David kissed her. “None of us are injured. I’ll take that as a win.” He glanced at Eli. “You okay?”
“Yep.” He inclined his head toward Emma. “I’ll stay with her while you check on your prisoner.”
David cupped Emma’s cheek. “I’ll return in a few minutes.”
“Do what you need to do.” She started to tremble.
He nudged her back into the SUV. After draping a blanket from the sheriff’s vehicle around Emma, David joined the others keeping watch over the prisoner. Levi was on his knees, pressing his gloved hands on the bullet wound to slow the blood flow.
The injured man glared at David, eyes narrowing. “I’ll sue you.”
“Get in line.” Something about this guy was familiar. Did he and his partner attack the Tuckers, or was this related to something else entirely?
David looked at Elliot. “ID?”
“Paul Franks. Sound familiar?”
He looked down at the man again and studied his face. “Yeah, but I can’t place him.”
“You didn’t deal directly with this Franks. You put his brother, Gage, behind bars eight months ago. Paul decided on a little payback when he saw you standing in the clearing.”
David dragged a hand down his face, frustrated. He’d hoped capturing this man would cut the danger to Emma in half. Instead, the danger to his future wife remained as high as ever. “What were you thinking, Franks? You could have hurt an innocent person in your desire for revenge.”
Franks scanned the faces of the men surrounding him, his eyes filled with contempt. “Don’t see no innocent people here. Just a bunch of cops.”
David called on every ounce of discipline the military had drummed into him to keep himself in check. What he wanted to do was pound some sense into Franks. This idiot could have hurt or killed the woman David needed more than his next breath.
Elliot scowled. “Families with kids are in the area, enjoying the sunshine and the lake. Bullets travel a long way.”
Franks frowned. “That’s not true.” He paused. “Is it?”
Good grief. David sighed. “Levi, read Mr. Franks his rights. I need to call the TBI.” This was going to be a long, drawn-out ordeal.
Elliot grimaced. “Great.”
David caught Ethan’s attention and stepped away from the downed man and his brothers. “How much time do you have?”
“What do you need?”
“My brothers and I will be tied up either here or with Franks for several hours. I don’t want Emma out here that long. Would you take Emma and Cal to the safe house?”
“No problem.” Ethan squeezed David’s shoulder. “I’ll return with my SUV in a few minutes.”
“Thanks.” David signaled for Cal to follow him and returned to Emma. He crouched beside her as Cal took up a defensive position to best cover him and Emma. “How are you?”
“Better.” Her shaking hands told a different tale. “Are we leaving now?”
“You and Cal are leaving with Otter Creek’s police chief in a few minutes. Ethan Blackhawk will drive you to the safe house.”
“What about you?”
“Unfortunately, I have to stay for a while. I’ll come to you as soon as I can.”
Emma glanced across the clearing. “Is he one of the men who killed my family?”
He shook his head, regret twisting his stomach into a knot. “I’m sorry, baby. The shooter was after me, not you.”
“Why?”
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