26. Ben
BEN
The shuffle of feet on the stairs had me instantly on edge. No one ever came to the house anymore at night without knocking. Glancing over at Clara, I chose not to wake her until I was certain it was necessary.
I slowly slid my nightstand drawer open and pulled out the gun I kept there. Not once in the last ten years had I used it, and I prayed tonight would be no different.
I stepped around the worn doorway where the boards creaked with age. Pushing my back against the frame, I peered out into the hallway, seeing only shadows moving in the dim light.
Another creak on the stairs made me stiffen, but as I looked back at Clara, I knew I couldn’t wait any longer. If someone was in the house, I needed to take them out before they got close enough to hurt her. She was in no condition to protect herself, even if she could handle a gun as well as me.
Peering around the corner again, I saw movement on the stairs and stepped out, my gun trained on the intruder. “Get the fuck out of my house,” I growled.
I saw the glint of steel just before I fired a warning shot that landed in the wall just beside his head.
My body jerked slightly as the man fired, hitting me in the shoulder. Charging forward, I fired round after round as he turned and fled down the stairs. Judging by the trail of blood that grew larger with every step, I had severely injured the man.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I pressed my back to the wall and surveyed the open areas of the house. When I didn’t see any signs of movement, I followed the blood trail toward the door, only making it halfway to the kitchen when the windows were shot out.
Dropping to the ground, I rolled away from the gunfire, but had no clear target. But even over all the chaos, I heard the footsteps approaching and swung around, nearly shooting Knight right in the face.
The man was stealthy and hardly ever made any noise, which meant he wanted me to know he was there. He tossed me the keys and grabbed my hand, hauling me to my feet.
“The truck is out back. Get Clara and find Maverick. The whole ranch is under attack.”
“Who the hell is doing this?”
But he didn’t answer. He just stormed through the house, pulling his weapons as he went. Without waiting to find out what would happen next, I ran upstairs and gently hauled Clara into my arms.
Still woozy from the medicine she was on, she barely knew what was happening. “Ben?”
“Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”
I tucked her in against my body and headed for the stairs, peering around the corner before taking them quickly. By the time I got downstairs, the gunfire had died to a minimum. I felt partly bad about leaving Knight, but this was his job, and from what Parker said, he was damn good at it.
I headed out the back, spotting Knight’s rented truck parked under a tree. I hustled with Clara in my arms, trying not to jostle her too much. She was still weak after being poisoned and nearly dying. The last thing I wanted was to move her, but I didn’t have a choice.
As I lowered her into the seat, I pressed a kiss to her lips, then adjusted her weak body in the seat. It struck me as I ran around to my side that this felt a little too personal, and that maybe the attacks on Clara weren’t finished yet.
Even though I knew she couldn’t hear me, I turned to her and made a vow right then and there. “I swear to God, I will never let anyone hurt you ever again.”