“Come on, Vasi. Let’s show you what I picked up.”
I don’t want to let go of Riley, but a glance in her eyes tells me she’s all right. A smile finally forms. Mimicking Rosie’s excitement, she takes my hand and says, “Come on. It’s so cute.”
Inside the foyer, I immediately hear excited panting and prancing paws.
“Look at her,” Rosie says, picking up the black-and-white puppy.
A Karelian Bear dog. “I thought we’d need one,” she says. “Figured we should get a brand new one to protect the house from anything unfamiliar.”
“Good thinking,” I say, tickling the pup behind the ears. By “anything,” I know she means our own family too. If we’d brought one of our own dogs from back home, it’d be used to anyone in the Syndicate, and, as unsettling as it is, we can’t trust them right now.
“What did you name her?”
“Kita,” Rosie says, exchanging a spirited glance with Riley.
“Kita,” I whisper, once again impressed with Rosie’s planning ahead.
Standing here, I think of what the future holds, and of my family. And intertwined throughout those thoughts is the fact that I am, and will always be, a Guard; that Rosie is a Scout, and that Riley is a Reader. And that is enough to help me eliminate the Hybrids until every last one of them is gone.
Acknowledgements
Unbelievably, this is the fourth time I’ve sat down to write my acknowledgments, and it blows my mind. I started out with a little story and just wanted to see it in print, and now here we are on my fourth book. I seriously cannot thank you enough for reading my stories and for your support. Your constant feedback and interest truly motivates me to keep going, and I cannot tell you how much it means to me, so thank you!
To my mom, who once again volunteered to take this extremely stressful but fun ride with me. You have seriously hit this one out of the park with your fantastic editing skills. This book is much better because of you, so thank you again!
To my copyeditor, Sheila Ashdown, thank you for your sharp eye and for the time you spent jumping into my world and helping to make it better with your expertise! And to Dawn Sloane for always coming in to save the day with a proofread whenever your phone rings!
To my children, and to my husband who hasn’t read a book since high school until he read all of mine! You’re the constant in my life, and I thank you for listening to my plot dilemmas and for sharing my thoughts with my imaginary friends!
And finally, to God. Through Him, all things are possible! Thank you!
ENJOY OTHER BOOKS BY SHELENA SHORTS:
The Pace
The Broken Lake(The Pace Series, Book 2)
The Iron Quill (The Pace Series, Book 3)
The Hour of Dreams(The Pace Series, Book 4)
The Syndicate Page 20
