I’d just been so sure that Gary would keep Rosemary safe. Between the precautions he’d shown me while Rosemary was sleeping the week before, and his biological need to protect his offspring, I’d assumed that no matter what happened—if anything did—she’d survive it. He’d make sure of that.
I could’ve never imagined that he would take her off the property.
This was the only reason he would’ve.
Dalton’s mate Halle and their boys. It was the only possible reason that Gary would ever willingly risk Rosemary’s safety. He knew he couldn’t do it alone. He knew she could help.
He knew he’d never be able to keep her from going.
“How much longer?” I asked, looking out the window.
“Four minutes,” Ian answered.
Dalton hadn’t spoken once.
“She’s fine,” Chance said, reaching over to slap my chest. “Only a couple more minutes and you’ll see for yourself.”
“Don’t land at the house,” I ordered.
“The closest place to land is a quarter mile away,” Ian replied, looking at me in disbelief over his shoulder.
“If we land at the house, we’ll barely make it out of the helicopter,” I said, leaning forward. I knew Dalton could hear me through the headset, but I wasn’t sure he would actually listen.
“We need to go in quietly or they’ll be ready for us.”
“It could be over by now,” Chance said as he watched Dalton worriedly. “Did it say when that message was sent?”
Ian shook his head.
“If we land on your property, someone is going to notice,” I warned. “We’ll lose any element of surprise we have.”
“Dad?” Ian murmured.
Adamson groaned when Dalton took a sharp left and the helicopter swung sideways.
“Shut the fuck up,” Chance growled, stomping on Adamson’s back. “No one fucking cares.”
He pulled a piece of thin rope out of his pocket and leaned down to tie Adamson’s hands behind his back. By the time he’d finished, we were just setting down on a grassy piece of land.I wasn’t sure where we were, but there were no lights in the distance giving any indication of a house.
I had to throw myself out of the helicopter and land running to keep up with Dalton and Ian through the woods. They leaped over small creeks and circumvented large rocks like they’d run that path a hundred times before and could do it with their eyes closed. By the time they slowed, light was visible through the trees around us.
At first, I thought it was outdoor lights, but as we moved closer, I realized that the front of the house was illuminated with headlights. At least six vehicles were parked out front, and I didn’t recognize any of them.
The men were yelling to each other in hushed voices, racing in and out of the house like ants on an anthill.
Then the crack of a rifle shot.
A man in the front doorway of the house collapsed.
Another rifle shot.
Someone near one of the vehicles disappeared behind it.
Three men in the yard began firing at where the second shot had come from.
Another shot, and one of them went down.
“That’s Gary,” Dalton said, his eyes searching the yard. “I recognize the sound of his rifle.”
