Chapter 21 #2
“We’ll come back first thing in the morning. I promise.” Liam smiled softly at Isabella.
“She’ll be safe,” Glover said. “The hospital has security, and I’ll be here, standing at the door all night. No one will get past me.”
Isabella was quiet. Thinking it over.
Liam took a deep breath. “She should be able to go home tomorrow, and she’ll need some clothes and personal items. I could really use your help.” It wasn’t just an excuse. Liam didn’t really want to rummage through Sam’s things.
Isabella turned to Sam. “Promise me you’ll call if something happens.”
“I promise. I plan on going to sleep.” Sam yawned.
“Okay.” Isabella leaned over and hugged her sister. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Isabella grabbed her stuff and walked to the door.
Liam fought the urge to walk over and give Samantha a hug. A handler wouldn’t hug his witness goodbye. “I’ll have Isabella get your clothes and toiletries. Is there anything else you’ll want or need?”
Sam looked around. “Maybe my phone charger.” She reached over and grabbed her cell phone off the hospital bedside table.
“I have a charger that will fit.” Glover pulled a charger from her pocket. “Never leave home without it. I brought it up in case anyone needed to use it.”
“Thank you. I can’t think of anything else I might need.”
“Okay. Get some rest.” Liam turned his attention to Glover. “Call me if anything changes or there’s an issue.”
“I will.”
Liam kept one eye on the rearview mirror as he drove toward his house. Were they being followed? He was pretty certain the SUV behind him had been there since they left the hospital.
He signaled left and turned onto a random side street. The SUV followed. He continued a couple blocks and signaled to turn. Followed again. He tried a few more evasive turns, and finally the SUV disappeared.
Just to be on the safe side, he took a different route back to his house. He pulled into the driveway and parked.
They climbed from the SUV. Something was off. He studied the house. The porch light was on, and everything was exactly as he’d left it. “Girls, wait.”
The girls stopped at the bottom of the porch steps.
He looked up and down the street. There weren’t any unknown vehicles or anything else suspicious.
It could just be the stress of the last few days playing with his mind. He unholstered his weapon and held it down by his side.
The girls gasped.
“It’s okay. I just want to check everything out.” He climbed the stairs and unlocked the door. “I want you two to stay right here. Don’t go anywhere.”
They nodded.
He opened the door and flicked on the light. Blossom stood at the door, tail wagging. “Grab the dog.”
Blossom ran past him.
He turned his attention to the interior. Nothing was out of place. He kept his weapon at the low ready position, finger off the trigger as he made slow, steady steps. He cleared the kitchen and turned his attention to the hallway. Next, he cleared Sophia’s bedroom, then moved on to the bathroom.
A click came from his right. The unmistakable click of a gun misfiring.
Liam spun and raised his weapon just as a figure dressed in black from head to toe jumped from his bedroom and knocked him to the ground. The gun fell from his hand into the dark hallway.
The attacker straddled Liam’s torso and delivered a blow to his face followed by another. Pain splintered his head.
“You should have left things alone,” the attacker growled as he wrapped his hands around Liam’s neck.
Liam’s training kicked in. He trapped the attacker’s hands while he planted his feet on the ground before bucking his hips, knocking the guy off-balance.
He rolled over on top of the man and delivered a few blows of his own. The attacker swung an elbow, connecting with Liam’s ribs. Pain shot through his chest. The man twisted free from Liam’s grasp.
He pulled his hand up, a metallic object extending forward.
A knife.
Liam wasn’t fast enough. The knife sliced across his chest, followed by searing pain.
“Uncle Liam?” Sophia’s panicked voice sounded too close.
“Get out of here!” he yelled at his niece. “Sophia, run!”
The man lunged with the knife again. This time, Liam dodged the attack and slammed his forearm on the man’s arm. The knife fell from his grip. Liam gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain. He was the only thing standing between Isabella and Sophia and death. Death would not win tonight.
Liam bent low and tackled the man’s waist, sending them sprawling on the floor. He grappled with the man, but his hands kept slipping in his own blood.
Lord, let me get the upper hand and keep my family safe.
He hoped one of the girls had called 911. He just needed to hold the man off until backup could arrive. If he had that long. He didn’t know the extent of his injuries.
Liam grabbed the attacker by the hair and slammed his head into the ground. The man immediately went limp.
Liam got off the man and rolled him onto his stomach, then pulled his hands behind his back and secured them with the handcuffs he pulled from his belt.
“Sophia?” He needed to make sure they were okay. He stood up, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. He stumbled down the hall and picked up his gun before turning to the front of the house to look for the girls. “Sophia? Are you safe?”
No answer.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He looked up and down the street. No sign of them. Sirens wailed in the distance. Help was coming.
“Sophia!” he yelled louder. “Isabella!”
The girls appeared from behind his SUV. Once they were satisfied he was alone, they raced to him.
“Uncle Liam.” Sophia barreled into him, knocking him over.
Pain sliced through his chest. He groaned as he held on to his niece. “It’s okay.”
Flashing lights reflected off the porch. He gently pushed Sophia up. “You need to back up and keep your hands visible, okay? The police will want to make sure the scene is secure.”
She wiped the tears from her face.
“Isabella, you too. They’re coming in with limited information. They don’t know what to expect.” Liam set his gun down on the porch, stood up, and held his hands in the air as a police cruiser pulled in front of his house.
The officer jumped out of the vehicle and pulled his gun but didn’t aim it at them.
“Deputy US Marshal Liam Roberts.” Liam kept his hands in the air. “The man who attacked me is handcuffed inside. That is my weapon on the porch.”
Another car pulled up.
“These girls are with me.” He wobbled.
A flurry of activity descended, and it wasn’t long until he found himself in the back of an ambulance sitting outside his house, the girls standing right outside, holding each other.
“You’re definitely going to need some stitches.” The paramedic had cut his shirt away and was cleaning the area on his chest.
Liam looked down at the six-inch gash that ran from his upper right pectoral to his breastbone. “That little thing caused all this blood?”
The paramedic laughed. “It’s a deep wound, so yeah.”
Liam peered around her to check on the girls. They weren’t there. He started to sit.
The woman put her hand to his chest and gently pushed him back down. “Easy there. I need to get this covered.”
“I just need to make sure my girls are okay. Sophia?”
She didn’t pop out from the side like he expected.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
“Sophia.” He started to stand. “Sophia!”
“You really need this stitched up.”
He leveled her with a steely gaze. “Slap some butterfly bandages on it, because I’m not going anywhere until I find my girls.”