Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,82
going with you. She’s staying with her mom.”
This seemed to unnerve Greg, who lifted the gun again. Even though we were in close range, his hand was shaking, and I knew that if he tried to shoot me, he’d likely miss. He clearly had no experience with a weapon in his non-dominant hand, and I’d be willing to bet he had very little experience with a gun at all. His men I couldn’t be sure of.
If he missed me, Danielle and Skyler weren’t too far behind me. I had to act fast.
I moved toward Greg quickly, grabbing his left hand and twisting it upward. The gun went off, shooting toward the sky. I took him down to the ground, throwing all my body weight onto him. His head slammed into the concrete with a loud thud.
The gun went off again, and I heard a scream. Danielle’s scream. But I couldn’t look back to check on her. My brothers would take care of her. I grabbed Greg’s hands and slammed them against the concrete, knocking the gun free from his grip. I stared into his dark eyes. He spat in my face, but there was nothing else he could do.
“Pathetic,” I growled at him, wiping the spit from my face.
There was a commotion behind me, and I heard Graham yell, “The police are here.”
Eli walked over and tapped me on the shoulder, a uniformed police officer right behind him. I didn’t want to get up, just in case the asshole drew another gun, but finally, they managed to get me to my feet.
As soon as I did, I looked toward Danielle and my heart jumped into my throat.
Danielle was crumpled to the ground along with Skyler.
“Danielle! Skyler!” I rushed to the side, my heart racing as I feared the worse. I thought about the gun shot - the one went into the air, but could it have come down and hit them? And the other one… what if…
Danielle lifted her head and stared up at me with tear-filled eyes. “Is it clear?”
“Are you okay? Were you hit?”
“No, Graham said to get down, just to be safe, and I wanted to keep Skyler from seeing it all and—”
Before she could finish, I kissed her in relief. I held her face in my hands and kissed the tears away.
“It’s going to be okay, the police are here now,” I said.
Danielle slowly sat up, and Skyler curled up between us.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” Danielle asked.
Skyler nodded, nibbling on her fingernails much like her mom usually does when she’s nervous.
“Are you scared?” Danielle asked.
She shook her head, but I could see it in her eyes. She was a bit shell shocked. She was trying so hard to be brave, though, and my heart sang.
I wanted so badly to take all that fear away, make it to where she was never scared or sad again. Is that what love is? Because I felt like I loved her like my own daughter, and I knew I would do anything to protect her.
“Mason will keep us safe, won’t he, Mommy?” she asked, her voice softer than usual.
“Of course I will,” I said.
“Then I’m not too scared,” she said.
Ooo000ooo
Greg and his men were arrested. We were questioned until Danielle seemed to be ready to fall asleep in her chair. But from the sound of it, they had all the evidence they needed, thanks to the airport security cameras.
Danielle and Skyler climbed into my truck, and I frowned as I realized several more inches of snow had fallen since we’d made the drive here. I feared those dangerous mountain roads on the way back and knew I had precious cargo to take care of. I would have to drive carefully.
My brothers would be right behind me in Eli’s truck. They waved as I climbed into mine, and I felt at ease knowing my family was with me.
We drove in silence for a while. Skyler fell asleep within a few minutes, the exhaustion from all the excitement finally taking its toll on her. Danielle was quiet too, and at times, I think she slept. But other times, she stared out at the snowy landscape.
“Ow,” she said at one point, moving around in her seat. She gripped her belly and stared at me in concern.
“What is it?” I asked.
“A cramp or something, maybe Braxton Hicks?” She was trying to downplay her anxiety. She then crumpled over, crying out in pain.
Skyler jerked awake in the back seat. “Mommy? What’s wrong?”