He swallows thickly, gazing down at his wife’s lifeless body.
“The gunshots scared everyone. People scattered, sought cover. Anyone who came out, I told them to stay inside or to get out of town.” His fingertips trail over her pale cheek. “Tanya was coming to meet me for lunch. She found me in here, radioing for help. I sent everyone else to hide in the basement.”
His breath hitches.
“I-I tried to send her down there, but…” His eyes flick up to the doorway and the body down the hall. “He showed back up. Said they were tying up all the loose ends. He fired before I could get her out of the way.”
A sob interrupts him, and Connor clutches me close, holding me as I tremble and fight the emotions threatening to swallow me.
This is my fault.
“I’m so sorry, Tony.” I blink away the tears blurring him in my vision. “This is my fault. I brought them here. I did this.”
He doesn’t respond, just clings to his wife as Liam applies pressure to his shoulder wound.
That man will never forgive me, and he shouldn’t.
Not when I had to poke the bear. Not when I unleashed this on us.
Connor turns away, stepping around them to head toward where Killian stands beside what must be the radio. He dips his head until his lips are near my ear. “Tony almost shot Killian and Liam when they came in.”
That’s what I heard.
That shot.
Killian gives him a hard look. “The helicopter is coming for Tony and Raven. And I called Agent Michaelson to let him know what happened. The cavalry is on the way.”
I know what happened—blood flowed on McBride Mountain again.
Everything Connor warned me would happen came true.
22
TWO WEEKS LATER
RAVEN
The fire in the pit at the center of the McBride homestead cracks and pops, and I snuggle deeper in the blanket wrapped around me where I sit in one of Liam’s chairs. Trying to enjoy the evening, trying not to get lost in my thoughts the way I have been the last couple weeks since the shit hit the fan and the Lorells hit McBride Mountain.
Again.
Willow looks over at me, concern etched in her brow. “You okay?”
I nod even though I’m far from it. “Yeah, just a little cold.”
She nods her agreement, cradling a sleeping Niall against her chest, as does Lucky, sitting on my other side.
Fall is definitely here, and with it, all kinds of change.
Some good. Some bad. Some undetermined…
Lucky watches me carefully, the same way she has for the last two weeks that I’ve been recovering, the same way everyone has been.
I understand it now—how Liam and Connor both felt. Like they were under a microscope, something to be examined and dissected. It makes sense why they shut everyone out, why they felt that was the only way for them to survive.
I’ve never been one to sit back and wait for someone to say something, though. “Just spit it out, Lucky.”
“What?”
