Chapter 35
A piercing, bitter rage filled Wyatt. The Saints had killed his aunt and uncle, they’d attempted to take Natalie’s and Owen’s lives as well as Cullen’s and Mia’s, and they’d nearly succeeded in ending Callie’s.
The Saints had terrorized his family, disrupted all of their lives, and killed dozens of innocents.
And they had taken his mother.
“Wyatt,” Orrin called.
But he wasn’t listening. The Saints wanted him dead. Ahmadi had tracked him halfway around the world to find him. He was going to give them exactly what they wanted.
Maks grabbed his arm. “What are you doing? We’ve cut their numbers in half. Stay here.”
Wyatt was done waiting. He was ready for action. “Sacagawea,” he said into the COMs, knowing Callie would use the jammer.
A moment later, the COMs went quiet. With a gun in each hand, he walked out of the barn and began firing, each bullet aimed with precision.
Not one of them missed their mark. He could hear Callie shouting his name, but he was done playing it safe. The Saints needed to be wiped out. And it was time they realized who they were dealing with.
That’s when he saw Bobby stand up and join the ranks of the Saints alongside Ahmadi’s men. Wyatt didn’t hesitate to turn his gun on his friend.
Bobby saw him and fired. Wyatt dropped down to one knee and squeezed the trigger, aiming for a debilitating wound instead of a kill shot. Because he was going to have a chat with his friend.
He didn’t watch as Bobby tumbled to the ground.
When Wyatt stood, each of his brothers was on either side of him.
Maks and another man Wyatt didn’t know soon joined them.
The five stood against a seemingly unstoppable force.
Then the remainder of the Delta team, including Danny, stood with them.
Wyatt reloaded as he saw Orrin, Yuri, Natalie, and Callie join in the fray.
Their line held, even as bullets continued to shower down on them. But if they didn’t stand firm, if they didn’t prove their might, the Saints would win.
And the bastards had taken too much already.
He briefly thought of Callie and how different his life might have been had his mother not been murdered. There was a good chance he would have Callie in his life, and they’d be happy.
Wyatt loaded his last magazines into his guns and fired. Cullen was already out of bullets as he picked up a discarded enemy rifle.
The sound of a helicopter coming in low flooded the area with noise. Wyatt glanced up, expecting it to be their enemy. Instead, he saw a sleek white chopper with the doors open and a woman with vibrant red hair holding an RPG aimed straight at the enemy.
“Kate!” Orrin yelled.
But she couldn’t hear him over the roar. Mia sat in the pilot’s seat, maneuvering them easily. There was another man in the chopper with white hair, smiling as he fired his semi-automatic rifle into the enemy ranks.
Kate launched the RPG, sending the missle right into the heart of Ahmadi’s men. Wyatt and the others never quit firing. They were able to take out more of their foes, who had to choose between those in the chopper and those on the ground to kill.
Wyatt smiled when Kate released a second RPG, causing even more damage. Within seconds, the tides had turned in the Loughmans’ favor.
They were able to finish off the remaining men, who stood their ground instead of running off.
Wyatt started after the cowards who ran, but his legs wouldn’t move as fast as he wanted.
It wasn’t until he felt something drip into his boot that he looked down to find his leg bleeding from a wound near the top of his thigh.
That wasn’t his only injury. His side and arm hurt, and the wound on his back was bleeding again. He blinked the sweat and dirt out of his eyes and bent to retrieve a weapon as he ran past.
His brothers were beside him, the three gaining ground quickly. But they weren’t alone. Maks and the other man with the Arctic eyes were with them.
The five of them cut down the others viciously. There was no mercy, no quarter.
Wyatt sliced the throat of the last of Ahmadi’s men. He shoved the man away and looked around. The peace of the ranch had been shattered irrevocably.
“Well, shit,” Cullen said. “We did it.”
“Not quite,” Wyatt said as he turned and made his way back toward the barn.
He found Bobby on the ground, surrounded by the Delta team. The men moved aside when Wyatt and the others arrived. Wyatt stared down at Bobby with disgust.
“Wyatt, you need to listen,” Bobby began.
It was Maks who put the barrel of his rifle against Bobby’s temple. “I think we’re all done enough listening to you.”
“Why?” Wyatt asked him.
Bobby’s gaze moved around him before returning to Wyatt. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“You always have a choice,” Danny said.
Wyatt stared at the young soldier. “The Saints approached you?”
“They tried to blackmail me,” Danny admitted. “I told them to kiss my ass.”
