Page 54 of Easton’s Claim

“All of you watch your sixes out there,” his dad told them.

“Be careful,” Piper said, her gaze locked on him, eyes full of fear.

She had both hands pressed against Greg’s stomach, her skin stained and slick with his blood. In shock and afraid, but hanging in there and doing what needed to be done. He loved her so damn much, and he was going to make sure Gallant didn’t get near her.

He nodded once, softened his expression to reassure her. “I will. You stay here with my dad and Austen. Love you.” He turned to Wyatt before she could argue, the operator in him needing to move, to end this threat right the fuck now. They’d use their knowledge of the land and track the attackers down. “Let’s go.”

In the thin beams of moonlight streaming through the open barn door, his brother’s face was set in harsh lines. Wyatt was ready to kick some ass. He handed Easton a rifle he’d brought from the house and together they moved to the south entrance. They paused on either side of the doorway.

Outside, everything was quiet, the porch light illuminating the backyard. Not good. The moment they set foot outside the protection of the barn, they’d be exposed. But they couldn’t sit here and wait for the shooters to come get them.

Though he hated to leave the others here, he had no choice, and his dad would do everything in his power to keep the two women safe. It had to be enough because Easton and Wyatt had to take Gallant down to eliminate the threat.

In full op mode, he darted out of the barn and ran for the shadows hugging the east side of the barn, dropped to his belly in the grass behind the pasture fence. Wyatt sprawled next to him a few seconds later and together they scanned the area. “He’ll be in the woods.”

Wyatt nodded. “We’ll cut him off.”

Easton geared up for the coming run, then shot to his feet and took off down the fence line. He’d grown up hunting with the rifle in his hands, but right now he wished he had his M4 with him, and night optics.

Just as he reached the far end of the pasture, a shot rang out. The top rail beside him exploded into a shower of splinters. He veered right and kept running, aiming for the cover of the trees. He couldn’t see anyone but he now had a good idea where the next shooter was.

Behind him, a crash splintered the quiet, followed by a loud whoosh. He ducked and whirled to see the south end of the barn completely engulfed in flames.

Piper!

A figure darted away from the burning building. Gallant. The bastard had somehow doubled back without them noticing and firebombed the barn.

Easton didn’t have time to go after him. His only thought was to protect Piper and get the others out of there. The automatic sprinkler system would go on, but that wouldn’t stop the smoke and Piper and the others had to get out.

Wyatt’s running steps pounded behind him as he ran for the barn, heart in his throat. Gallant had lit one end of the barn to force the occupants out the other end. There had to be a shooter waiting to take them out when they did.

He aimed for the north end of the barn, rifle up, scanning the darkness beyond. It was hard enough to see anything out there, but the flames ruined his ability to see beyond the barn.

He was halfway to it when a flurry of movement erupted from the north end. His lungs seized, a cry of warning building in his throat, then big shadows began flowing out of the open door.

Horses. His dad and Austen must have opened the stalls and flushed the horses out.

The animals raced out into the night, their wet, glistening bodies silhouetted by the glow of the flames on the other end of the barn. Heat licked over his skin as he got closer, the acrid smoke drifting on the breeze thick enough to make his throat burn and his eyes water.

Whinnying and shying in fear, the horses bolted out of the barn and raced around in confusion. Then he saw Austen emerge with his father, his arm draped over her strong shoulders as she hustled him outside, using the cover the confused mass of horses provided, and hunkered down behind the cover of the barn’s eastern wall.

No Piper.

“Where’s Piper?” he shouted, but Austen was already up and racing back into the burning building. It relieved him a little that she’d been a firefighter, that she was trained for this, but that was still the woman he loved in there and he wouldn’t be okay until he knew Piper was all right.

He and Wyatt had almost reached the edge of the pasture when she and Piper emerged moments later, dragging Greg by his armpits. “Stay d—”

The upper railing of the fence exploded to his right.

He ducked and kept running, had no idea where the shot had come from. He reached the barn just as Austen and Piper dragged Greg over to where Easton’s dad crouched against the barn wall, pistol in hand.

Easton skidded to his knees beside Piper. He dropped the rifle and took her face in his hands. Those hazel-green eyes focused on him, wide but clear. “Christ,” he muttered and crushed her to him.

“I’m okay,” she said in a small voice, arms clinging to his back, her words muffled by his chest. He glanced to the left to see Wyatt holding Austen. His dad was kneeling next to Greg.

“He’s unconscious,” his father said.

Easton nodded and scanned the immediate vicinity. Every second he stayed here cost him the chance of hunting down Gallant, and right now they were all grouped together in one tempting target. He couldn’t go after the shooters until Piper and the others were safely behind solid cover, but with Gallant and at least two other shooters on the loose, was anywhere on the property secure anymore?

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