Ro attempted to sidle away from Len toward the steps leading up to the cab of the tractor, but Len wrapped his arm around her waist.
“I think you should stay right here, bitch,” he muttered in her ear, his rancid breath making her gag. He yanked her tighter against him and reached for the gun holstered at his hip when Ro heard the metallic sound of a rifle chambering a round.
“Down!” her dad yelled. She tried to drop to her knees, but Len’s arm constricted painfully around her stomach. The report of a rifle cracked through the still morning air. Len swore.
“I’ll fucking kill her, I swear,” he yelled. And then to Ronny he said, “Fucking shoot ‘em.”
Ronny snapped into action, yanking his shotgun out and unloading shell after shell in the direction of the front door before ducking behind the tractor. Rat-a-tat-tat. A burst of automatic weapon fire exploded, and holes punched into the metal panels of the tractor. Ronny pin-wheeled toward the tire. Len swung around, dragging Ro with him, and shot wildly in the opposite direction of the house. Ro couldn’t focus to count the shots as someone unloaded serious firepower in Ronny’s direction. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat. Ronny wasn’t moving.
“Fucking shoot me, motherfuckers! I’ll take her out with me!” The hot barrel of Len’s revolver jammed into her temple. “I will fucking blow her brains out if you take one more shot.” For once, Ro thanked her shorter-than-average stature and shrank down. She’d seen enough movies; someone could totally go for the headshot. For a moment, the sounds of the gunfight quieted. Ro slammed her heavy hiking boot backward into Len’s shin. She jabbed her elbow into his gut and the arm bracketing her body loosened. Ro dove toward the rows of corn and covered her head. The crack of a rifle sounded, and Len’s body landed on the gravel drive with a thud.
“He’s down. Go, go, go!” Graham yelled. “Jamie, check the other one.”
“Get the fuck away from my sister!” Erica’s scream was earsplitting. “Back off, or I will shoot you.”
Ro started to rise, but instead found herself caught up against a hard chest. “Jesus, babe, don’t fucking scare me like that again. I will tan your ass until you can’t sit for a week,” Zach breathed, pressing a hard kiss to her temple.
“Are you deaf, asshole? Don’t you fucking touch her!”
Ro turned in the safety of Zach’s arms and beamed when she saw her sister, dressed in camo, armed to the teeth and ready to start shooting. Again. “It’s okay, E. They’re okay. Weapons down.”
“Then you better get your ass in here, because we’ve got a big fucking problem.” At her words, Ro noted Erica’s deathly pale face. Her sister disappeared back into the house, leaving what remained of the door open. Ronny’s shotgun had obliterated over half the wooden panel. Ro pushed away from Zach and headed toward the house.
“Whoa, sweetheart, I’m not letting you get out of arm’s reach for a long fucking time,” Zach said as he snagged her arm. “We go together.”
“This one’s dead,” Jamie called from the vicinity of the tractor. Ro didn’t need anyone to tell her that Len, who was missing most of his head, was also dead. Graham flanked her other side and they headed to the house as a unit.
“What happened?” Ro asked as they climbed the wooden stairs to the covered front porch. Erica didn’t have to answer, because Rowan caught sight of their dad. The right shoulder of his black t-shirt was shredded and blood pooled on the worn hickory floor. Erica looked up, tears streaming down her face. “Do I put pressure on it? There’s wood stuck in it. Shit. I don’t know what to do.”
Graham knelt next to her father’s unconscious body and yanked open his pack, pulling out a black plastic package. He tore it open with his teeth and extracted what looked like a white gauzy sponge. He applied the sponge directly to the wound. “Zach, give me yours and some bandages.” Zach was already digging through his bag and tearing open a similar package, which Graham pressed to the exit wound. Pads of gauze followed as Ro realized the sponges had to contain clotting agents, because the flow of blood was already slowing. Graham looked up, his dark gaze trapping Ro’s. “We need to get your dad back to Beau. ASAP.”
Ro’s heart dropped as she considered the trip back to the ranch on foot. He’d never make it. Her heart clenched to think she might’ve spoken her last words to her father. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. And it was her fault.
“You got a doctor?” Erica demanded.
“Yeah, but he’s over a day out on foot.”
“We’ve got wheels. We’ve just been waiting for Ro to get home so we could bug out. We’re all packed and ready,” Erica said. “So let’s go.”
Graham nodded to Jamie. “Go with her, check it out, and see if you can bring the vehicle around so we can load him.”