Page 86 of Sheltered By Love

I cringe, praying for a way out of this when a loud bang makes us both jump.

I don’t hesitate, I take my chance, grab his shoulders, slam my knee into his junk, and bolt as he starts to yowl.

I just make it back inside the kitchen seconds before I turn to find a bloodied Zane staggering toward me.

The man outside groans again and tries to get to his feet before Zane pounces, smacks his fist into his face and we both watch as he slumps on the grass.

“There were two,” I pant.

Zane swipes blood off his head and grabs my arms. “The other one isn’t going anywhere. You came looking for that damn rabbit again, didn’t you?”

I try to shake him off. “Did you just shoot someone?”

He blinks and seems to be having trouble focusing on my face. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “Are you?”

He doesn’t have time to answer, the backyard fills with the flash of red and blue lights, car doors open and shut and there’s a trample of footsteps before Garrett appears in the back garden.

He takes one look at the man lying on the ground, at Zane, and issues orders to his men.

“You got them both?” he asks Zane.

Zane gives him a clipped nod, and I’m sure I catch a hint of confusion as he looks at me. “You called my brother?”

Garrett answers for me. “She called me from the back garden and then stalled one of them long enough for us to get here. She’s the reason you aren’t in more pieces.”

I can’t resist smiling despite how exhausted I’m beginning to feel. “Does that make me Zane’s backup?” I say.

Garrett laughs but Zane just groans and presses his hand to his head. Either he’s in pain or he’s still fuming I didn’t listen to him.

At Garrett’s insistence, we sit at the kitchen table while activity bustles all around us.

I don’t have to see the man Zane shot upstairs. Garrett kindly takes him out the front door as I try to still my shaking hands.

Zane’s eyes never leave me and I’m sure he has plenty to say, but he doesn’t get the chance.

Jax arrives carrying a medical bag, and not-so-unexpected news. “Lots of neighbors wondering what’s going on. If you feel up to it, might want to let them know you’re okay.”

I guess that’s nice?

Jax opens his medical kit and pulls on a pair of latex gloves. “Is Zane okay? That’s a lot of blood?”

Zane doesn’t seem too bothered, he just tilts his head back and lets Jax expertly clean the blood away from the gash above his eye. “Headwounds bleed a lot. It’s not deep, I’ll be fine. Your paperweight isn’t though. He chucked it at me,” he says.

I wince and fidget in the chair. “Is anything broken?”

His lip curls into a half smile. “Yeah, the paperweight.”

Jax eyes shift to the officer walking past. “Hate to say this. But your house is a crime scene. You need to find somewhere else to sleep tonight.”

I think of the lovely bath I ran upstairs, which leads me to remember why I went outside in the first place.

I jump to my feet and am out the back door so fast I nearly ram into Garrett. “Roger!” I say by way of explanation.

He doesn’t try to stop me so I sidestep orange cones and uniformed officers and go back into the garden to where I last saw Roger.

I search everywhere he could be hiding, but when I see no trace of him, I gingerly step out the front gate and start my search on the street.

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