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features as clearly as he would if his eyes were open.
     
    Only they weren't. Ronin's eyes were definitely closed.
     
    It's a vision skill. Keep seeing the dog in your mind and stroke him in your mind. See him accept you. See him liking the attention.
     
    Ronin struggled to follow through. He eased into the vision of the dog's face, soothing him as he spoke to him about helping him. Helping Tabitha. He reached out and felt a warming of the energy around him and the fear easing.
     
    Then a huge tongue caught him by the chin and stroked upwards across his face.
     
    The smell was gross, but his heart leapt. He opened his eyes to see the dog gazing into his eyes. A plea for help deep inside. "That look can't be real."
     
    It is. Once a connection is made... Stefan's voice trailed off.
     
    Ronin stood, gently patted the dog then squeezed between the dog and the doorway. The dog trailed behind, whining deep in his throat.
     
    Ronin stopped to take stock. And was hit with waves of nausea and a horrible buzzing in his head. He shuddered. His whole system went into lockdown. He could hardly breathe.
     
    Damn. A cat was here. Somewhere close by.
     
    But Tabitha needed him. His hand at his throat, struggling to hold back the panic, he tried to study the rooms in front of him. Instead of a nice clean layout, the house appeared to be a maze. "Where is she, Tripod? Show me Tabitha."
     
    The dog cocked his head to one side, as if understanding him, then bounded upstairs. Ronin followed, barely seeing where he was going until he dashed into a bedroom.
     
    "Stefan said she's in the shower," he said, and felt like an idiot for talking to the dog. His chest eased slightly, making it easier to focus. He raced for the small room off to the side. Clothes lay crumpled on the floor. Otherwise, the room appeared empty.
     
    He pulled back the shower door to find Tabitha nude, in a ball, with a bluish gray cast to her skin. Icy water beat down on her back. He turned off the water. His hands went to Tabitha's neck. He could barely find a pulse under her clammy skin.
     
    Crap. He raced back to Tabitha's bedroom, tugging something white and pillowy off her bed. Back at the shower, he bundled it around Tabitha and scooped her up in a cocoon. As he turned toward the bedroom, a tall blonde stood in the doorway. Shay.
     
    He didn't slow down.
     
    "Good, you've got her." Shay was already leading the way back outside. "The ambulance is coming up the drive. Roman is waiting for them."
     
    Ronin brushed past her, and carrying a still-wrapped Tabitha, carefully made his way down the stairs to the front door. He'd cleared the front porch when the ambulance came to a quick stop. He took his first clean deep breath. The men raced out and opened the back doors.
     
    "She's in a bad way."
     
    He laid his precious bundle down and stepped back as the men went to work. Before he knew it, she'd been loaded into the ambulance, one man still working on her as they ripped down the driveway.
     
    He stood and stared down the empty road. Tripod howled, then abruptly walked over to sit beside Ronin.
     
    Ronin stared at the huge dog who gazed solemnly back at him as if he were telling Ronin to fix this.
     
    ***
     
    "What the hell is going on?" Fez said to the empty night. They should have been here by now. That they weren't, was a huge problem. These goods had to be moved to the next destination. And fast.
     
    Fez paced the long rows of docks. What was the hold up? He should be out of here by now. He'd called the boss once... He checked his phone again. At least his boss hadn't called back. But if Fez didn't check in with him soon, there'd be hell to pay.
     
    Especially since Roberts had taken off to do something and hadn't come back yet. Fez glanced around. He couldn't shake the feeling that the boss was going to show up any second. The man came and went like a damn ghost.
     
    Shit. Where the hell was his package?
     
    Even more important, were the