Trusting him, the boy stopped fighting. Shots rang out inside the cabin. Reese figured Bran and Chase had taken care of the other two men.
“Drop the gun or I kill the kid!” the gunman demanded, his arm tightening around Griff’s neck as he dragged him across the porch.
“There are three of us,” Reese said calmly. “Your friends are either dead or out of commission. You aren’t getting out of here alive unless you let the boy go.”
The gunman shook his head, his low ponytail sliding back and forth across his broad back. “No way. The kid’s my insurance. He goes with me. When I get to the first gas station, I’ll let him go.”
“I don’t want to go with him, Reese!”
Reese held steady, his hands firm around the pistol grip, the barrel aimed at the gunman’s head. “The boy stays here. You let him go and you live. Otherwise, you’re a dead man.”
Instead, keeping low, using Griff as a shield, the guy forced the boy down the steps, off the raised porch, and began hauling him across the clearing toward the Jeep. Bran and Chase both appeared in the doorway, pistols aimed toward the gunman.
“Let him go,” Reese called. “You’re outmanned and outgunned. No way you’re getting out of here with the boy.”
The gunman’s hard mouth slanted up on one side. “You’ve got the men but I’ve got the kid. That gives me leverage. I take the kid with me, he’ll be okay. You try to shoot it out, I’ll kill him.”
Reese steadied his pistol. He could make the shot—as long as nothing went wrong and he didn’t let his emotions get in the way. “I’m done asking.”
“Don’t be a fool! You shoot, you’ll hit the kid!”
“Last chance.” Reese tracked the pair with his weapon, sighting down the barrel.
He didn’t want to kill the guy. He’d been involved in enough bad stuff in his youth, done everything in his power to leave his past behind. But the gunman had almost reached the Jeep and letting him leave with Griff was not an option. And second by second as the distance increased, the shot was getting tougher.
“Stay cool, Griff,” Reese calmly instructed, holding the pistol steady. The boy went stock-still, and Reese pulled the trigger. The gunman’s head exploded, and Griff bolted, running full speed toward Reese. Reese caught him hard against him and hung on tight.
“You’re okay. It’s over. You’re safe.” He smoothed the boy’s reddish hair back from his forehead. “Your mom’s here. She’s waiting for you on the other side of the creek. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Griff looked up at him, tears in his eyes. “Thanks for coming to get me.”
Reese just nodded, his throat too tight to speak. Pulling the radio out of his pocket, he thumbed the mic. “Griff’s out and we’re all safe.” Kenzie’s soft sob came through the speaker as he handed the radio to her son.
“Mom?”
“Griff! Oh, God, Griff, are you okay? They didn’t hurt you?”
“Reese came to get me. I’m okay.”
“I’m here waiting for you. I love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
Griff handed back the radio as Bran and Chase walked up.
“You must be Griff,” Chase said. “Nice to meet you. This is Brandon. We’re Reese’s brothers.”
Griff’s eyes teared. He wiped them with the back of his hand. “Thanks for helping Reese.”
Bran smiled. “That’s what brothers do.”
Reese glanced back at the cabin. “What’s the situation inside?”
Chase’s gaze followed Reese’s. “Location’s secure. Two men wounded. Nothing fatal. Unless you want to bring the police into this, we can call for an ambulance from the road.”
“You think DeMarco will come after us?”
“I doubt it. For him, this was always just business. His plan didn’t work. He’ll reassess the situation and come at it from a different angle. Arthur Haines is the guy with the problem now.”
