Free Sins of the Heart by Sarah Hoss Page B

Take her back to your house. We will meet you when we have our chief.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew some cash. Placing the money in her hands, he then turned to Christina.
    “Call a cab.”
    He ran back over to his wife, squatted down in front of her, and touched her cheek. “We must part for a moment longer, but it won’t be long.”
    She smiled at him. He had missed her so much while they were apart.
    “Forgive me?”
    “Malcolm, aye. Go, get Grant, and come back to me.”
    He kissed her soundly, dreading to part from her, but knowing he must. “Go with Abigail to her house. We will meet you there.”
    He left then, left her sitting on that chair, and never looked back. Afraid he wouldn’t go.
    Now, here they sat in the woods, waiting for the right moment to save Grant.
    A fight broke out between Aiden and Grant, and using the distraction, the two men moved a little closer.

Chapter 20
    The sound of the gunshot reverberated through the mountains. Malcolm curled his lips into a grin. Christina had hit her mark. The two men holding Grant spun around to see where the shot had come from. Aiden gripped his arm as it hung dead at his side.
    John ran toward Aiden, grabbed the gun from his hand, and aimed at Grant. His intent was clear, to finish what they’d started. He let off a round the same time Christina did. Hers must have gone first, for she shot John in the shoulder, causing him to jerk when he fired. His shot ricocheted off the tree behind Grant. The odds were even now. He and Graham ran through the woods and attacked the two men as they had let Grant go when the shot was fired.
    Malcolm gripped the shoulder of his man and swung him around, pushing him up against a tree. He threw three left-handed punches, one right after the other. The other man nearly fell over and used the moment to duck and scramble away. Going after him, he was brought up short with a knee to the side. He grabbed the man’s leg and twisted, causing him to fall to the ground, catching himself with his hands. He kicked him in the ribs, and the man curled into a fetal position and rolled over. He stood back a moment and glanced to see how Graham fared and was happy to see his assailant on the ground with Graham pointing his gun at him. In the distance, he could hear police sirens. Abigail had made the call just as she said she would.
    “Grant, are you all right?” He pulled out his gun and pointed the barrel toward the man who had begun to crawl away.
    “Aye, cousin. I’m fine.”
    Christina came out of the woods and crossed the street.
    “Lass, your shooting amazes me again.”
    Abigail beamed at the praise. “Well, my dad always did want a son.” She smiled and winked at Grant.
    The police showed up and after moments of talking with them and making sure they understood who were the bad guys, the four of them stood watching as Aiden, John, and his men were handcuffed and loaded into the squad cars.
    Malcolm turned to his cousin and chief. “If no one has any objections, I would like to go to my wife.” No one objected, and he walked away toward the car.

Chapter 21
    Pulling up to the curb, Malcolm and Grant jumped out of the car before Graham could put it in ‘park.’ They both ran toward the door, eager to see their women.
    Grant opened the door and walked in. “Starshine, where are you?” he asked as he peeked around the corner into the living room. Finding it empty, he proceeded to the kitchen as Malcolm stroke purposefully down a hallway.
    “They’re in the kitchen,” Grant said, jogging around the table and brining Abigail into his arms. She felt good, right. Backing away a bit, he examined her.
    “Are you all okay?” His hands roamed her body, inspecting.
    “Yes, they didn’t hurt me, us. They didn’t hurt either of us.” She returned the inspection and searched his person for any signs of damage. “What about you? Is this your blood?”
    She pointed to the stain on his right chest. Her fingers fumbled