They smacked into the ground, tearing up the grass and dirt. But Bowen didn’t let up. He continued to fire shots at the gunman, and Cullen figured that slowed the guy down at least a little.
Each inch across the yard seemed to take an eternity, and with each step, Cullen’s heart pounded even harder. His fears skyrocketed. Not for himself. But for Leigh. She was putting herself between them and the shooter. Not only that, she was almost certainly the primary target.
The moment Cullen reached the left side of the house, he caught onto Jamie, dragging him to the ground and handing him Cecile. Thankfully, Jamie took the injured deputy and that freed up Cullen to lean out and give Leigh and Bowen some help. He fired at the gunman until Leigh was able to scramble next to him.
“I need to get some help for Dawn,” Leigh immediately said, taking out her phone.
She called dispatch to request medical assistance, but Cullen tuned her out when he heard the hurried footsteps coming from the back of the house. He pivoted in that direction, bringing up his gun, but it wasn’t the threat his body had braced for.
It was Bowen.
His father wasn’t hurt, which was somewhat of a miracle, and with his gun still drawn, he hurried toward them.
“Who’s trying to kill us?” Bowen snarled.
Cullen shook his head and turned back to the front yard so he could keep watch. He didn’t see the gunman, but he saw something else. Dawn. The deputy was crawling to the front of the cruiser. Like Cecile, she was bleeding, but at least she was alive. She might not be that way for long though if they couldn’t get an ambulance out here.
“I can try to make a run for my truck,” Bowen said, causing Cullen to glance back at him.
There were times his father’s stubbornness could irritate the heck out of him, but Bowen was no coward. He would indeed go out there just as he’d drawn fire so that the rest of them could get to cover.
“There’s an ATV in the barn,” Leigh said when she finished her call. “One of us could use it to get Cecile to the trail at the back of my property. The trail leads out to the road. She needs to get to the hospital ASAP,” she added, looking directly at Cullen.
Cullen had no doubts that Leigh meant for him to be getting Cecile out of there. He wouldn’t have minded doing just that if it didn’t mean leaving Leigh behind. Where he knew for a fact that she would take huge risks to try to get to Dawn.
“And what about Dawn?” Cullen asked her.
“I can go through the back door into my house. One of the windows on that side should make it easier to take out the shooter.”
It would. And Leigh would have the added advantage of having some cover.
“You’ll take Cecile to the ATV in the barn?” Cullen asked his father.
Bowen hesitated, but that was probably because he, too, was thinking of the danger to those who stayed behind. His father finally nodded and hoisted Cecile as Cullen had done. “But, damn it, don’t do anything stupid.”
Cullen didn’t make him any promises. Couldn’t. Because he’d definitely do something stupid if it meant keeping Leigh safe. Unfortunately, she probably had the same thing in mind when it came to him.
“I’ll be in the house with Leigh,” Cullen explained, still keeping watch of the front and back yards. He didn’t want the shooter sneaking up on them from behind.
“I can help Mr. Brodie with Cecile,” Jamie volunteered. “Then, I can wait in the barn until it’s okay to come out.”
Leigh nodded. “Let’s go.”
As she’d done in the yard, Leigh took the back position, and Cullen jogged ahead so he could make sure the gunman wasn’t lying in wait for them. He didn’t see anyone so he gave Bowen and Jamie the go-ahead to get to the barn. They were only about halfway there when Cullen heard something he definitely hadn’t wanted to hear.
Not a gunshot.
But an engine.
It was Bowen’s massive truck, and when the driver hit the accelerator, the truck barreled right toward them.