Page 62 of Operation: Return

Gunfire peppered the air as Dominic rushed out and Spenser grunted in pain.

“Dom, get down!” Cole dove for the cover of the grass.

He put Pete in the grass and checked his pulse then covered him and looked for the shooters. “Is Spenser okay?”

Dominic said, “He got hit in the shoulder just outside the vest. I need to get him back to the ranch.”

Cole gripped Pete to his belly and low crawled to where Dominic huddled over Spenser. Without these two, he couldn’t have gotten Pete out. “Let me take a look.”

“I’d forgotten you were a medic.” Dominic moved to the side and took up a protective stance. “We still need to get out of here.”

“Agreed. Pete will need a doctor too. He was in the smoke even longer than we were.”

As if on cue, Pete coughed, wracking his body. Cole tore away Spenser’s sleeve to see the wound better. He had no first aid equipment but he didn’t need equipment to see the bullet was still in Spenser’s shoulder and would need to come out.

Three more shots lodged into the porch behind Cole. “How are we going to get out of here. There’s a wall of guys ahead of us, a wall of fire behind us.”

Dominic slowly inched up so he could see above the grass. “It’s the opposite of the way we need to go but there’s a clear path east. We just have to get through this grass without them seeing. We’ll hit the trees, then double back to Wayside.”

“And pray we don’t meet up with Frank.”

Dominic growled. “Frank better pray I don’t catch up with him.”

* * *

“Brendon?”Erica jumped to her feet as Brendon slipped his gun back in the desk. His brow was furrowed in confusion and his mouth still hanging open slightly. “Frank was shooting blanks.”

“Blanks?” She had no idea what that really meant. The term was vague and slightly Hollywood. “What does that mean?” She saw no bullet holes behind him or behind her, yet she’d heard the gun blast.

“It’s a bullet that can make a bang or not, but nothing usually comes out of the barrel.” He flexed his fingers. “I can’t believe I didn’t shoot. I was so sure I was dead that I didn’t react. I need to put out a warning. Why don’t you sit, you’re shaking.”

She looked down at her hands and he was right, she was shaking wildly. Erica sat heavily in the chair as Brendon made the announcement that Frank was missing and there had been shots fired.

“What about Cole and Dominic? Frank wasn’t gone long enough, and they will have their communications shut off so they wouldn’t be heard.”

“We have to trust that they’ll make it. If we send in men now, they could end up getting shot by Cole or Dominic by mistake. It’s a bad idea to send men into a gun battle situation without some way to let them know the change is coming.”

She stood, now surging with energy and no way to let it out. She heard gun shots in the distance. “Do you hear that?”

He stopped and listened. “Yes. We’d better call in an ambulance. The Guardians can help protect it while it’s here.”

“You’d better call some police, too.” She wasn’t going to sit by and just let these men get away. They’d taken Pete, they’d destroyed lives, they’d risked Scarlet and Trace’s freedom. Someone had to go to jail for all of this.

Brendon rolled to the window and whipped it open. “Look. Smoke.”

“Fire.” She couldn’t say anything else. What if Pete was in there? What if Cole was in there? “We can’t let them face men and a fire alone.”

“They are trained. Cole was a marine.”

“No. Cole is a man.” A man she was finding she didn’t want to lose again. “Call the police.”

Brendon stared her, his eyes a mask of no emotion. “The police will cart Cole and Dominic off to jail for taking matters into their own hands. Is that what you want?”

“I want my son back!” Safe and unharmed. And the longer he was gone, the more her hope faded.

Darkness had fallen slowly and now a red evil glow licked the low-hanging fog surrounding the trees. They’d been gone too long. Frank was still missing. Was he out there, adding to the shooting?

She jumped at the sound of Brendon’s voice. “Edwyn, report.”

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