Page 69 of Savage Little War

Cara tenses, but she follows me anyway.

“Tell me everything,” I murmur to Cara as I pull her to me and kiss the top of her head before nodding to the doctor as he gestures to Sean’s room. We head inside to find Sean lying in the hospital bed in a blue and white gown, monitors surrounding him on both sides.

“Dad?” Cara says as she quickens her pace to reach his bedside. She takes his hand, being mindful of the IV stuck into the top of it.

Sean slowly turns his head to peer at her. “I’m fine, Cara. They patched me up. They just want to monitor me for a little while.”

Cara lets out a shaky breath as she lowers her head. “You could’ve gotten yourself killed!”

“It would’ve been worth it,” Sean says, like he’s talking about the weather. “It happened so damn fast. We were just walking around the corner to the car when they drove up on us.”

“Did you get a look at them?” I ask him as I remain by Cara’s side, keeping my voice low so that no one outside of the room can hear me.

Sean shakes his head. “The windows were tinted. When I saw the back one lower, I jumped in front of her. I knew what was about to happen.”

Discomfort seeps into my bones as I lower my gaze to Sean’s upper chest where he was shot. That could’ve so easily been Cara. I could’ve lost both the woman I love and my baby today.

“They were aiming for Cara? Is there any chance that it could’ve been a hit on you, Sean?” I ask him, my hope already faltering as Sean frowns.

“The gun was aimed at her,” Sean confirms. “When they hit me instead, they sped off.”

I scrub my hand over my face, unable to find a silver lining in this mess other than Cara being alive and unscathed. “I’m tired of cowards hiding behind glass and guns. They won’t just man up and face me.”

“Because they know they won’t win against you,” Cara replies. “This is easier for them.”

My teeth grate together as I pull my phone out of my pocket. “We’re going to find who did this. I’m going to have my guys pull every second of security camera footage in the area. If we can read the license plate of the car, that will give us a lead.”

“Good idea,” Sean says. “I would help, but…”

I shake my head. “Just focus on getting out of here. I’d recommend having some of your men linger around the hospital to keep an eye on the place after we leave.”

Sean nods. “Will do.”

“We should go,” I tell Cara, whose brow furrows in reluctance.

“He’s right,” Sean says as he pats her hand. “I’ll be fine here. Go help Dmitri find out who these guys are before they attack again. Because they will.”

Cara nods and draws away from him, letting me lead her out of the hospital room and toward the exit with my arm around her shoulders. “How soon can your men get their hands on that security footage?” she asks.

“Probably by the end of the day,” I reply.

Cara’s face hardens, and the fire in her eyes is familiar. She feels the same rage that I do about all of this.

“I want to see it,” she says. “I want to help you find these assholes.”

My men work quickly.

Once we pull the footage and catch the plate, all it took was greasing some palms at Metro for the car owner’s name and address.

A man named Devon Hardin who has no direct affiliation with any of the crime families around here. I can only assume that he’s an independent contractor who doesn’t care who he works for as long as he’s getting paid.

While Cara got to watch the footage with me, she’s sitting this part out.

“Move!” I order.

Mark kicks the door in on my command, and the four of us storm inside. Since it’s close to midnight, darkness cloaks the inside of the house, but we quickly make our way through in search of our target.

A silhouette stumbles into the hallway. “What the⁠—”