Trevor grabbed Tawny and took off her blindfold. She nearly collapsed in her cousin’s arms.
Sirens sounded in the background. Benson must have texted his uncle the moment the men came out of the house, though Liam suspected it would only be Noah, since hopefully, the sheriff would be in surgery. While he didn’t know Adam Granger that well, Liam agreed with Mason in that his father would insist on seeing to his daughter’s safety first. The bullet removal process could come later.
While they waited for the cruiser to arrive, Liam kept his weapon aimed on the kidnappers. Both would live, but it would be a painful recovery unless they had the bullets removed.
Benson had mentioned that the medical examiner was a werewolf. While he was no surgeon, in a pinch, Dr. Sensori could remove a bullet. Pain and scarring wouldn’t be a concern—except to maybe the patients.
No surprise, Sheriff Granger and Noah both were there. Tawny ran up to her father and hugged him, but to the sheriff’s credit, he didn’t wince, even though one of the bullets was probably quite painful. Liam’s heart warmed at the reunion. He was elated that their mate was safe, but there were a lot of questions that needed to be answered.
The deputy cuffed both men. “Where’s the satchel?” Granger asked the men who’d been shot in the legs.
“Inside.”
Liam guessed that it would serve the man no purpose in saying he didn’t know what the sheriff was talking about. Were these men the masterminds of hiring—or convincing—the human vigilantes to go after the Granger family? Or did they report to someone else—like Paul Franklin. Liam doubted Franklin would show his face anywhere near town, however.
Hopefully, someone would be talking and soon, filling in the gaps about what really happened.
Noah slipped into the house and found the satchel. These men would be tried for kidnapping, even though they were probably guilty of a lot more.
The sheriff motioned for Benson to grab the satchel as Noah took the cuffed men into custody.
Liam raced up to Tawny and hugged her. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
She looked up at him. “Not from the kidnapping, I don’t think. I haven’t had the chance to look in a mirror, but I imagine I might have a few bruises from when the airbag hit my face.” She wriggled her shoulder. “I know I’ll have some aches from the seatbelt." Tawny held out her wrists, which were red from being tied together, not from the accident. “I knew you’d come, so I wasn’t too scared.”
Liam kissed the top of her head. If he did any more than that, no telling what might happen. Alex came over and hugged her too. He went through the same questions.
“Can we get out of here?” Tawny asked. “I’m cold.”
Shit.Her coat looked thin. Liam took his off and placed it around her shoulders. He turned to Alex. “Watch her while I get the truck.”
“Sure.”
Liam ran down the road to where he’d parked. He didn’t want to chance shifting when someone could drive by. As it was, having the men shift had been chancy. As far as he could tell, no one had seen them.
He hurried back to the house where Alex, Tawny, and Zach were waiting for him. They all piled in. Alex insisted that he and Tawny sit in the back, so that he could hold and comfort her.
Liam should warn Tawny that this mess wasn’t over, but he thought it best to let her rest first.
“Maybe you should call Brett,” Liam said. “He was the one who warned us that something might have happened to you.”
“I will, only I’ll need to borrow a phone.”
“Use mine,” Alex said.
Tawny huffed. “I hate to ask, but what happened to my car?”
“Let’s say that you’ll be visiting your brother’s car dealership.”
“Shit. That bad?”
Liam looked in the rearview window. “You didn’t notice the tree you hit?”
“I did, but a girl can hope.”
He couldn't love this woman any more.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN