Temptation Trails - Page 166

They were alive, and we were together.

When Luke and I had arrived at Angel Cakes, we’d found it closed and locked—but the kitchen lights on. I’d known, without a shadow of a doubt, that Phillip was in there with them. I’d picked the lock as quietly as I could—with the rusty paperclip I was keeping forever—Luke and I had slipped inside, and seconds later, chaos had ensued.

And yet, I remembered every detail, as sharp as if I’d been moving in slow motion.

Crawling across the floor to get behind the pastry case. The sound of Phillip’s voice. And then the look on his face when I popped up in the doorway. My son on the floor, the gun moving toward Harper.

I’d lost it.

Become driven by rage.

I’d tackled him. Wrestled for control of the weapon.

Time stopped at the sound of it firing, stalling in the split second when I’d wondered which one of us had been hit.

Harper nestled against me. The warmth of her body kept me centered and calm. Owen leaned into me on my other side, his poor body exhausted and sore.

But it was over. I’d gotten to them in time.

Luke had been right behind me, but everything had happened so fast. And with the first gunshot, he’d instinctively dropped to the floor. About to dive in and help when it had all ended, he’d kept his head and called 911.

I didn’t know how to thank him. He’d had my back, no questions asked, no wasted time. And he’d helped save my family.

Paramedics had arrived first, followed moments later by several of my fellow deputies. I did my best to shield Owen and Harper from the grisly scene and took them outside.

We’d been taken directly to the hospital where Owen had the barbs from the taser removed. Fortunately, he hadn’t sustained any major injuries. He was just going to feel like he’d been hit by a truck for a while. And to my enormous relief, Harper was unharmed.

She’d told me what Owen had done. The taser had been meant for her.

I was so proud of my son it made my chest feel like it might burst.

They’d patched me up—my injuries were superficial—and brought the three of us to the waiting room so we could be together. I figured whoever was being assigned the case would be in soon to ask follow-up questions, then we’d be released to go home.

Home. That sounded like heaven.

The door opened and Jack came in, dressed in uniform. Harper sat up a little, but I kept my arm around her.

Jack grabbed an ottoman and pulled it in front of the couch, then took a seat. He shook his head slowly. “Holy shit.”

That made me chuckle. “You can say that again.”

“Sorry, Owen.” He let out a long breath. “Garrett, I owe you an apology. I should have trusted you when you said something was going on.”

“I don’t blame you. You have to follow protocol.”

“Yeah, but I also need to know my people. Your instincts rarely steer you wrong. I should have given you more support.”

“Thanks, Jack.”

“I’d ask how you are, but I’d imagine you’re exhausted, sore, and probably hungry. So I’ll try not to take up too much of your time. I was just out at Rich Pine’s property. I don’t know how the hell you beat your way out of that freezer. You’re lucky it was a pretty thin sheet of aluminum on the outside.”

“I knew what he was going to do. Getting out was my only option.”

He shook his head again, his expression slightly bewildered. “Adrenaline can make a man capable of a lot of things. But that was something else.”

“Have you started searching Phillip’s residence?”

“We’ve secured it. We’re working on processing the scene at Angel Cakes first.” His eyes moved to Harper. “It’s going to take us a few days, but we’ll also make sure there’s no sign of what happened in there.”