He found the source of it when Patrick led him out of the room. Patrick tried to fight him, but Wright had to see. Had to see with his own eyes that Xander was okay. He was kneeled over the motionless body of his father. His arms were moving fast and there were a lot of napkins and other things around him.
“Get him out of here, Pat!” Xander shouted. Wright fell back into Patrick’s body. He’d never heard Xander yell before. It was deep and scary. Something crossed Xander’s face in the dark of the hallway. His features softened just a little. But he didn’t stop working on his dad. “I’m sorry, gorgeous. Just please go with Patrick, okay? I’ll be out in a minute once the paramedics get here.”
“Is he dead?” Wright asked. He spared just a tiny glance to his dad. He couldn’t see his face from the darkness. The kitchen light was on, but with them standing between it, the shadows were too deep. Still, he could see a slightly darker spot pooling on the floor by his leg and the napkins that were drenched over his chest.
“No. Baby, please. Go outside. I’m okay.”
Wright let Patrick pull him outside then. Xander was okay. His dad… He wasn’t sure how he felt. He’d tried to take him. This family had shot him. Patrick saved him. When they stepped outside, Tracy and Paxton were on the porch. There were redand blue lights in the distance, speeding down the dirt road that connected them to the state road.
“Oh, honey.” Tracy ran down the steps and took Wright into her arms. She hugged him tightly. Her whole body was warm and he buried his face into the robe that she wore most mornings. Her fingers carded through his hair and he clung to her. His body was shaking, tears streaming down his face. He could hear her saying easy words, trying to calm him. It wasn’t really working. He looked back at the guest house. Patrick had gone back in.
The cop cars and ambulance skidded to a halt behind their vehicles. Wright twisted his body so he could watch the scene unfold before him. Patrick met the paramedics at the door and they jogged into the house. The lights were on now, but he was standing at an angle he couldn’t see. The cops were swarming the place, two going in with the paramedics, two standing outside the door. Another started toward them.
“There was a car parked off the road in the field,” she said. Tracy’s arms tightened around him. Paxton was standing by them now. He didn’t even try to pull away. Paxton’s hand slipped into his and she squeezed tightly. “There’s another officer that stayed behind to look it over. It’s a four car sedan. Dark blue. Does that sound familiar?”
“Not for us,” Tracy said. He could hear the rumble of her voice through her chest. “Wright, honey. Is that one of his cars?”
“No.” Wright lifted his head again when there was movement by the guest house. Xander walked out. He was wearing a shirt and shorts now and Wright noted the blood on his hands and forearms. He pulled away from Tracy and ran to him, ignoring the pang of gravel under his bare feet. The adrenaline was starting to wear off.
He crashed into Xander’s body, barely giving him time to react before he was jumping into his arms. He wrapped his armsand legs around him. Xander hesitated for only a second before he wrapped his arms around his body and held him tight. “God, I’m so sorry Wright. I forgot to lock the door earlier. I’m sorry.”
Wright buried his face in his neck. He was crying all over again. He could feel Xander walking but didn’t have the strength to look up again. Xander’s hand rubbed circles on his back. Tracy was still talking to the female cop.
“… He called my daughter and she woke us up. My husband grabbed his gun and ran over to see what was going on. I don’t know what happened, but he was in there for a few minutes before we heard the shots.”
“And how many times did he fire the gun?”
“Twice,” Xander answered. Wright could feel the rumble of his voice more than hear his voice. He tried to focus, needing to know what happened. “The man was in the living room when I made it out of the bedroom. He charged me with a knife, but I was able to knock it out of his hands. We fought. He socked me good in the jaw and made it into the bedroom. That was when my brother came in. I fought him away from the door, but he was gaining the upper hand. My brother charged him and the man swung. Then he kept swinging, aiming toward me since I was closest to the closet door where Wright was waiting. He fired once at his leg, but he didn’t stop. He knocked me against the door and that’s when Patrick fired a second time, in his shoulder.
“I directed Patrick to get Wright out safely and I dragged him out of the room and grabbed whatever I could to apply pressure to the wound. He lost consciousness, but his pulse was still there when the paramedics took over.”
“Very detailed,” another person said. It was a man, by the sound of his voice. Wright was starting to get sleepy again. All of the adrenaline and fear was dissipating quickly. “And sounds like self-defense to me. He’s been in hiding since we put a warrant out for his arrest so we’re locking him to the gurneyand taking him to the hospital in the city. We’ll need to take more statements, but we can do that tomorrow when its less hectic. Get everyone inside and cleaned up, okay? I’ll call Patrick tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Ryland. We appreciate the quick response.”
Wright lifted his head and looked at Xander. He had a bruise on his jaw, a cut on the corner of his lip. He moved his hand to trace lightly over the skin. “He hurt you.”
“It’s okay,” Xander said. “I would take a hundred punches to keep you from ever getting hurt again, Wright. I love you.”
“I love you too,” Wright said. He leaned forward and kissed against his lips gently. He didn’t want to hurt him.
“Go ahead and get inside,” Tracy said. “Get cleaned up. I’ll get Patrick to grab some fresh clothes for both of you. Paxton and I will make some snacks. I’m sure none of us are going to get much sleep, but at least try okay?”
“You don’t have to do that,” Wright said. He wiggled slightly to get Xander to let him down. He leaned against him heavily, though. The last thing he wanted was to be separated from the man that saved him. One of them, at least. “You have already done-”
Tracy’s eyes were shining in the moonlight around them. He reached out his hand to take hers in his. “I want to do this,” she said. “Now go, get upstairs. I don’t know if Victor is awake or not.”
“We’ll be quiet,” Xander said. “Thank you, Trace. I love you.”
“Love you too. Both of you.”
Patrick walked out of the house before they made it fully up the stairs. Xander left Wright with Paxton for a moment to turn around and hug his brother. Wright could feel fresh tears in his eyes. They were still close enough to hear him.
“Thank you, Pat. I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t show up.”
“Don’t worry about the what-ifs now,” Patrick said. He wrapped his arms around his brother. Watching the two of them, grown burly men, hug and share their emotions so easily, reminded Wright that this was his family. These people just put their lives on the line to protect him. Without a second thought. He’d never felt more a part of something in his entire life.
They all turned to watch as the paramedics and cops exited the house with the gurney. There was an IV bag one of them was holding. The man on the gurney- he didn’t even want to think of him as his dad or father anymore- wasn’t moving. None of them moved until the doors to the ambulance were closed and all but one of the cop cars started driving away. Wright knew they needed to get some sort of formal statement or photos for a report.
