He hoped one of the girls had called 911. He just needed to hold the man off until backup could arrive. If he had that long. He didn’t know the extent of his injuries.
Liam grabbed the attacker by the hair and slammed his head into the ground. The man immediately went limp.
Liam got off the man and rolled him onto his stomach, then pulled his hands behind his back and secured them with the handcuffs he pulled from his belt.
“Sophia?” He needed to make sure they were okay. He stood up, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He stumbled down the hall and picked up his gun before turning to the front of the house to look for the girls. “Sophia? Are you safe?”
No answer.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He looked up and down the street. No sign of them. Sirens wailed in the distance. Help was coming.
“Sophia!” he yelled louder. “Isabella!”
The girls appeared from behind his SUV. Once they were satisfied he was alone, they raced to him.
“Uncle Liam.” Sophia barreled into him, knocking him over.
Pain sliced through his chest. He groaned as he held on to his niece. “It’s okay.”
Flashing lights reflected off the porch. He gently pushed Sophia up. “You need to back up and keep your hands visible, okay? The police will want to make sure the scene is secure.”
She wiped the tears from her face.
“Isabella, you too. They’re coming in with limited information. They don’t know what to expect.” Liam set his gundown on the porch, stood up, and held his hands in the air as a police cruiser pulled in front of his house.
The officer jumped out of the vehicle and pulled his gun but didn’t aim it at them.
“Deputy US Marshal Liam Roberts.” Liam kept his hands in the air. “The man who attacked me is handcuffed inside. That is my weapon on the porch.”
Another car pulled up.
“These girls are with me.” He wobbled.
A flurry of activity descended, and it wasn’t long until he found himself in the back of an ambulance sitting outside his house, the girls standing right outside, holding each other.
“You’re definitely going to need some stitches.” The paramedic had cut his shirt away and was cleaning the area on his chest.
Liam looked down at the six-inch gash that ran from his upper right pectoral to his breastbone. “That little thing caused all this blood?”
The paramedic laughed. “It’s a deep wound, so yeah.”
Liam peered around her to check on the girls. They weren’t there. He started to sit.
The woman put her hand to his chest and gently pushed him back down. “Easy there. I need to get this covered.”
“I just need to make sure my girls are okay. Sophia?”
She didn’t pop out from the side like he expected.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
“Sophia.” He started to stand. “Sophia!”
“You really need this stitched up.”
He leveled her with a steely gaze. “Slap some butterfly bandages on it, because I’m not going anywhere until I find my girls.”
TWENTY-TWO