Owen gave a nod of approval. “That’s how the Saints should be handled, Bobby.”
“You don’t know how powerful they are,” Bobby argued.
Wyatt went down on his haunches beside his old friend. “Tell me.”
Bobby licked his lips, indecision on his face. Finally, he said, “There is a council that runs the Saints.”
“How many?” Cullen demanded.
Bobby removed his hand from his stomach wound and looked at the blood. “I don’t know.”
“We need a name,” Wyatt said as he wiped the blood from his face with the back of his arm.
Bobby coughed, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. “Give me sanctuary, and I’ll tell you.”
“How about I give you another bullet?” said the man with the Arctic eyes.
Cullen shrugged, his lips twisting. “I’m siding with Lev.”
Wyatt’s gaze met Lev’s, and he recognized another soldier. Wyatt returned his gaze to Bobby. “No.”
“We’ve been friends for years,” Bobby said. “Please.”
“You didn’t hesitate to give my position away to the Saints or Ahmadi. Our friendship never came into question.”
Bobby coughed again. “I’ll give you all the information I have if you’ll spare me.”
Wyatt looked up at his brothers first. They each reluctantly gave a nod. Maks was even less thrilled with giving his agreement. The Delta team was mixed, and Lev refused.
Information was what they needed, so as much as Wyatt wanted to get Bobby as far from the ranch as he could, he had to make a deal. “Fine.”
“Thank you,” Bobby said smiling.
Lev tsked and moved to stand at Bobby’s feet. Lev’s gaze held not an ounce of warmth. “You tell us what you know, now.”
“But I’m bleeding,” Bobby said.
Wyatt started to intervene, but Cullen put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Curious, Wyatt allowed Lev to continue to see where it might go.
“You get nothing until we’re satisfied with the information you give us,” Lev stated.
Wyatt shrugged when Bobby looked at him for help. “I think you’d better start talking before you bleed out.”
“Smith,” Bobby hurriedly said. “Andrew Smith.”
That name had been mentioned earlier to Wyatt. Hearing it again sent his rage to near boiling, but he kept his emotions in check so his friend wouldn’t know. “Who is he?”
“He’s one of the top men in the Saints,” Bobby said.
Owen asked, “On the council?”
Bobby shook his head. “Smith never fails to get a job done. Until today.”
“Explain,” Wyatt said, narrowing his eyes.
Bobby wiped at the blood from his lips. “He was here. He approached the Reeds when the Saints wanted their help. Smith also got Ahmadi’s men cleared upon entering the country.”
“Un-fucking-believable,” Maks ground out.
Bobby looked up at Wyatt. “Smith hates your father.”
“Who is this man?” Wyatt demanded.
“All I know is that he works for the CIA, but Smith isn’t his real name,” Bobby said.
Owen shifted his rifle to his other shoulder. “What else do you know?”
“I can get you to Smith,” Bobby said.
Before Wyatt could respond, an arrow pierced Bobby’s heart, and he took his last breath. Wyatt looked up to find Lev resting the crossbow on his shoulder.
“He’d told us all that he could,” Lev said.
Cullen shook his head. “You don’t know that.”
“Lev’s right,” Maks said. “Bobby gave up everything he knew.”
Owen let out a long whistle. “We won this battle, boys.”
Wyatt stood as he watched his brothers hug, smiling and enjoying the moment. He wanted to join in, but he couldn’t. He didn’t know how—nor did he imagine they’d want him.
Owen looked his way. “What? Not even a smile?”
“This was merely the beginning,” Wyatt said.
Cullen nodded, still grinning. “True, and the war stands before us, but we won. Enjoy it, Wyatt. You’re allowed to.”
“He’s right,” Maks said.
Cullen motioned to Lev. “Even Lev agrees, don’t you?”
“I do,” Lev said.
Wyatt looked between his brothers before he reached for each of them, pulling them toward him. The three stood together, locked in an embrace for several minutes.
This was a moment he never expected to have, hadn’t dared to even dream about. Being at the ranch had been too painful, and since Wyatt didn’t do anything in half measures, he’d cut all ties cleanly.
But he’d missed his brothers and the bond they’d shared growing up. He thought he could have it with his team, but it wasn’t the same and never would be. Whether he liked it or not, he needed his brothers and the ranch in his life.
Wyatt stepped back and rested his hands on each of their shoulders. “The Saints tore our family apart years ago, and we let them. But they brought us back together again.”
