Every Precious Thing

CHAPTER SEVENTY — EIGHT

Now that Harp and Alan were free, and Emily was out of harm’s way, Logan’s only goal was to keep Dr. Paskota and the man with her at the house until the authorities arrived-something he knew would be a hell of a lot easier said than done.

If it hadn’t happened already, the doctor would soon discover no one was home. Once that happened, there were two possibilities-either she would stay in the house and wait, thinking that Rachel and Kurt would return with Emily soon, or she would leave.

If it was the first, great; there was little Logan would have to do. So he concentrated on the second possibility. Better to be prepared than not.

The choke point was the front door. That was the way they’d gone in, and the most logical way they’d come out. So the primary goal would be to keep her from using it.

“Set up in the bushes on either side of the porch,” Logan whispered to Dev and Pep as they ran across the street. “If they try to leave, you make sure they understand that’s not an option. I’ll find a spot in the backyard to make sure they don’t go out that way, either.”

Logan handed Dev his own gun, keeping the one with the suppressor for himself.

He looked at Pep. “Sorry, I only have the two.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll get ’em if they run.”

Logan hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Pep might have been mentally prepared to chase the others down, but his broken ribs would have something to say about it.

They crossed the lawn and paused just shy of the porch.

“The idea is not to kill them, but to detain,” Logan whispered.

“At all costs? Or only if possible?” Dev asked.

“If possible. I’m going to-”

A muffled thup-thup came from either the other side of the front door or beyond the house. Though it was difficult to pinpoint, it was a sound Logan had heard before-bullets passing through a silencer. Two, in this case.

He whirled back around.

“Who are they shooting at?” Dev asked.

Logan shook his head. “I have no idea.”

Thup.

A cry of pain.