Page 50 of Trigger Happy

“You’re the one talking,” he whisper-shouts.

Instincts kick in, and my heart rate skyrockets, but not from fear. No, this is adrenaline. The panic doesn’t blur my thoughts, it focuses the world around me.

I zero in on every shadow and twitch of the trees, while reminding myself how to unlock the bear spray. Remove the single-use safety seal first, then disengage the clip.

Lawton’s muscles are bunched tight, waiting, watching, when suddenly, a dark shape rustles through the pines. He moves to stand in front of me. “Stay back.”

“Like I trust you.” I shove him to the side. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Bigfoot.”

“Should we offer him your shoes?”

“I knew you didn’t think my feet were average,” he says, standing in front of me again.

I don’t miss the way his shoulders are squared, because he’s blocking my view with his massive back. I try to move around him, but he won’t budge. He shifts his stance to keep me tucked behind him.

There’s another rustle in the forest, and Lawton’s entire body tenses. “Shit. Don’t move.”

“I’ll get the bear spray.” I start to undo the zipper, but he stops me with a shake of his head.

“It’s not a bear, it’s a moose. And he’s in rut.”

I snort, all the tension draining out of my shoulders as I move around him. “All this for a horny deer? We’ll be f—”

A blur of hooves explodes toward me, and the last thing I see are Lawton’s wide brown eyes before I’m tackled to the ground.

26Sabrina

Lawton slams me down into a pile of damp leaves, dirt clogging my nose. I can barely breathe thanks to all two-hundred-and-twenty-five pounds of muscle that’s shoved me onto the ground.

“Stay down,” he growls in my ear, “and play dead.”

“Really? All this for a deer?” I mutter into the leaves.

“Sabrina,” he murmurs, hot breath fanning across my cheek. “I mean it. Moose don’t fuck around during rut. They weigh up to sixteen-hundred pounds, and if they feel threatened, they’ll charge you. Do you want to end up gored to death?”

“Not particularly, but I think that’s how you might want to see me go.”

“I like tackling you to the ground too much to see you dead, now be quiet.”

I press my lips together, listening to the forest. There’s a swish of leaves, a heavy puff, and then a crash so loud I almost gasp. The moose slams its hooves into the dirt inches from my face, and the impact rattles my teeth. I glance up to see an animal that looks like some monster horse injected with growth hormones.

That thing’s enormous.

“Oh, shit.” My voice actually trembles, so I focus on my breathing.

“Shhh.” Lawton keeps his arms braced tight around my head, his biceps brushing my ears.

My heart rate gallops. If that hoof had landed a sliver to the right, my head would’ve looked like pumpkin mush. Angry mobsters I can handle, just give them a hand-rolled Cuban cigar, but who knows what a pissed-off moose will do.

“Oh fuck,” I mumble into the leaves.

His thumb brushes over my cheek. My heart does this annoying little dance in my chest.

The moose stomps around us, but Lawton stays firm, shielding me. His heat warms all the places our bodies are touching, his chest against my shoulders, his legs anchoring us together. I’m used to watching my own back, not having someone else watch it for me. This is… not terrible. Eventually, the hooves fade, the forest stirs, and I take in a deep breath.

Lawton lifts his head slightly. “Okay, I think we’re safe. It’s gone.”