Page 80 of Guarding Colton’s Witness

Crowbar guy gasped, still flailing. Wyatt tightened his grip. “Move again, and I’ll break something you still need.”

“Matti, go in Sam’s room and get those zip ties on the dresser.”

She ran and got them and brought them back to him. He secured the man’s wrists with practiced speed as if he’d done it a hundred times. He probably had.

The first attacker was still out cold, no trouble as Wyatt moved over and restrained him, too.

Wyatt glanced toward the still-wailing security alarm. “Turn off that damn alarm.”

Matti rushed to the alarm, her shaking fingers entering the code to disable it.

For a second, silence hung heavy in the room, and she leaned against the wall, the only thing holding her up. In the silence, she heard her phone ringing in her bedroom.

Ryan turned to her, panting hard, blood on his sleeve.

She gasped at seeing the blood. “You’re hurt.”

“Not bad,” he said, wincing as he flexed his wrist. “Are you okay?” His voice was rough but surprisingly steady.

Her hands shook uncontrollably now that it was over. “I… Yeah. I’m okay.”

“Next time, let me answer the door.”

A laugh escaped her. “Deal.” Her phone stopped ringing, then rang again.

“That will be the alarm company,” Wyatt said.

She ran to the bedroom, answered, and told the man on the other end that they’d been broken into, but everything was okay now. After she gave him the secret code that all really was well, she returned to the living room.

Her gaze swept over the wreckage—splintered furniture, broken glass, two bloody intruders—and at the two men who had defended her without hesitation. If the men trussed up on the floor were the ones after Sam, and she was sure they were, what was a little mess in the grand scheme of things?

Ryan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her next to him. “I think it’s over.”

God, she hoped so. She rested her head against his chest.

Suddenly, the room was filled with cops, and the two men were taken away. Wyatt stepped over to them. “I have to go.” He looked around the room. “Sorry about all this.”

“Just tell me it’s over. That’s all I care about.” Things could be replaced, walls could be repaired.

“It’s over. At least where Sam’s concerned.”

“The man at the top, pulling all the strings, won’t come after him?” Ryan asked.

“No reason to. Sam has no idea who he is. That doesn’t mean you should let down your guard. Just stay alert but try to get back to normal. As for those two, my guess is that they don’t even know the head of the drug operation’s name. Whatever orders they got were passed down through his minions. It just means that we’ll keep on working our way up the ranks of the organization.”

“It makes sense that Sam’s not a target anymore, but I for one will be happy when you have them all behind bars,” she said.

Ryan nodded. “Same here.”

“I’m going to be tied up interrogating these guys, but I’m going to send Cal over to help you secure your front door for the night,” Wyatt said. “You kids be good now.” He chuckled as he walked out.

“Well, I guess we can start straightening up,” Ryan said, then grimaced when he reached down with his sprained wrist to pick up the vase near his feet.

“You need to see a doctor.”

“I keep telling you, I am a doctor.” He held his wrist up. “It’s just aggravated, not broken.” He surveyed the room. “We can clean up most of this, but I’m not sure what to do about the door. I don’t like not being able to lock it.”

“One of my foster fathers is a handyman. I’m going to call him, see if he can come over.”