Bluegrass Undercover (Bluegrass Brothers)

couldn’t hear Cade struggling to get free as the cold knife blade was brought to her neck. It tickled as he slowly ran it along her throat, the hot blood warming the blade as it trickled from the shallow cut across her throat.
    “No need to look so terrified, at least not yet. That was just me saying hello,” Gaylen laughed as he wiped the bloodied blade across her white t-shirt.
    Her head swam as her stomach flipped. Her heart was beating loudly, blocking out almost all other sound. All other sound except heavy panting? She strained her ears to block out Gaylen’s threats. There! She heard it again, this time accompanied with a low growl. It was coming from the corner of the room behind her. The sound of large paws running across the hardwood reached her as she saw Gaylen’s eyes widen.
    She pulled with all her strength against Baldy. He held tight and twisted his hand around her hair, tightening it even more and pulling her to her feet. She was jerked back against him and spotted Cade for one brief moment. He was pinned on the ground by the Beast, fighting to get free. She may just be able to save him yet.
    The growl that came from behind her was now near. Baldy finally noticed it and twisted around, sending her crashing to the floor. Her head was yanked violently back as Baldy raised his arms to shield off the imminent attack. Justin, teeth bared, purple bow bobbing, leapt into the air. His hairy jowls were pulled back to show an impressive amount of teeth, his hair flowing behind him as he sailed through the air.
    Annie felt the moment Baldy released her hair. His arms came up defensively as Justin bit down on his arm. His momentum sent Baldy sprawling to the ground, screaming as Justin continued his assault. Annie didn’t waste any time . She vaulted forward and tackled Gaylen in the midsection.
    The knife flew out of his hand and slid along the floor until it bounced off the baseboard as they crashed into the door and landed on the floor. Annie fought to gain the upper hand, but Gaylen beat her to it. She clawed at anything she could and was rewarded with cursing in Gaelic when she raked her nails down the side of his face. The sound only motivated her to continue fighting.
    She kicked, bit, and hit anything she could. He managed to roll her so he was straddling her. She felt his full weight on her hips as he brought back his hand to punch her. She lifted her bottom off the floor as fast as she could. It wasn’t enough to toss Gaylen off of her, but it was enough to cause him to fall forward. She wrapped her arms around his chest and rolled to her left until they rolled into the wall, neither of them willing to give up control.
    She was aware of noise behind her but didn’t have time to focus on it. Arms were tangled and legs were intertwined as they fought. Annie felt his breath on her neck and the smooth material of his suit on her legs as she tried to get on top of him.
    Suddenly she was free, warm hands were under her arms pulling her off the ground. Baldy! She lashed out with her legs and connected with his knee. “Ow, I’m trying to save you here.”
    “Cade!” Annie finally let the blinding rage die down and took a look around the room that was now filled with people.
    Noodle was cuffing a battered and bloody Gaylen. EMT’s were seeing to Larry, Moe, Curly and one of the steroidasaurus men. Justin was lying on the bed, his back legs stretched behind him, his head resting on his front paws, his purple bow dangling off to the side of his head as he watched the action going on around the room.
    Annie looked around and found that Baldy was backed in the corner, begging Dinky to get him away from that dog. Justin raised his head and cocked it to one side. “Woof!”
    “That’s it. I’ll tell you whatever you want, just get me out of here safely. That dog is the devil!” Justin grinned, his pink tongue licking his lips before laying his head back down on his paws.
    “Where’s that beast of a man you were fighting with?”
    “He’s already loaded up in the cruiser. He was very conveniently tossed through a window. Landed right in front of my SUV,” Cole said as he strutted into the room wearing his navy blue FBI jacket and black cowboy hat.
    “Agent Parker? This isn’t your jurisdiction, is it?” Annie asked. She felt her feathers become ruffled at the idea of him moving in on her case.
    “No, I’m just helping out the Sheriff’s department. The Sheriff is down with a kidney stone