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“We’re okay, Finn!” Callan yelled, then nodded. Finn hesitated, then opened the backseat of the SUV.
“What happened?” Dane asked as he dropped to his knees next to Wendy. The young woman was waking up but seemed groggy at first. Suddenly she struggled against Dane as he examined her injury.
“Men! There were two men in the barn!” she said in a rush. “I heard them in the hayloft. I started to climb the ladder and then they came down and they hit me and I fell-”
“Shhh, it’s okay Wendy,” Callan said just before a gunshot shattered the air around them.
“Finn!” Callan heard Rhys shout and he turned just in time to see someone jump into to the passenger seat of Dane’s SUV. Finn lay crumpled in the dirt, blood staining his chest. The SUV roared to life and leapt forward.
“Finn!” Callan screamed as he began running, his heart in his throat as he realized Finn wasn’t moving.
“Emma!” Dane suddenly shouted from behind him and Callan realized the baby was still in the car. He made a grab for the door handle as the SUV barreled past him as it was turning in the driveway, but the impact knocked him to the ground.
“Rhys,” he heard Jaxon say calmly as the man stood and pulled both guns from his holster and handed one to Rhys. “Back tires,” he said simply, then raised the gun. The driver of the SUV had managed to get the vehicle turned around and was picking up speed as both Jaxon and Rhys took aim and fired simultaneously. Two loud claps reverberated through the air as the back tires blew out. The vehicle swerved but stayed upright as it veered off the road and came to a jerky halt in the pasture.
Callan ran to Finn and dropped down next to him. “Finn,” he shouted as he shook him hard, then felt for a pulse.
“Emma!” he heard Dane screaming again and saw Jaxon push the vet back and shout at him to stay put. Rhys was already running towards the passenger side of the SUV where the baby’s car seat was. Jaxon was approaching the driver’s side. Jaxon fired two shots into the driver’s side window, shattering the glass with the first bullet, hitting the driver with the second.
“Clear!” Jaxon shouted.
“Clear!” he heard Rhys shout and saw that Rhys had yanked the passenger from the SUV and thrown him to the ground. The man was screaming in fear with his hands above his head.
Callan looked down at Finn and shouted for Dane. The vet looked at him, then the SUV, clearly torn.
“She’s good!” Jaxon shouted as he opened the back door. “She’s safe!” he said, his eyes on Dane. Callan saw relief go through Dane, then he was running towards him and Finn.
“Get his shirt open!” he yelled as he began checking Finn’s vitals. Callan tore his shirt open and froze at the sight of the blood drenching his chest. Rhys dropped down beside him, his hands reaching for Finn’s.
“Jesus,” he heard Rhys whisper. Rhys’ hand closed around his upper arm hard as if looking for an answer that Callan didn’t have.
“Breathing’s labored, but good. Pulse is strong,” Dane murmured as his fingers worked their way over Finn. “Finn, can you hear me?” he said as he pushed the shirt off Finn’s shoulders to reveal a gaping wound just under his collar bone.
“Help me lift him,” he said to Callan and Rhys and they both carefully leaned Finn forward.
“Through and through, that’s good,” Dane said as they lowered Finn back down.
“Callan!” he heard his aunt screaming and looked up to see her running down the driveway from the main house. “Oh my good Lord,” she said as she saw Finn. “I called for help!”
“Cal?”
Everyone snapped their eyes down to Finn whose eyes fluttered open, then closed again as pain lanced through his features.
“Finn, baby, open your eyes,” Rhys pleaded as his fingers skimmed over Finn’s cheeks.
“Finn, talk to us,” Callan whispered.
“Coming home…saw smoke,” he managed to say as his eyes finally opened again and focused on them. “Emma!” he said suddenly and tried to lurch up.
“She’s safe,” Dane said as he glanced up to check on Jaxon who was carefully holding the baby against his chest as he kept his gun trained on the man lying cowering in the dry grass.
“I’m sorry, Dane. I didn’t see them. I tried to get her!”
“It’s okay, Finn. She’s okay,” Dane said as he reached into his bag and pulled out some gauze and pressed it to Finn’s wound. “Hold that there,” he said to Callan.
“Aunt Dolly, can you go check on Wendy?” Callan asked as he motioned to the young woman who was sitting on the edge of the driveway, her hand cradling her head.
“Of course,” Dolly said as she hurried away.
