Free Fionn by Marteeka Karland Page A

but Bart held her in a death grip. Was she looking for him? Fionn wanted to say something to ease her mind, but he was in the shadows. Bart’s man had made a kill shot. If they all thought he was dead he had a better chance of recovering so he could fucking kill them all. Besides, he had no idea how many men Bart still had left.
    “Let me go! You disgust me!”
    “I haven’t even begun to disgust you, sweetheart. Before I’m done with you, you won’t even remember Fionn O’Shea.”
    In a move that surprised even Fionn, LeeAnn dropped down, using her full body weight to loosen the hold Holden had on her neck as she dropped to her back. With a battle yell, she kicked up with both feet, landing a solid hit to Holden’s groin. Two yells came from the shadows just beyond the lighting in the drive. Heavy footfalls followed, headed toward Holden and LeeAnn.
    “Kill the bitch!” Holden screamed. “Should have done it years ago!”
    Fear, something Fionn hadn’t experienced in more years than he could remember, gripped him like a vise. Moving quickly, he snagged his gun, pulling the trigger on the two henchmen before taking aim at Holden. Before he could do anything, however, another shot rang out. It took him a couple of seconds to process what he was seeing.
    LeeAnn lay on her back, pistol in hand, her aim still on her stepfather as he crumpled to the ground. Just before he fell, Fionn saw the small blossom of blood in his forehead where she’d shot him.
    “LeeAnn!” There was no way to keep the fear from his voice. It was over, but he still had this overwhelming fear for her. If he lost her, there was no way he’d recover. In just a couple of days, this woman had become as essential to him as breathing. “Talk to me, LeeAnn!” Fionn scrambled up, his shoulder screaming as he lurched to her on his hands and knees before stumbling to his feet.
    “I’m fine,” she said, her voice shaky. Her father lay in a heap in front of her, LeeAnn still on the ground. “I think I killed him.”
    “Turn away, baby,” he said as he reached her. Pulling her to her feet, he wrapped his good arm around her. The other one was basically useless at the moment. “Are you hurt?”
    “No. Just a little…” She took a deep breath. “What would he have done to me if I hadn’t shot him?”
    “Don’t think about that, LeeAnn. You’re safe. Let’s get inside. I’ll make sure Micky knows I need him out here and we’ll get you cleaned up.”
    “I’m fine,” she insisted. “What about you? You were shot, for crying out loud!”
    “I’ll be OK. While you’re resting, I’ll get this taken care of. No fuss, no muss.”
    Then she burst into tears.

Chapter Twelve
     
     
    LeeAnn stretched, careful not to disturb Fionn in the big bed they now shared. She’d stayed with him while his personal physician made a house call to tend the bullet wound. He’d called it a “through and through,” indicating it should heal nicely if Fionn followed his instructions. LeeAnn assured the man Fionn would, indeed, follow his instructions to the letter, no matter how much he protested. So, for the next month, she’d proceeded to make good on her promise. While Fionn growled and grumbled, he did what she told him to, and so was healing nicely. Every now and then, after he’d protested particularly hard, doing his therapy only if she promised to perform some scandalous sex act for him later, she caught him grinning after she agreed in a huff. It wasn’t as if she wouldn’t have done anything he’d demanded of her anyway. She suspected it was as fun for him to pretend he was getting her to do something she might not otherwise have done as it was for her to pretend she wasn’t dying to try every single thing he suggested. As long as they were both happy—and he was healing—she really didn’t care. Life was good.
    Did she lament the loss of her family? Sure. She hadn’t had a chance to ask her dad and he hadn’t exactly volunteered,