Chapter 219 Chapter 219
Chapter 219 Chapter 219
Kyra POV
"Wait here."
He steps out of the truck and shuts the door before I can say anything. He saunters across the dirt parking lot to an old warehouse and bangs on a dented silver door with peeling paint. I'm not quite sure what we're doing here, but I have a bad feeling.
Soon a man opens the door, and they begin to talk. Tor is doing a lot of pointing to the other side of the warehouse, and he looks pissed—furious, actually.
The man is also getting visibly agitated, shaking his head and yelling. I can't hear what they're saying from where I'm parked, but it definitely doesn't look friendly.
I sit in shocked silence when Tor grabs the man by the throat and literally drags him away from the door to around the side of the building, out of sight.
Shit.
My hand clutches the door handle until my knuckles hurt. I wanted to run out there and see what's going on, but he told me to stay here in his most serious voice—the one he uses when he expects me to listen, no questions asked.
A few minutes go by, and I breathe a sigh of relief when Tor appears from around the corner of the warehouse and walks toward the truck holding something that looks like a burlap bag with a chain hanging off it. My blood chills as he gets closer, and I realize he's holding a small dog that isn't supposed to be small. It's severely malnourished.
I jump out of the truck as he nears and run over to him.
"What happened?" I ask.
"Get the door for me."
I run to open the back door of his truck and quickly spread a blanket over the seat. As he gently lays the dog down, I notice the chain is deeply embedded into its neck, the flesh raw and ugly, oozing blood and yellow infection.
Bile rises to my throat and I cover my mouth.
"Oh my God..."
"Fucking douchebag has had this dog chained to the back of his warehouse with no food or water for who knows how long. The chain's been wrapped around his neck for months, slowly strangling him."
"I think I'm going to be sick."
He pulls me into his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Angel. I should have warned you about this one. Let's go—we have to get him to the vet."
We climb into the front seat, and I can't help but peer into the back as we pull out of the parking lot. The dog is so weak he can barely move, and his eyes are lifeless, glazed, and defeated. Tears roll down my cheeks as I say a silent prayer for him. This is the worst abuse I've ever seen.
"I think he'll be okay," Tor says reassuringly, putting his hand on my leg. "I know it looks nasty as hell, but once they get the chain out, clean him up, get him on antibiotics, and get some food and water into him, he'll start to recover."
"You really think so? He looks bad, Tor. Really bad."
"I know. But I think he'll pull through. That asshole was warned a year ago when he had another dog chained up back there that another rescue pulled."
"What did you do to him?" I ask. He dragged the guy away by his throat and I didn't see him come back.
His eyes shift to the rearview mirror, jaw clenching.
"You don't want to know."
"Tell me."
"I cut the chain to free the dog and then wrapped it around his fucking neck and left him there—chained to the ground like he did to this poor dog."
My heart almost seizes at the ferocity in his voice. Tor can be the sweetest guy in the world, but he has a ferocious streak when it comes to animal abuse. He wants vengeance.
"Don't worry," he says when he hears my gasp. "He won't die. His buddies will find him. I just wanted to teach that fucker a lesson. He'll never hurt another animal again."
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Kyra
Me: Hey you, how is your morning? I love you xoxoxo
I switch from my messaging app to my browser, then back again to see if it will refresh—but there's still no reply from Tor, and it's showing as unread. I sent the text almost four hours ago, at eight a.m.
We always text each other first thing in the morning, and Tor always replies within an hour. Always. Even before we were dating, he would always respond quickly.
I wander through the mall, trying to remElara where everything is. It feels more like a maze than a shopping center. I don't shop often, and when I do, Chloe is usually with me and steers us around like she was born here.
I finally find the lingerie store and pick out some new bra and panty sets I think will make Tor smile. The price tags practically scare me into next week, but the fabric is so soft and rich and accentuates my curves better than anything I own, so I can't resist buying them.
Next, I find the craft store and load up on paper, ink, and little embellishments like lace, glitter, and gems that I've started adding to my hand-lettered work.