Lila nodded and fled back into the house.

Armie drew his revolver and waited until she was fully inside. He crept around the side of the house. He really would run if it was a damn gator. They were nasty and smelled bad and had a million types of bacteria in those teeth of theirs.

He heard the sound that had terrified Lila. It was a scratching sound and then a low hurmph.

Damn it. He knew that sound. He stepped out and pointed his flashlight, shining it on the back of the house, where a big mutt of a dog was trying to get inside.

Armie’s gut tightened and he wished like hell he could find Bill’s kids and charge them with something. “Hey, Peanut. Where have you been, boy?”

He got to one knee as the dog’s head came up and his tail started to wag wildly at the sound of a familiar voice.

“It’s a dog.” The back door had come open. “I was that scared of a dog?”

She hadn’t been scared of a dog at all. She’d been scared of everything that had happened before. Terror like what she’d gone through didn’t go away easy. He should know.

Peanut laid a weary head against Armie’s leg.

“Yeah.” The sight of that dog made him infinitely sad. It reminded him that everyone got lost from time to time. “This is Peanut. He was Bill’s dog.”

She came down the steps, her feet in slippers. She had a robe around her and a flashlight in her hand. Her hair was up in a ponytail, but it was slightly messy. In the starlight she looked sweetly disheveled. “He wasn’t here when I got here. I wasn’t told a dog lived here. Where’s he been?”

“He was supposed to go with Bill’s oldest son.” He put a hand on Peanut’s neck and sure enough his collar was gone. “They promised me they would either take him home with them or find a place for him. He had a collar. He wouldn’t have been able to get it off himself even though he’s lost a ton of weight.”

She gasped and dropped to her knees beside him. “Are you telling me they dumped this dog?”

“That is the most likely scenario,” he concluded. “It happens a lot. They probably took him out a couple of miles, maybe more, and dropped him off. Some folks don’t want to be bothered with a shelter. They would rather discard the animal than explain why they’re dropping him off. Be careful with him. He’s been out in the wild for a while by the looks of him.”

People weren’t the only creatures who could get PTSD.