17. Prepare to Phail
“Three.”
Nothing in his life had ever been as difficult as holding still. Unless Hawley was a complete idiot, he had to know killing Branna would get him killed.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t do it, especially if he was as high as he appeared to be.
It also didn’t mean he wouldn’t shoot her somewhere other than her head. If he wanted to prove he was serious, he could shoot her somewhere that wouldn’t kill her immediately. He would think Sean would let him go to prevent another shot.
He’d think wrong.
All Sean needed was a fraction of a second. The barrel of the gun had to move off of her head and body.
With his muscles ready to move, once the momentum of the barrel was heading away from Branna, he could disarm Hawley before the asshole could take another breath.
So far, Branna had done everything right. She’d kept as still and quiet as possible. Hawley’s attention was on Sean, not on her.
“Two.”
Sean saw the pressure ease off Branna’s temple. Hawley was going to change his aim.
And the idiot thought he had time.
Think again, asshole.
The instant the gun’s trajectory cleared Branna’s head, her body sagged, and she dropped as Sean moved in.
Hawley’s eyes widened as he tried to change the position of the gun and yank Branna back to him.
Sean shoved himself between the jerk and Branna and clamped his hands on the arm with the gun. He smashed his head into Hawley’s and the man let out a grunt.
His body sagged, and Sean grabbed the gun out of his hand and tossed it out of reach. Then he jerked the asshole around and smashed him into the wall.
He leaned in and used his body weight to trap Hawley in place. “You didn’t take your chance. Today looks like a good day to die.”
Hawley whimpered, actually whimpered. His Branna had been a fuck-ton braver with a gun at her temple. And he needed to see her, check her over.
On cue, the room filled with people. Marcus put Hawley in handcuffs. Troy stood beside him, gun aimed at Hawley’s face.
“Get off me. I didn’t do anything. You’ve got no right to touch me. Get these handcuffs off me or I’ll have you killed next. I can do it. I’ve done it before. Let me go, or you’re going to regret it.”
Marcus shook his head. “Not going to happen. But thanks for more evidence we can use against you.”
Sean tuned out the men and turned. “Branna.”
She sat on the floor against the wall, eyes wide as she stared at him. Flynn and Joe stood in front of her, guns aimed at the asshole. They shifted to make room for him.
Graham called out. “Three more men apprehended. We’re clear, but I’ll do another patrol.” Sean knew that was in case there was another car.
The men around him talked back and forth, and Sean kept part of his attention on them in case something went sideways, but most of him was focused on Branna. Shock was a hell of a thing, and she’d just been through a huge one.
He squatted down in front of her and took her hands. “Hey, Branna. How you doing?”
She blinked and looked at him with dilated pupils and enormous eyes. “You got him.”
He nodded and squeezed her hands. “We did. We got him and three of his herd.”
Her lips curved, and he grinned at her. She was going to be okay. “Did he hurt you?” Because there was still time to make the asshole wish he’d never headed north in the first place.
“I’m okay. Thanks to you.”
“And to you. You did exactly what needed to be done, honey. You stayed calm. You dropped as soon as the gun cleared your head. Because of that, you gave me the opportunity I needed. I’m so damn proud of you.” His voice thickened, so he swallowed hard to steady it.
Branna reached out to touch him. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? You moved so fast it was like you had superpowers. He didn’t stand a chance.”
“I’m fine. Not a scratch.”
“And you didn’t even have one of Marcus’ vests. I’m glad you talked me into wearing one.”
Everything in Sean went cold. “Did he shoot you?”
Branna shrugged. “I don’t think so. Everything happened so fast. The glass blew out, Prince flew into the room, and I heard gunshots. The force sent me back into the wall, but I don’t know if it was Prince or something else. Knocked the wind out of me, but I’m fine.”
Sean cursed loudly. “Someone turn on a damn light.”
Branna had been wearing a loose sweater to cover up the tactical vest Marcus had given her to wear. Someone flipped on the light, and he could see that the sweater was not only ripped and dirty on the front, there was blood on her shoulder.
He thought he’d been furious before, but rage poured through him. “That bastard shot you.”
* * *
Branna flinched from the absolute rage on Sean’s face. While facing down Prince, he’d had his soldier”s face on. Steady, powerful, unflappable.
Now, panic filled his eyes as he looked from her to the door and back. She could tell he wanted to go after Prince, but if he attacked a handcuffed and unarmed man, he’d be in serious trouble.
Determined to stop him, she reached for his hand and tried to shove to her feet. “Sean?”
Her voice came out much shakier than she expected. Sean immediately focused on her and shouted. “We need a doctor. Branna’s been shot. Get that bastard locked away before I rip his intestines out through his ears and use them to cut off his balls.”
The image was so bizarre that she started to giggle. She wished it didn’t sound hysterical.
