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Liv peered over Zeke’s shoulder, at the open door on the far side of the kitchen.
“Go,” Zeke said.
She nodded. “Don’t let him out of there until you have backup.”
Moving away from the wall, he positioned himself for a better angle on the doorway. “He’s not going anywhere.”
The rectangular layout of the house meant there was only one way out of this hallway. In order to get to the other side of the kitchen, she would have to expose herself to the open bathroom door, where a slightly unhinged bear of a man stood seething.
Claudia had once sworn her husband didn’t own any weapons. She had also left out the fact that her son was a Mini Me version of his dad.
Channeling her inner Flash, she nodded at Zeke and rushed past the opening. Next thing she knew, something solid slammed into her shoulder, knocking her off-balance and into Zeke.
Her already concussed head ricocheted off the wall, and she went lights-out for a brief second.
“Liv!”
She blinked and her world upended as Zeke rolled their tangled bodies just in time to take the brunt of Sam’s attack. The older man swung a free-standing toilet paper holder at Zeke. It wasn’t one of those flimsy aluminum contraptions that you picked up at Walmart. No, this one, with its inner construction of steel pipes, reeked of Etsy.
The solid hunk of metal came down on Zeke’s injured shoulder, making him lose his grip on his knife. The weapon dropped to the carpet with a thud. Sam took another swing at Zeke, catching him in the ribs.
An ominous crack rent the air, and Zeke grunted as he slammed to the floor.
Still dazed and on her back, Liv lifted her gun. “Stop, or I’ll shoot!”
Her warning bounced off the guy like a rubber ball. All his focus was on Zeke, who was struggling to his knees.
“Hurt my boy, did you?” Sam snarled, lifting his ridiculous, yet effective, weapon in the air.
Maybe he already knew what she hadn’t yet realized. If she pulled the trigger, she was as likely to hit Zeke as him. Or maybe the guy was drunk on adrenaline and rage.
Shaking the black spots from her vision, she took a knee and steadied her aim. When Sam reared back for another swipe at Zeke, she pulled the trigger. The older man froze as chunks of plaster rained down on him.
The momentary distraction was all Zeke needed. He ripped the stand out of Sam’s hand and landed a solid to his jaw. The older man staggered back from the blow, then regained his senses and charged again.
Having climbed to her feet, Liv jammed the RIP end of her gun into the back of Sam’s head. He froze, and she pushed him, face first, into the wall.
“Spread your legs and put your hands behind your back,” she ordered.
Zeke picked up his knife and sheathed it before pulling a zip tie he’d taken from her supply box out of his back pocket.
“All I was doing was protecting my home from a threat,” Sam said.
“Does that protection include holding a young woman hostage in your basement?” Liv asked, pressing his face harder into the wall while Zeke secured his hands.
“That’s my son’s room. I respect his privacy and don’t go down there.”
“Yeah, right. Callie had you sniveling like a baby when we arrived.”
His palms rubbed together as if he were trying to wipe them free of something. “Disgusting whore.”
She grabbed a handful of hair and yanked his head back. “Call my sister a name like that again, and I’ll end you right here, right now.”
Sam pressed his lips together.
Grasping the other man’s arm, Zeke jerked his head toward the basement. “Go get her.”
Liv looked at Zeke’s injured arm. Seeing her line of sight, his jaw clenched. “I got this.” True to form, he forced Sam down until the older man breathed carpet fibers.
She squeezed Zeke’s hand and shot toward the basement. The moment she hit the family room, Ash entered the house, gun drawn.
“One suspect is hogtied in my vehicle.” She pointed down the hall. “Your brother has the other one subdued, but he needs medical attention. Uniforms should be here any second.”
Ash nodded, and she continued toward the open door.
Toward Callie.
