Way of the Warrior (Troubleshooters #17.5)(47)

Joe grabbed Sadie’s forearm as soon as she was within reach and flung her behind him, using his body to shield her from harm even though he desperately longed to kiss her hard and deep, lose himself in her arms, assure himself that she was safe. But she wasn’t. Not yet.

“Go, baby!” he ordered, bringing his gun back up and training it on Jackson’s chest as he spoke. “Get out of here!”

He half expected her to protest. But she didn’t. Not his brave, beautiful Sadie. She raced down the stairs, allowing him to keep his focus on Jackson. God, he loved her! And he was going to tell her so every single day for the rest of his life…

? ? ?

Sadie stumbled down the stairs at what felt like slow motion, gripping the railing to keep from pitching forward and taking a header. To her surprise, her dog was right at her heels, limping from the blows he’d taken and the wound he’d sustained trying to protect her. Poor Jasper. Add his injuries to the list of reasons to despise that worthless son of a bitch upstairs.

She hated to leave Joe up there alone, but she knew if she’d stayed she would’ve just been a distraction. So she’d taken off as fast as her feet and her spinning head could manage. She just had to get to the front door, let the arriving officers know what was going on, what Joe was up against. But the distance between her and the front door seemed to stretch out, lengthening and getting farther away with each step toward it. And somewhere there was a rhythmic pounding that seemed to emanate from within and without her head at the same time.

What the hell?

It took her a moment to realize it was someone banging on the front door. “Sheriff’s Department! Open up!”

Before she could respond, the door burst inward, and she was falling forward into the arms of Joe’s brother Tom as he rushed to her. His brother Gabe was right behind him. And—good God—was that Mac Dawson? Joe’s father, in all his impassive ferocity, strode in, gun drawn, his heavy brows furrowed. And there were about half a dozen other deputies behind him.

Mac pegged Sadie with a look that had been known to make even the most hardened criminals wither and demanded, “Where’s my boy?”

? ? ?

“There are only two ways this can end,” Joe said, keeping an eye on the gun hanging down at Jackson’s side and working to keep the rage out of his voice. There was really only one way he wanted to end this and that involved him tearing the bastard apart with his bare hands for terrorizing Sadie. But his honor prevented him from doing anything he’d regret. So, instead, he offered a choice. “You give me the gun and walk out of here in handcuffs, or I drop you. You pick.”

Jackson puffed out his chest and for a split second looked like he might actually come at Joe, but a cacophony of voices and thundering footfalls downstairs brought him up short.

“Hear that?” Joe asked, his focus laser sharp. “That’s probably half the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department. Now, drop the gun, and let’s end this.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Jackson sneered. “Make it look like you’re some kind of hero?”

“It’s over, Jackson,” Joe informed him. “Don’t be an idiot.”

That’s when Joe heard the footstep behind him, noticed the enraged expression on Jackson’s face, saw the bastard’s arm come up to take aim.

Joe didn’t hesitate.

? ? ?

The report of the gunshot echoed through Sadie’s house, startling her heart into her throat. “Joe!”

She wriggled with what strength she had, trying to get free of Tom’s hold, but he refused to release her, no matter how many times she pounded at him with her fist and kicked, landing several blows that made him grunt as he carried her outside to the waiting ambulance.

“Goddammit, Tom!” she screamed. “Let me go!”

But he just calmly set her down on the edge of the ambulance’s open bay, keeping a firm hand on her shoulder as the paramedics rushed to check her out. Sadie blinked and batted away the penlight they shoved into her face, leaning out around them to watch the front door of her house, praying fervently that the man she loved would come walking out at any minute.

Several agonizing moments passed. Tom’s hand reflexively squeezed her shoulder, and she turned her eyes up to him, the stress and concern in his face a reflection of her own.

“Tom?” she choked through barely suppressed tears. But then his expression suddenly relaxed, his entire body sagging with relief. Her head whipped back to the door so fast, the world swam before her eyes, the exiting deputies a blur of faces.

But there was one face that was perfectly clear. The only one she needed to see.

The paramedics who’d been tending to her jogged toward the house at Mac Dawson’s beckoning, and she felt Tom leaving her side as his brother approached.

Joe strode toward her, limping a little but otherwise unharmed, a few of the other deputies clapping him on the back or nodding toward him as he passed. And even as an outsider, Sadie could see that these were gestures of acknowledgment, of acceptance of Joe as their equal. In their eyes, he had proven himself worthy to be among them.

And that’s when the dam broke. The tears she’d been fighting burst forth in strangled sobs as Joe’s arms came around her, grasping her so tightly she could hardly breathe. “I love you,” he whispered, pulling back enough that he could take her face in his hands. And then his lips captured hers in a hard, deep kiss that left her breathless.