Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

started. He drove right through the yard, not especially surprised to find that the party had dispersed. Harrison had probably taken that precaution and moved the guests inside or sent them home. The bonfire still blazed, sending ashes into the night sky. Torches were lit around the yard, marking the areas intended for the party and keeping bugs at bay. But there was no other sign of life.
    Ty pushed down the creepy feeling and headed for the house, parking the truck right at the bottom of the steps. He had been chewed on by enough felines in his lifetime, thank you.
    He hopped out of the truck and darted up the steps, then slung open the screen door and didn’t relax until it had clicked behind him.
    A gun cocked near his ear, and the distinct barrel of a .45 pressed to his temple.
    Ty froze.
    “Grady?”
    Ty risked a sideways look past the barrel of the gun and found Cody standing there.
    Cody lowered the gun and smiled. “Sorry.”
    Ty shook his head, growling but unable to produce a curse word appropriate for the moment. “What the hell are you doing?”
    “Sadie’s gone missing.”
    “What?” Ty asked, his heart sinking.
    Cody nodded grimly. Ty noticed that he hadn’t put his gun away. “They think the tiger nabbed her.”
    Ty looked from Cody to the gun. “So you thought I was a tiger?”
    Cody shook his head. “Stuart said we got trouble in our own house. Can’t be too careful.”
    “Where are the others?”
    “I don’t know. Party broke up, everyone got scattered looking for Little Bit.”
    Ty glanced around the quiet house, then back at Cody. “Come with me. I need you to drive me out to that pump house.”
    Cody nodded and headed out onto the porch. Ty followed, glancing around the yard. The night was silent. No insects sang, no horses whinnied from the barns. None of the animals made a peep.
    “Why are we headed back out there?” Cody asked.
    “Whatever’s under that place, that’s what this is about. It’s not just stolen tigers. And I think whoever has Sadie might be headed there.”
    Ty hopped down the steps. The crack of a gunshot tore through the night, and the impact thumped into Ty, stealing his breath and knocking him flat.
    Somewhere in the darkness, Barnum the Bengal tiger roared.

“I don’t get how she can just disappear!” Harrison sounded near panicked as they rounded the dark corner of the house and headed for the front yard again.
    “She didn’t disappear, Dad, Mark’s got her! He’s running with her!”
    Harrison grabbed Zane’s arm and whirled him around almost viciously. “You best be damn sure before you say that out loud again.”
    “Yes, sir,” Zane said through gritted teeth. “I have to get back to Ty and let him know what’s going on before he and that damn tiger get twitchy.”
    Harrison nodded.
    Zane turned the corner of the house in time to see Ty and Cody hurrying down the front steps. “Ty!” he called out, but his shout was drowned out by the crack of the gunshot. Ty and Cody both fell to the ground, either hit or taking cover. Zane shouted again, drawing his weapon.
    Harrison grabbed him and yanked him back just as a shot thumped into the house.
    “No!” Zane fought against his dad’s hands.
    Harrison slammed him against the siding. “You ain’t no good to him dead, Z! Get inside.”
    Zane opened his mouth to respond, but the sudden shatter of glass and a crash from behind the house cut him off. They hit the ground, and a shadow hustled through the trees, the moonlight glinting off a shotgun. The shooters were aiming at the house and at them. Bullets glanced off the walls, far too close for comfort.
    Harrison clamped down on the back of Zane’s neck and wrenched him to his feet. “Get in the house!”
    They scrambled for the French doors of Beverly’s office.
    Zane took the steps three at a time as bullets tore up the façade, splintering the wood and sending flowers spilling from broken pots. He ran for the den and its gun cabinets, trying not to think about the odds outside or the image of Ty falling to the ground that kept replaying in his head. He yanked a case open and grabbed a shotgun and a rifle. They were loaded and ready to go; guns in the Garrett household were meant to be used, not admired for their shiny parts.
    “What in the blazing hinges of hell is going on out there!” Harrison took one of the weapons from Zane’s hand.
    “I have no idea!” Zane loaded up a shotgun and grabbed a handful of extra rounds.