Lawson shifted his gaze back to the man responsible for all of this. Xavier had been right when he told Lawson to keep his wits about him. If he went off half-cocked now, they’d all be dead, and God only knew what terrible fate Sarah would suffer by Granger’s hands.
He agreed with his friend’s assessment that the man was expecting Lawson to make an emotional decision, and he couldn’t let himself fall into that trap. This all would go to hell in a second if he did.
Lawson held his hands out to his sides, showing Granger he wasn’t holding a weapon. “I’m here,” he told the man.
Granger sneered at him, clearly not buying it. “And what about the rest of your little buddies?” he asked. “Where are they?”
“I sent them away,” Lawson lied quickly. “There’s no one here but Xavier and me.”
Granger took a step toward them with Sarah, the headlights outlining them both as one. Her eyes were pinned to Lawson’s, but she didn’t acknowledge him or make a sound. That was smart. They only needed one slip from Granger and maybe she could get away and take cover. If Lawson could hold the other man’s attention on him, he could give her that chance.
Suddenly, two identical men climbed out of the car behind Granger and Lawson’s eyes darted to them. Lyle and Nelson,his sons. They were both armed. Lawson steadied his breathing, hoping Cade and Aaron had clear shots of them from the top floor of the lodge.
“I don’t believe you,” Granger replied simply. “Lyle, Nelson, clear out the building.”
The two men strode forward to do their father’s bidding. They had their father’s build, and the same dark, hateful eyes. Both carried themselves with a sleek swagger that was powerful and confident. They were overconfident, hopefully. But before they could reach the porch, Granger changed his orders.
“On second thought,” he remarked, almost casually, “shoot them both in the head first.”
“No!” Sarah screamed and started fighting Granger’s hold. Lyle and Nelson rounded on Xavier and Lawson, but before they could lift their weapons, gunfire exploded from the floor above them.
The goons in front of Granger and Sarah scattered, bullets from Cade and Aaron’s guns following them as they ran. Nelson cried out a curse as he threw himself toward the porch for cover to avoid the bullets raining down. Xavier was there to intercept him, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him roughly against one of the pillars outside the front door.
The bullets poured down from above, driving Granger back toward the safety of the car, one arm still wrapped around Sarah, like he knew he wouldn’t leave the lodge alive without her in tow. Lawson could hear her fighting him, trying to get free.
“No! Let me go! Lawson!” Her frightful cries pierced his heart. He couldn’t go to her yet, though, they still had to take care of the brothers first. They were too much of a threat to them all. Even though Lyle and Nelson were both dodging bullets, they were still armed and it would only take one lucky shot to disable or kill Lawson and Xavier. He prayed she could just hold on a little longer.
Nelson was sliding down the pillar as Xavier landed a kick to his gut, the crack of a rib sounding from the strike. Lyle was a little smarter, trying to raise his gun at Lawson before he darted for cover.
Lawson managed to dive out of the way in the split second before Lyle fired his weapon. Lyle raised his gun to fire again and Lawson jumped up, surprising him. Lawson grabbed Lyle’s arm and twisted it up behind his back, forcing him to drop his weapon. Suddenly, Xavier was there pulling Lyle away from Lawson, and forcing him to the ground. Xavier punched him in the face, then slammed his head back into the hard earth a few times until Lyle went limp beneath him.
“Go after Sarah!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got him!”
Lawson didn’t need to be told twice. He turned on his heel and sprinted toward the car, where Granger was dragging Sarah to escape. If he managed to get her off the property, Lawson would likely never see her again. Lawson couldn’t let that happen. He had to stop Granger now.
He came in hot, rushing around the back of the car, where he was sure Granger had taken Sarah. But before he could get his bearings, a fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him stumbling backward.
“Lawson!” Sarah screamed, her voice sounding shrill and panicked. He wanted to reassure her that he was okay, but he couldn’t speak. He tried to suck in a long breath, but doubled over in pain. For a man as old as he was, Victor Granger knew how to throw a punch.
Before Lawson could stand up fully, Granger was there, knocking him to the ground. His eyes flashed with fury as he pulled back his arm and slammed his fist into Lawson’s face over and over. Lawson shoved his arms between them to block the punches and tried to roll to the side to throw him off. Before Lawson could get his legs under him, Granger shoved Lawsononto his back and put his knee on his stomach, the full weight of him pressing down on to his chest as he tried to choke the life out of him.
Lawson tried to get his arms up to grab Granger’s hands at his throat, but the man forced them down with his own arms, shifting his grip on Lawson’s neck. Even as the darkness started crowding the corners of his vision, Lawson’s only thought was of Sarah. And the hope she’d been able to get away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sarah stared in horror as Granger attacked Lawson. He never even had a chance to defend himself. That first hit was enough to take his breath and Granger took swift advantage. Now, she stood there frozen, watching as Lawson lay helpless on the ground with Granger hovering over him, choking him to death.
She was terrified, but she had to do something. She couldn’t stand there and watch Lawson die and not do anything to try to help. But what? Maybe Xavier would come?
She shifted her gaze to where Xavier had been fighting with the sons. Apparently, Lyle had gotten his second wind. He and Xavier were still throwing punches and from the look in Xavier’s eyes, she could tell Lyle didn’t stand a chance. She also noticed that Cade was standing off to the side with his weapon pointed at Nelson, who was still groaning on the ground holding his leg. Aaron seemed to be checking Victor’s men scattered around the grounds and restraining those still moving.
That left Sarah herself. It was up to her to help Lawson in any way she could.
At first, she leaped on Granger’s back, hoping that would surprise him enough to release his hold. The man let out a growl and threw her off to the side. It gave Lawson the opportunity to get his legs free from under Granger and he was using them to kick him wherever he could land blows, hoping to release his grip.
Sarah jumped up and ran to the vehicle beside her, looking around to see if there was something inside it she could use.Quickly scanning the interior, the only things she could see were a half bottle of water and a thin towel on the floor. No. She ripped open the glovebox and shuffled through the contents. Tears filled her eyes. There was absolutely nothing. She angrily swiped at her eyes, clearing her vision, listening to the grunts and groans and gasps filtering in the car from outside.
She chanced another look outside the vehicle and noticed Granger no longer had Lawson pinned to the ground. They were rolling around trading punches, but Granger still seemed to have more of the upper hand, landing more hits than Lawson was able to return. Sarah could see the marks around his neck and knew that had something to do with it. If Lawson was in full fighting form, she knew he’d take the man down with ease.
