Page 179 of Lone Star

Get it together, he told himself. Leaving Cantrell alive – not crushing his windpipe here and now – speared through his ribs, a sharp pain.

“Get me an address,” he muttered, and put his back to the table.

Fox’s voice behind him, low, asking.

And Reese coming toward him down the dark hall of the building. “Someone’s coming,” he said. “Headlights from the house, headed this way.”

His pulse skipped. “Show me.”

He followed the boy back out into the moonlight, casting quick glances toward the women. Most were on their feet now, some being supported by the others. Victor knelt in front of one still on the ground, and Candy couldn’t tell if she was awake or not.

Eden turned toward him, and she said something, but he didn’t pause to listen. Stepped outside into the cold and the starshine and the sighing of wind through the branches.

He spotted the headlights straight off: cool blue, at least two cars. “If that’s a cavalry, it’s not ours,” he said, tightly.

Reese leapt forward – lithe as a woodland predator coiled to pounce – and melted away into a shadow.

“What–” Candy started, hand finding the butt of his gun.

The pain came first, before the sound. A sharp sting through the meat of his right biceps. Then the crack, and the echo.

Candy dropped on instinct; pressed his belly to the ground and drew his gun on a sharp gasp. He felt the hot tickle of blood running down his arm, inside his sleeve. The pain was expanding outward, shooting up and down his arm, sinking claws into his shoulder. But he knew right off it wasn’t a fatal shot; not even a debilitating one. He could work past pain. And if he could get to cover, he could fashion a tourniquet.

But another shot cracked off, and he heard the whine of the round zipping overhead. He scanned the darkness for Reese, saw no sign of him, but saw the headlights drawing closer, bouncing down into the dip that would then lead them up the hill, and to the workshop.

“Candy?” he heard Blue call behind him, at the door of the shop.

“It’s an ambush,” he called, crawling around, teeth gritted against the pain in his arm. “Get inside! Get down!”

Another gunshot; he heard the twang of it glancing off the metal of the shop.

“Shit,” Blue muttered, stumbling back.

Candy got his feet under him and lurched the last few steps, flinging himself through the door and then whirling to pull it shut with his left hand. His right gripped his gun, palm already slick with blood. He glanced down as more shots pinged off the side of the building, and saw the gleaming black ribbons of blood down the back of his hand, between his fingers.

“Goddamn,” Blue swore, taking his wrist between two careful fingers. “Where are you hit?”

“Arm. It’s fine.”

He turned and there was Eden, her own gun in her hand, her expression all taut lines and sharp angles. “Which direction did the shots come from?” she asked, and a volley hit the wall outside, answering her question.

“Get the girls in the main room, away from the windows.”

There was a scuffle of feet and murmur of anxious voices.

“It’s okay,” he heard Eden telling the captives in her crisp, businesslike voice. “Come along now, we’ll help you. Don’t worry.”

All his guys in the main room had their guns out, now. Mercy had his gunandhis hammer, and who wouldn’t have wanted to watchthattrick under different circumstances.

“Figure out where they are in the trees,” he told Fox, and earned a nod. “Your apprentice is already out there somewhere.” To the others: “I need guys on every window and exit. And we’ve got cars coming up the driveway. These bastards like to run through fucking walls, so some of us are going out the back and going around to keep that from happening.”

Mercy propped the hammer over his shoulder and nodded.

Albie checked his mag. “I’m coming with you.”

More gunshots. And the purr of approaching engines.

Candy turned to Cantrell, who still lay helpless on the table, his bare toes bent at wrong angles, his face shiny with sweat, spent tears, and snot. His eyes flew wide when Candy gripped the front of his shirt. “Let’s go say hello to your friends, huh?”

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