Chapter Twenty-Four
Lawson growled as he rose to his feet, then strode toward the door the moment he heard Victor Granger’s voice. If it hadn’t been for Xavier grabbing his arm, he would have been out there before he had realized it.
“Lawson. Hey,” Xavier told him. “Stop. Take a breath. Think.”
“He’s got Sarah,” he snarled to Xavier, jerking on his arm to break his hold. But Xavier tightened his grip on Lawson’s arm.
Xavier nodded, eyes dark with worry. “I know,” he replied. “And I want to get her away from him as much as you do. But you have to keep your head. Victor’s relying on you for an emotional reaction so he can take you out. You know that. You have to keep your head, you hear me?”
Lawson yanked his arm free of Xavier’s grip, fury racing through his veins.
Whether he liked it or not, he knew his friend was right.
He couldn’t just march out there and confront the man, no matter how much he wanted to.
Granger was trying to taunt him into making a mistake.
Likely after he had seen the mess they had made of his men.
If anything, this was a good sign, a sign that Granger was a little concerned about what had happened here and what was yet to happen between them. It was hard for Lawson to process any of that right then though. It still felt like Granger had the upper hand since he had Sarah.
He moved to the window, keeping low to get a look at the situation outside.
And, sure enough, there they were—Sarah and Granger, outlined against the headlights behind them, his grip on her arm giving her nowhere to go.
Her eyes were wide and terrified, a rabbit caught in a snare, and his heart ached seeing her like that.
He needed to get her away from him before he and the others could make a move on Granger and what was left of his men.
“We can’t get a good shot from up here,” Cade muttered through the comm. “The headlights are obscuring him. There’s no way we would be able to make sure we wouldn’t hit Sarah.”
“Hold back then,” Xavier replied, seamlessly taking the lead when Lawson needed him to. “Don’t take the shot unless you’re sure you can take him out without hurting Sarah.”
Lawson’s mind raced, trying to think of a solution where Sarah could get away from Granger without being hurt. He hated feeling helpless. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was silently pleading with him to get her out of this in one piece. He had to save her.
The only way Lawson could do that, he decided, was to do what Granger expected him to do, knowing the guys would have his back.
“Xavier, look at me,” he ordered him. “I’m going to turn myself over to Granger.”
Xavier’s eyes narrowed. “Lawson—”
“No. Listen,” he said, his voice low as he tucked a gun into the holster at his side. “I can’t let anything happen to her. So if that means letting Granger think he has me, I can deal with that. I’m going to surrender on the porch. It’s the only way to move this forward.”
Xavier frowned but nodded. Lawson could tell his friend didn’t exactly like this approach, but it wasn’t as though they had any other choice right now. Granger had the upper hand at the moment.
The two of them headed out onto the front porch, the headlights from Victor’s vehicle obstructing their view of the man and his goons standing in front of them. If Lawson could just lure Granger away from the lights long enough for Cade or Aaron to take the shot…
And there was Sarah. Granger still held her in front of him, blocking most of his body.
Lawson could tell she was trying to be strong, but her pale face and wide eyes gave her away.
He wanted nothing more than to rip her out of the man’s grasp, pull her into his arms and reassure her everything was going to be okay.
He just needed her to hold it together a little longer.
Lawson shifted his gaze back to the man responsible for all of this. Xavier had been right when he told Lawson to keep his wits about him. If he went off half-cocked now, they’d all be dead, and God only knew what terrible fate Sarah would suffer by Granger’s hands.
He agreed with his friend’s assessment that the man was expecting Lawson to make an emotional decision, and he couldn’t let himself fall into that trap. This all would go to hell in a second if he did.
Lawson held his hands out to his sides, showing Granger he wasn’t holding a weapon. “I’m here,” he told the man.
Granger sneered at him, clearly not buying it. “And what about the rest of your little buddies?” he asked. “Where are they?”
“I sent them away,” Lawson lied quickly. “There’s no one here but Xavier and me.”
Granger took a step toward them with Sarah, the headlights outlining them both as one.
