Cut and Run 6 - Stars and Stripes

away and peered out. The truck was still on fire, the flames licking ever closer to the gas tank. Whether Ty was still under it or not was anyone’s guess. Three men stood in the yard, shouting at the house. Why wasn’t Ty firing from under the truck? He had the perfect vantage point.
    As the fire grew stronger, it illuminated them. They all wore bandanas and hats to hide their faces, like old-time outlaws robbing a bank. One of them held Sadie in his arms. She had her head buried in his shoulder, grasping his neck for dear life.
    Anger flooded Zane so fast and hot that his vision went white. Now he understood why Ty hadn’t fired from his position under the truck.
    “My baby,” Mark whispered. The desperation in his voice tore at Zane’s heart.
    “Garrett!” Blue Bandana yelled over the sound of the fires burning.
    “You recognize them?” Zane asked his father.
    Harrison shook his head. “Hard to say.”
    Zane looked from Sadie to the truck, his heart hammering away. He tried to decide how much time they had before the fire reached the gas tank and it blew, or before it reached the undercarriage and Ty.
    “We just want to talk, Harrison!” Red Bandana called out.
    “That’s what the telephone is for, you bastards!” Harrison shouted through the glass.
    Zane grabbed him and yanked him away from the window, but the men outside didn’t fire. Zane and the others pressed against the wall, waiting. There was movement outside, scuffling and talking and cursing. Every second they waited was a second Ty didn’t have. And then there was Sadie.
    A gunshot cracked, then another. Zane jumped with each one. When he glanced out the window, one of the men was at the truck. They’d found Ty. Zane lurched toward the door, but Joe grabbed his shoulder to keep him from going out there. Another shot came from the truck, and then Blue Bandana stood and began pulling on one end of a lasso.
    He dragged Ty out from under the truck. He may as well have grabbed a crab by the wrong end, though, because as soon as Ty was free of the undercarriage and sliding across the gravel on his back, he was fighting. He was also yelling at Sadie as the other two Bandanas fought to flatten him. Sadie lifted her head.
    “Run!” Ty yelled. He made a gesture with his hand, jabbing at the air with two fingers before he disappeared under the other two men.
    Sadie began to squirm, and the man in the black bandana struggled to hold her. She threw herself back like all children were apt to do when they were pitching a fit, going limp and trying to slither out of his arms. When she couldn’t get loose, she mimicked the motion Ty had made, poking her little fingers into the pressure point at the man’s neck, just as Ty had taught her. Black Bandana let her go and she dropped to the ground.
    “Run!” Ty yelled, his voice muffled.
    “Come on, baby doll,” Mark shouted. “Run, baby!”
    Sadie crawled a few yards, then pushed to her feet and darted toward the house.
    Mark dropped his gun and ran for the front door, yanking it open and leaping down the front steps in a single bound. In the driveway, Ty lurched to his feet and threw himself into the man with the shotgun, sending the shot wild and forfeiting his chance to get away in favor of covering Sadie’s flight.
    Mark grabbed her at the front of the burning truck and turned with her, shielding her from the gunfire and whisking her inside. Joe slammed the door behind them. A hail of bullets followed and they all took cover. Mark ducked out of the way with Sadie in his arms. There was more shouting from outside, and Zane knew without having to look that Ty was suffering for the little girl’s escape.
    Sadie was sobbing. Relief washed over Zane as father and daughter clung to each other. Annie ran from the study and took Sadie out of Mark’s arms. They retreated to the relative safety of a windowless room to huddle with Beverly and the stragglers from the party, and Mark crawled back to the window to pick up his gun. They weren’t safe yet.
    “Hey, Zane!” one of the Bandanas called. “Zane, we got your little boyfriend out here! Get your daddy to come talk or we take it out on his pretty face!”
    Zane’s breath caught. That meant Ty was still alive.
    “At least he’s not under the burning truck anymore, right?” Joe whispered.
    Zane closed his eyes. His heart was racing and he had to take a few breaths to calm down.
    “I’ll go out there,” Harrison said.
    “No. No, I’ll go.