“Thank ya, Aunt Cass. I’ll be in the garden with Granny McGowan if ya need me.”
“Is it okay if I run up and make a few calls?” Callum asks.
“Sure, ye go right ahead. Me shoulder isn’t what it used to be, but I can still hold me guns, or if I have to, I’ll settle for the one like me mum,” Cass says.
I jerk my head back, but then I remember Cole telling me she was shot in a shootout in Cali. Good thing we’re not expecting any of that around here. I hesitate for a moment before Cass shoos me away to go help in the garden.
“Aye, there ya are. Would ya like some help?”
“Ya know, I have four sons and five grandsons and none of them volunteer to help. Yer a good egg. Cole’s a lucky one, he is.”
“Put me to work. How can I help?”
“Will ya hand me that?” she says and points to a bag of soil.
I grab the bag she’s pointing to and carry it over to her. She pulls a blade from her little boot and slashes the bag open. I get down on my knees to help her.
The task seems to go by faster as we fall into a little banter. It feels good to talk to her in Gaelic. I haven’t missed that I’ve fallen right back into my accent while here.
We’re almost done when I hear shots fired. I snap my head up and look in the direction the sound came from. Another shot is fired, causing me to jump to my feet.
“Hurry, in the house,” I say to Granny McGowan.
She waves for me to leave her. “Check on the babes.”
As we get into the house, I find Cass with Cara and Liadan in her arms. I look around for Callum and remember he went upstairs to make some calls.
“Take cover, I’ll handle this,” I say without waiting for a response.
I dart for the bag I tucked away in the front of the house in case of an emergency when we arrived. Tossing on the holster quickly, I move out the door. My heart stops when I see Blair moving toward me, covered in blood.
“We’re being ambushed. Get back inside. We need to call for help,” she says.
I rush to her to help her inside. A red dot appears against Blair’s forehead. In a single breath, I push her down, pull one of my guns, flip across her body, and fire at the coward aiming for her. I land on one knee and take out another two.
“Ya come on me property and expect to leave with ye lives? Drop the guns and back away,” Laoise says as she pumps her shotgun. “Try me. All I need is one shot and I’ll send ya to yer maker, I will.”
“And if she misses, I’ll pump a hole through ye,” Cass says as she comes from around the other side of the house with two shotguns.
I’m in awe, but I snap out of it. Laoise makes good on her promise as the asshole laughs at her. He flies back and hits the ground.
Swiftly, I put a bullet in the head of the other one who had been coming up behind me. More shots are fired from overhead. A glance up tells me it’s Callum.
He’s on the roof with his semi-auto rifle. As Cass and Laoise help Blair into the house, I help Callum clear the rest out. We’re lucky no one else is hurt.
I run inside to see how bad things are with Blair. Callum’s footfalls thunder through the house as he comes running. Laoise is holding some towels against Blair’s wound.
The babies are crying, so I run to get to them. I can still see Blair from where I stand as I lift my girls into my arms. Tears burn the backs of my eyes.
“It’s only a flesh wound. She was just grazed,” Callum says with relief in his voice. “I can patch her up. Ye should call Brooklyn.”
Logan
An eerie feelingsettles in my stomach as both my and Cole’s phones ring at the same time. Seeing LaSalle’s name, I answer quickly. While it’s still early morning here, it’s in the middle of the night in New York. Something must be up.
“Hello.”
“We were hit. They came to the house.”