Her eyes were pinned to Lawson’s, but she didn’t acknowledge him or make a sound.
That was smart. They only needed one slip from Granger and maybe she could get away and take cover.
If Lawson could hold the other man’s attention on him, he could give her that chance.
Suddenly, two identical men climbed out of the car behind Granger and Lawson’s eyes darted to them. Lyle and Nelson, his sons. They were both armed. Lawson steadied his breathing, hoping Cade and Aaron had clear shots of them from the top floor of the lodge.
“I don’t believe you,” Granger replied simply. “Lyle, Nelson, clear out the building.”
The two men strode forward to do their father’s bidding.
They had their father’s build, and the same dark, hateful eyes.
Both carried themselves with a sleek swagger that was powerful and confident.
They were overconfident, hopefully. But before they could reach the porch, Granger changed his orders.
“On second thought,” he remarked, almost casually, “shoot them both in the head first.”
“No!” Sarah screamed and started fighting Granger’s hold. Lyle and Nelson rounded on Xavier and Lawson, but before they could lift their weapons, gunfire exploded from the floor above them.
The goons in front of Granger and Sarah scattered, bullets from Cade and Aaron’s guns following them as they ran.
Nelson cried out a curse as he threw himself toward the porch for cover to avoid the bullets raining down.
Xavier was there to intercept him, and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him roughly against one of the pillars outside the front door.
The bullets poured down from above, driving Granger back toward the safety of the car, one arm still wrapped around Sarah, like he knew he wouldn’t leave the lodge alive without her in tow. Lawson could hear her fighting him, trying to get free.
“No! Let me go! Lawson!” Her frightful cries pierced his heart.
He couldn’t go to her yet, though, they still had to take care of the brothers first. They were too much of a threat to them all.
Even though Lyle and Nelson were both dodging bullets, they were still armed and it would only take one lucky shot to disable or kill Lawson and Xavier.
He prayed she could just hold on a little longer.
Nelson was sliding down the pillar as Xavier landed a kick to his gut, the crack of a rib sounding from the strike. Lyle was a little smarter, trying to raise his gun at Lawson before he darted for cover.
Lawson managed to dive out of the way in the split second before Lyle fired his weapon.
Lyle raised his gun to fire again and Lawson jumped up, surprising him.
Lawson grabbed Lyle’s arm and twisted it up behind his back, forcing him to drop his weapon.
Suddenly, Xavier was there pulling Lyle away from Lawson, and forcing him to the ground.
Xavier punched him in the face, then slammed his head back into the hard earth a few times until Lyle went limp beneath him.
“Go after Sarah!” he exclaimed. “I’ve got him!”
Lawson didn’t need to be told twice. He turned on his heel and sprinted toward the car, where Granger was dragging Sarah to escape. If he managed to get her off the property, Lawson would likely never see her again. Lawson couldn’t let that happen. He had to stop Granger now.
He came in hot, rushing around the back of the car, where he was sure Granger had taken Sarah. But before he could get his bearings, a fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him and sending him stumbling backward.
“Lawson!” Sarah screamed, her voice sounding shrill and panicked. He wanted to reassure her that he was okay, but he couldn’t speak. He tried to suck in a long breath, but doubled over in pain. For a man as old as he was, Victor Granger knew how to throw a punch.
Before Lawson could stand up fully, Granger was there, knocking him to the ground.
His eyes flashed with fury as he pulled back his arm and slammed his fist into Lawson’s face over and over.
Lawson shoved his arms between them to block the punches and tried to roll to the side to throw him off.
Before Lawson could get his legs under him, Granger shoved Lawson onto his back and put his knee on his stomach, the full weight of him pressing down on to his chest as he tried to choke the life out of him.
Lawson tried to get his arms up to grab Granger’s hands at his throat, but the man forced them down with his own arms, shifting his grip on Lawson’s neck. Even as the darkness started crowding the corners of his vision, Lawson’s only thought was of Sarah. And the hope she’d been able to get away.