Sean leaned down and swept her into his arms, cradling her to his chest. “I’ve got you. We’ll get you to the doctor. Don’t worry. We’ll get you fixed up.” But his voice was as shaky as her own.
She patted his chest. “It’s okay. I’m fine. We’re okay.” But the world was spinning again, so she leaned into his strength.
“Branna. Stay with me. Open your eyes. Look at me.”
She forced her eyes open and smiled at Sean. “I’m fine. Just a little woozy.”
He didn’t appear to believe her.
Joe’s voice called through the noise, and she closed her eyes again. “Lia is over at Doc’s. It’s right beside the saloon. We can take the car.”
Sean’s voice was shaky. “That’s just down the street, isn’t it? It’ll be faster if I run. Show me.”
Branna leaned into him as they ran down the street. The motion brought back the dizziness she’d felt earlier. She kept her eyes closed and forced back the urge to vomit.
Sean skidded to a stop, and they were inside a warm building again. It was too much work to open her eyes, so she let out a happy sigh instead.
“Stay with me Branna. We’re at the doctor’s place. She’s going to help you. Stay with me.”
“Hi Branna, Sean. I’m Lia Moreno, and I’m happy to meet you. Put her down here, please. Branna, can you open your eyes for me?”
Sean’s voice was right next to her ear. “Please, Branna. Open your eyes.”
The world stopped spinning once he’d laid her down, so she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. The lighting was bright and harsh, and she wanted to close them immediately, but seeing her surroundings helped settle some of the dizziness.
Lia’s soft voice continued. “I’ll dim the lights for you after the exam. Did you bang your head, Branna?”
That triggered the memory. “Yes. When Prince was trying to shove me out through the window, I stretched out and hit my head on the frame.”
Soft fingers probed her skull. “And the bump on the side of your head? How’d you get that one?”
Oh, right. “When he whirled around, my head hit the side frame too.”
The pretty Latina woman smiled at her. “Sean, get me two ice packs from the little fridge beside the door.”
The icy cold felt fantastic against her head, and the whirling settled a little more. “That’s fantastic. Thanks.”
Lia’s fingers moved to the wound on her shoulder. “And how did this happen?”
Branna grimaced. “I think it happened at the beginning. The window smashed, Hawley flew into the room, and the shots happened at the same time. I don’t feel like I’ve been shot.”
Sean squeezed her hand. “There’s blood on your sweater, and it’s ripped.” His voice shook. “What if you hadn’t been wearing that vest from Marcus?”
“But I was. Something slammed into me, but I don’t know if it was glass or Prince or a bullet. Whatever it was sent me flying into the wall and nearly knocked me out.”
Sean growled, but Lia’s voice was calm. “Probably not glass then. You’re speaking clearly, and your memory is intact. Is the dizziness fading?”
“It’s much better now.”
“Good. You’ve probably got a mild concussion. We’ll do more tests soon, but I want to get a look at this shoulder first. I’m sorry about your sweater, but it’s already ripped and it’ll be easiest on you if we cut it off. Joe? Would you mind?”
Joe appeared in her vision with scissors. Branna hadn’t realized he was with them.
“Here we go.” Lia moved to the side, and Joe made quick work of slicing up the material so she didn’t have to move for Lia to see the wound.
With every passing second, the fear was dissipating, and she was feeling better. But the adrenaline was wearing off and she could feel the aches throughout her body.
She was alive to feel the aches. No one had been hurt. Had they? “Was anyone hurt? What about Manuel? Is he okay? Is everyone okay?”
Sean, Joe, and Lia all gently held her down. Sean lifted her hand to kiss it. “Everyone is fine. You’re the only one with an injury. The other men got taken into custody with no issues.”
Her eyes filled with tears of relief. “I’m so glad.”
Lia smiled at the protective vest she wore. “I approve of your wardrobe choices. I’m going to undo the vest, but we won’t worry about taking it off yet. And I’ll have Joe slice the shirt beneath it. My hand isn’t up to a lot of fine motor tasks, but it doesn’t affect my ability to be a doctor.”
Branna nodded as Joe cut into her new T-shirt. Small price to pay for getting Hawley in jail.
With gloves on her hands, Lia probed at the wound.
Sean leaned in to see what she was doing. From her position, Branna could see the doctor’s indulgent smile. “Okay, Branna, we’ve got two minor wounds here Neither is serious. It looks like a shard of glass impaled you in one spot. Just above it, a bullet grazed your shoulder. Thanks to the vest and your layers of clothing, it’s not serious and won’t even require stitches. We’ll clean them both and get them covered up. Then, I’ll check for issues beneath the vest. It looks like wearing it might have saved your life. I believe it stopped a bullet, and I need to make sure there are no injuries to your torso beneath the vest.”
It wasn’t long before Lia smiled at her again. “You’re going to have a livid bruise, but there are no broken ribs or internal injuries. You’re a very lucky woman.”
Sean turned his relieved gaze to hers, and she smiled. “I really am.”