Savage Redemption - By Alexis Morgan Page 0,2

He ducked behind the vehicle and emptied his rifle as the helicopter passed overhead, taking grim satisfaction when the gunner dived back inside to avoid getting hit. Finally, the helicopter banked sharply away and disappeared over the hills to the south.

He hoped like hell they wouldn’t be back anytime soon. As the din of the rotors faded, Conlan picked up the sound of transports coming his way from the direction of the estate. Good, reinforcements were but seconds away. Meanwhile, he headed back to deal with the woman and her two kids. There was only one reason they’d be out here in the middle of nowhere: she was hoping Rafferty would offer them refuge.

Maybe he would, but the vampire wouldn’t much appreciate her showing up on his doorstep with a pack of armed killers hot on her trail. That wasn’t how this was supposed to work. The woman might not know it, but she was about to get an earful.

He cautiously approached the transport. “Lady, lay down your gun and hold up your hands.”

No answer, just the sound of two children whimpering in fear. A sick feeling settled in his stomach. Had the mercs hit their target after all?

“Kids, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”

He kept his weapon ready as he rounded the front of the transport. As soon as he did, he bit back the urge to curse. The two kids, both girls, remained huddled under the transport, their faces ghostly pale. Fine, he’d deal with them in a minute. Priority one had to be the woman sprawled facedown in the dust in a spreading pool of blood.

He propped his rifle against the transport and pulled out his phone, punching in Seamus Fitzhugh’s number.

“Doc, I’m going to be heading toward you with a gunshot victim and two traumatized kids. Not sure how serious the wound is yet, but judging by the blood pool, it’s bad. Thought you’d want a heads-up.”

He disconnected the call and knelt in the dirt next to the woman, who’d taken a hit in her upper right shoulder. She was still breathing, although she wouldn’t be for long if he didn’t stop the bleeding. Lacking anything else to use, he unbuttoned his shirt and wadded it up to use as a makeshift bandage on the exit wound.

“Lady, this is going to hurt like hell.”

Moving as carefully as he could, he sacrificed his T-shirt next, lifting her up far enough to work the thick pad of soft cotton underneath her to put pressure on the entry wound. It would have to do until Finn arrived.

Having done what he could, he turned his attention back to the children. “Girls, those transports pulling up are the good guys. Why don’t you come on out now? I need to know this lady’s name so I can notify the doctor who’s waiting to patch her up. It will be a big help if he can access her medical records.”

They stared at him for several seconds before the older girl nodded and started inching her way out from under the transport.

Her smaller companion followed close behind and whispered, “She’s our aunt Kat.”

The older sister gasped. “Maggie, we’re not supposed to call her that!”

“I’m sorry, Rose. I forgot.”

Rose looked at Conlan, biting her lower lip. Finally, she said, “She’s our aunt, but her name’s not Kat. It’s Moira.”

Conlan didn’t call them on the lie, but the truth was undeniable. After getting a good look at the two girls, he knew in his gut that the woman sprawled there in the bloody dust had eyes the same unusual shade of turquoise as her two nieces.

In fact, there were a lot of things he knew about the woman, like she had dimples when she smiled and a straight face when she lied. Her full name was Katherine Karr, and three years ago she’d stolen Conlan’s life.

Finn climbed out his emergency transport and came at a dead run. Conlan managed to tear his attention away from Kat’s unconscious body long enough to make sure the young chancellor had the first-aid kit in hand. The rest of his men fanned out around them, efficiently securing the perimeter. All those hours of training were paying off.

Back to the matter at hand. They had to get Kat to the infirmary—and fast—although patching her up might not actually be doing her much of a favor. Not with an execution order hanging over her head. Once the Coalition found out where she was, they’d send one of