She lifted her head. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. Hell, she was even pretty when she cried.
“You got shot!” she said.
“It was just a graze.”
She wriggled down, then pulled at the sleeve of my shirt. I saw the bloody crease where the bullet had clipped me.
“This needs cleaning and a bandage?—”
I let out a rough laugh. “I’ve had way worse than this, sunshine.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I’m okay.” I stroked her jaw, then looked at the others. “Thanks for the assist.”
“You never need to thank us, Cole,” Bastian said. “You’re always there when we need you.”
I gave my friends a nod. Now, I just wanted Lili out of here.
“You’ll take care of clean up?”
Nash nodded. “I’ve got it.”
“Send the injured guys back to Goodyear. Bound and gagged.”
Nearby, Rafe grinned. “I like this plan. I think I’ll drop them on the doorstep of his fancy mansion for his wife to find.”
I slid my arms under Lili’s legs and lifted her against my chest.
“I can walk.”
“I’ve got you.” I headed out the door and down the stairs.
That’s when I heard the distant sound of an engine and tensed.
“What now?” Landon shouldered past me headed for the open roller door.
We stepped outside. The first thing I saw were three unfamiliar gray Yukons. There were two bodies face down in the dirt beside one, and in the second one, a man’s body washunched over the steering wheel. I noted the single gunshot hole through the windshield. That would be Nash’s doing.
A red truck was approaching, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lili sucked in a breath. “That’s my dad’s truck.”
I set her down and kept her close. My friends fanned out around me, their weapons in their hands.
The truck jerked to a stop, setting up another cloud of dust. Brock Armstrong slammed out, wearing jeans and a ballcap.
“Lili! Are you okay?”
He’d taken a beating recently. His face was bruised, and his lips split and swollen. He moved with a limp, holding himself gingerly.
“I’m fine, Dad. What are you doing here?”
He stopped a few feet away and swallowed. “I heard…I heard Goodyear sent a team out here.” He pulled the ballcap off his head. “I’d asked him to leave you alone.”
And clearly copped a beating for his trouble. My jaw worked. Armstrong might be showing like he did give a shit about his daughter, but it was too little too late in my book.
He stepped closer, and I moved forward to block him.
