A car door opened.
Then another.
Blake didn’t mean to—she couldn’t afford the time—but she turned around.
Sure enough, two people had exited the car that had been chasing them.
Two men.
And one was holding something in his hand.
Clem’s sobs racked Blake’s body.
There was nothing between them and the men if they decided to run and attack them—if they decided to shoot.
Blake’s mind tried to come up with solutions. What-ifs in which she kept Clem out of harm’s way, but everything seemed to stall.
For the first time in her life, Blake felt immeasurable fear.
Her grip on Clem tightened.
It was why she didn’t register the new set of headlights right away.
By the time she understood what she was seeing, the truck shuttered to a violent stop right between the cars. It effectively cut off Blake’s view from the men.
It didn’t keep her from seeing the new driver.
Or hearing him.
“Hands up or I’m shooting!”
Liam’s voice was the loudest thing she had ever heard. It echoed through the field and bounced back from the trees behind her.
His passenger-side window must have been open. His arm was raised and, she assumed, a gun in his hand aimed at the men. He didn’t break his focus even as he got out. Instead, he kept his arm straight and trained on the men over the hood of the truck, adjusting as he went around it.
“Do it now!” he roared.
It was enough to get Blake moving again. She ran around her car to put another barricade between Clem and the men just in case they decided to resist.
A siren started blaring in the distance.
Another long second stretched by.
Whether it was because of backup coming or Liam’s command, the men must have decided that resisting wasn’t a good idea.
Blake could hear Liam going through the normal directions for apprehending suspects. His tone notably less aggressive as he did so.
Relief poured through Blake at the change.
She rubbed at Clem’s back and spoke softly into the girl’s hair as she hugged her tight.
“We’re okay now,” she said. “The sheriff is here.”
THEMCCOYCOUNTYSHERIFF’SDEPARTMENTshowed up in fine force. Price came in first, followed by Deputy Mel Gavin, who had been nearby with his cruiser when Price had rallied the troops, and then in third had been Darius Williams, the ace—and only—detective in Seven Roads. However, he was the first person to identify the two men Liam had on the ground after their arrival.
Now, nearly two hours later and currently standing opposite Liam in a hallway at the sheriff’s department, Detective Williams went into more depth about who they were.
“Chase and Ray McClennan are the youngest two of the McClennan families still living in town. They’re cousins. Cousins who, up until now, haven’t taken a step out of line in regards to the law. No criminal history. No nasty rumors. Just two good, average young twentysomethings who’ve been around town since they were born.”
