her. “Bring her back here, please,” she said to Ryker as she led them into the operating room. “Do you know what she ingested?”

“No,” Zaylie replied, shaking her head. “She was in the backyard by herself.”

Ryker laid Smutti on one of the tables, and the girl said, “If y’all will wait out front, I’ll get the veterinarian who is on call and then come back out to get your name and information.”

“It’s going to be okay, sweet girl,” Zaylie said, kissing Smutti’s nose. Her breathing had grown more labored, and her eyes were no longer open. Zaylie felt like her heart was breaking as Ryker took her hand and pulled her from the room, and when the door shut behind them, she wondered if she would ever see Smutti again.

Twenty minutes passed, and then an hour. Zaylie paced back and forth around the waiting room, her stomach in knots. Gran kept texting for updates, but unfortunately, there were none yet.

“How could this have happened?” Zaylie asked, voicing the question both to Ryker and herself. “Do you think it was intentional?”

“I don’t know.” Ryker sighed, shaking his head as he leaned his elbows onto his knees.

Nearly two hours later, the door finally opened, and Zaylie turned to face the doctor, anxious to hear what he had to say. What she hadn’t been prepared for was to come face to face with someone from her past.

Recognition flitting across his face, he stopped in his tracks and blinked. “Zaylie,” he said, his familiar, raspy voice filled with surprise.

Zaylie hadn’t seen Micah Pierce since Spring Break over ten years ago. She’d heard he’d left the island and moved to North Carolina to go to veterinary school, but she didn’t know he’d come back home.

“It’s good to see you again,” he added, taking a small step forward.

He was even more handsome than she remembered. His curly brown hair was cut shorter than it used to be, and his blue eyes were just as bright and clear as they ever were. He’d always been tall, but she didn’t fail to notice that he’d filled out quite nicely.

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