“Yes,” Owen said, his smile huge.
Cullen asked, “Are we really? A family, that is?”
“I’d never have known how much I missed this place or any of you if I hadn’t been sent back,” Wyatt admitted. “I lost a lot of years with both of you, but not anymore.”
Owen’s smile was gone, his dark eyes intent. “And Dad?”
Wyatt had expected this question. “I found out today my anger should’ve been directed at the Saints all these years. Dad did what he thought was right, having no idea that saving a life would end up costing him Mom’s.”
What Wyatt was only just coming to realize was that being back at the ranch had torn down the walls around his heart without him even knowing.
He hadn’t been able to escape any of the memories—or Callie. She had been there, goading him, provoking him to take off the blinders that only allowed him to see hate.
And when he had, he saw a world he missed. The little boy inside him that had withered away upon finding his mother’s body longed to feel free and happy again.
When he’d seen his enemies closing in, he was finally able to grasp that at the ranch, with Callie, he was content.
“I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say at once,” Cullen said.
Owen started laughing, and Wyatt found himself grinning. He shoved Cullen away and said, “Let’s get back to the others.”
“Yes. I must get Sergei home,” Lev said.
Cullen began the story of how Lev and Sergei had helped him and Mia against the Saints several times.
“It looks like we owe you and Sergei a debt,” Wyatt said.
Lev cut him a sideways look. “I say you do, but no doubt Sergei will call it even. He has a soft spot for Mia.”
Their conversation halted when they spotted Natalie running toward them. Owen rushed to her where she pointed to the barn and simply said, “Hurry.”
Wyatt immediately thought of Callie. His tired, hurting body grudgingly pushed aside the pain as he ran toward the barn. He spotted Callie sitting beside Orrin, who was propped up against the side of the building. Yuri was pressing against a wound in his father’s stomach.
Wyatt looked into his father’s eyes and saw how close to death Orrin was. Kate had a medical kit out and shoved aside Yuri’s hands to look at the wound.
“Wyatt,” Orrin said as he struggled to breathe.
Kate looked up. “He needs a hospital. Hell, all of you do.”
When Orrin held out his hand, Wyatt went to him as Yuri moved out of the way. The amount of blood pouring from his father’s wound was a bad sign, but Kate was moving quickly to staunch it. Lev knelt beside her and offered his assistance.
“It’s been a while,” Orrin said.
Wyatt looked at him. “Too long.”
“There are things I want to say.”
“No,” Wyatt said with a shake of his head. “There’s no need.”
Orrin hissed in pain when Kate peered into the wound. “Lay him down,” she ordered.
Wyatt put his hand on the back of his father’s head and gently moved him so that he was flat on the ground. “It’s going to be fine.”
“Your brothers,” Orrin said breathlessly, his eyes closing.
Wyatt called Cullen and Owen over. The three of them stared down at Orrin. The thought of losing him was something Wyatt couldn’t reconcile. His father had always been a strong force, a man who couldn’t die.
“You’re going to live,” Wyatt stated. “Do you hear me? We have a war to fight, and you need vengeance.”
Orrin opened his eyes. “All I ever wanted was my sons back home with me again.”
“We’re here, Dad,” Cullen said.
Owen nodded. “That’s right. We’re here.”
Wyatt frowned when Orrin’s gaze returned to him.
Orrin fought against the pain and said, “I’m sorry for my part in your mother’s death.”
“It wasn’t you.” With those three words, all the anger Wyatt had felt against his father dissipated. “We brought the fight to the Saints, but we need you.”
Orrin looked at Kate. “I’m just so tired.”
Wyatt saw the way the woman stared at his father. There were feelings between them. His father was giving up, and Wyatt wasn’t going to allow it. “Look at me, dammit. You’re a Loughman. We don’t give up. Ever.”
His father’s smile faded as his eyes closed. Kate started barking orders, and Wyatt could only watch as his father was lifted and brought down to the base by his brothers, Lev, Yuri, and Maks.
Mia and Sergei followed them down inside the base as the Delta team fanned out, looking for any survivors. Was he going to lose his father now after finally forgiving him? Surely fate wouldn’t be that cruel.
He dropped his chin to his chest, unable to move from the weight of everything and his wounds.
“He won’t die,” Callie said from beside him as she watched them take Orrin away.
Wyatt looked at her. “How can you be so sure?”
“Because he’s Orrin Loughman, and there is evil to fight.” She turned to look at him and smiled. “And because his sons have finally returned.”