Page 48 of Armed ’N’ Ready

Shadowed figures came into view on the front lawn. Three people. Two larger, one smaller. Andi. Even in the semidarkness, he’d know her shape.

She struggled as two men dragged her across the lawn toward the van. The driver’s door opened, and a third man stepped out.

Sonofabitch. They’re kidnapping her.

Unbridled rage pushed him harder. He would not let this woman die. This time, he’d be there to stop it.

When he was still twenty feet away, Saxon launched himself at one of the men. The man screamed.

“Get it off, get it off!”

Nick tackled the other asshole, landing on top of him. He heard the breath whoosh from the guy’s lungs as he hit the ground. Beside him, Andi fell and uttered a muffled scream.

“Andi!” he shouted, worried she’d been hurt. Her hands were tied behind her back and tape covered her mouth.

Saxon’s jaws were clamped around the second asshole lying next to her. The man screamed as the dog tightened his hold on his arm.

Andi scrambled backward, trying to put distance between herself and the fight. The distraction was enough, and the guy beneath Nick landed a solid punch to his jaw. Pain exploded in the side of his face. He shook his head to clear it, then jumped to his feet in time to avoid a gut punch.

Breathing heavily, Nick dodged blow after blow, then landed a right cross and heard bone crunch. The man hit the ground and didn’t get up again.

He spun, rearing back his arm, about to ram his fist into the other guy, when a gunshot blasted. Andi gave another muted cry. Nick’s heart about stopped.

Is she hit?

The man whose upper arm Saxon had his jaws clamped around struggled to aim his weapon again. At Saxon.

Fuck, no.

His dog wasn’t about to back down. Not even a gunshot would scare Saxon off.

Abandoning the driver, Nick leaped onto the man tangled up with Saxon and lunged for the gun. He got one hand on the guy’s wrist, but not before he managed to crank off another round.

Andi’s body jerked, chilling his soul, striking absolute terror in his heart.

“Police! Let go of the gun!”

Saxon growled, shaking his head back and forth, still gripping one of the guy’s arms. The asshole grunted but still struggled to gain control of the firearm. Nick stuck his finger through the trigger guard, preventing the trigger from being pulled back, then he twisted the guy’s wrist hard until he yelped and let go. With his free hand, he slammed his fist into the guy’s jaw. The body beneath Nick went slack.

A door slammed, followed by tires screeching on pavement. The driver of the van was taking off.

Glancing behind him, Nick saw the first guy was still out cold, and he didn’t have a single set of cuffs on him.

“Aus.”

Saxon released his hold and stood guard over the unconscious bodies, panting.

“Andi!” Nick jumped to his feet and went to her, dropping to her side. She lay curled into a ball on the grass, her body shaking. Carefully, he peeled the tape from her mouth. “Are you okay? Are you shot?”

When she didn’t answer, his pulse rocketed into the stratosphere. There wasn’t enough light to thoroughly inspect her for gunshot wounds, but he ran his hands down her arms, legs, belly, and back just the same. He didn’t feel anything wet.

“Andi? Honey, talk to me.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. The sound was music to his hears. He took her in his arms, cradling her against his chest. Thank God.

As she lay tucked against him, she gradually stopped shaking. Only then did his heart rate settle into normal range. Rocking her gently, he kept his eyes on the two motionless men, although Saxon wouldn’t let either of them escape.

“I’m okay,” she said finally. “I was just scared.”