Chapter 20

• The sun hung low and oppressive over the rugged expanse where destiny and disarray converged. Grim Fang had ridden away in a blur of dust and defiance at the sound of Jack’s sharp whistle_ a signal that shattered the uneasy stillness of the desert. In the aftermath of that abrupt departure, Ellie, caught in a bewildering daze as though wrenched from a dream, found her senses returning in a torrent of raw emotion. With a cry borne of both anguish and determination, she staggered toward the slender, quivering willows that lined the path, calling out for Jack as if his name alone could anchor her to a fading hope.
• Before her footsteps could carry her further into uncertainty, a firm, unyielding grip seized her arm. Grimwood, his presence as unspoken as the shifting sands, had leaped after her. The sudden contact sparked a cry of protest from Ellie_ a sound mingling pain with desperate resistance. Yet Grimwood’s hold was unrelenting, his eyes as cold and calculating as the desert night.
• “Don’t follow him, boys!” Grimwood barked, his voice slicing through the murmurs of the wind. “He’s a dog that can bite while he runs. Stand quiet, girl!”