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would.
     
    But Tabitha didn't need to know that. At least not yet.
     
    Now Tabitha's grandfather was gone. Would that make it easier for Tabitha to let a male into her inner world? She'd once been engaged for six months so he knew she'd opened that door once before. What would it take for her to open it again, for him?
     
    Just how controlling had her grandfather been? Did he have something to do with her broken relationship? Had he understood she had psychic abilities? Not that she'd mentioned them to him, but he'd overheard Shay and his brother talking one night about how Tabitha was better with the animals than Shay was. He could have gotten the impression that she had abilities beyond the ordinary.
     
    Maybe she'd gotten those abilities from her grandfather.
     
    Ronin exited the truck and approached the front door. A large, imposing front facade with no welcoming porch or deck, just a single stair up to a double door. His first impression? Dark. Formidable. Dilapidated.
     
    If her grandfather had any money, he hadn't wasted it on the house, unlike his own grandfather, Pappy, who had the golden touch when it came to big business and kept his personal place immaculate.
     
    Ronin knocked on the huge door before reaching for the doorknob. It turned under his hand but the door did not budge. Inside a howl went up that shook him to the core. Tripod? She'd told him about the monster-sized dog, but Jesus...
     
    The door was locked. He gave it a strong shake and saw the security system, installed by his brother, winking at him from above. He pulled out his cell phone.
     
    "Roman, I need to get into Tabitha's house. Shut off the security system."
     
    "Why? What's wrong?" His brother's voice sounded distracted. He was probably painting, considering it was late on a Saturday afternoon.
     
    "She's been attacked. Stefan sent me here to help her but the house is locked up tight."
     
    "Damn." Now his voice sharpened. "How bad was the attack?"
     
    "I don't know. I'm trying to get in to find that out," he snapped. "The dog is howling. I can barely hear you." He paused. "Is it done?"
     
    As he asked, he looked up at the blinking red light to find it gone. "Thanks."
     
    "Let me know if you need a hand." There were sounds of a muted conversation. "Skip that. We're on our way."
     
    Ronin pushed the door open and stepped inside. "I'm in."
     
    "No wait, Shay sa—"
     
    But he never heard the rest as something as big as a bear, crossed with a pony, raced toward him – howling.
     
    "Jesus H. Christ!" The dog had a huge set of bared teeth. Instinctively, Ronin unsnapped the cover over his gun.
     
    The dog came to a screeching halt, skittering forward on the wooden floor and growling so loud there should have been a half dozen dogs facing him.
     
    In the distance, he heard his brother's voice screaming through the phone. "The dog's name is Tripod."
     
    Because he had only three legs. Yeah, he got it. Only the damn thing looked ready to take off one of Ronin's legs.
     
    "Easy, Tripod. Take it easy boy. I'm here to help."
     
    The dog raised his head and howled again. Then it turned its head and pinned him in place with an all-too-human gaze.
     
    Shit. He tried to remember he was a dog person. And that most dogs loved him.
     
    The look in this one's gaze made him doubt that was ever going to happen.
     
    His brother's voice reached him again. He lifted his cell phone. "Stop screaming. I'm here."
     
    "Look, Tripod is a big baby but he knows something has happened to Tabitha."
     
    "Understood." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But I still have to get past him to get to her."
     
    Then his brother's next words reached through the phone and grabbed him by the throat. "Easy. If Tripod doesn't calm down, it will get bad."
     
    Ronin stared down at his phone in disbelief. "What did you say?"
     
    "Tripod is the guard dog. But Tango is going to be more difficult. If you can calm Tripod, then Tango will follow his lead." Roman