Page 79 of Where They Belong

He was alive.

Mason sobbed in relief and leaned over to kiss him. It was sloppy. His face hurt from the tape, and his lower lip was crusted with dried blood, but it was the most glorious kiss of his life.

“Oh my god, Colt,” Mason cried. “I thought I’d lost you. I thought . . .”

Colt winced and hissed between his teeth. His eyes shone bright with pain, and his face was pinched. “You’re not . . . getting rid of me . . . that easily,” he rasped.

Wes and Levi helped Colt carefully to his feet while Nick helped Mason stand, but Mason couldn’t keep his hands off Colt. He was afraid if he let go, Colt would disappear.

“Let’s get you guys out of here and to the hospital,” Levi said, his voice unusually somber.

“Wait! Where is Gus and Gentry?” Fear spiked in his chest at the thought of them still out there somewhere with guns aimed at them, ready to finish the job.

“Don’t worry.” Nick tipped his head to where Gus and Gentry stood with their hands zip-tied behind their backs. Deputies Santiago and Spearman stood on either side of them with firm grips on their biceps. “We’ve got them.”

Gus looked roughed up and Gentry like he’d been through a tornado. Gus’s hat was gone, shirt filthy, dirt and twigs in his white-streaked hair, and a defiant snarl on his face. Aside from the blood running from Gentry’s nose and staining the front of his half-torn-open shirt, he was in much the same condition as his father. That was the least the bastards deserved, as far as Mason was concerned.

“Please tell me it’s over this time.” Mason turned to Nick, not caring how his voice broke on the plea. “For real.”

“I think it’s safe to say it is,” Nick replied with a confidence to his voice that Mason pounced on like a cat on a mouse. “Gus shot Colt. With witnesses.” He waved an arm toward the tree across the clearing, where Mason remembered Gentry placing a game camera. “And on video. Gentry tried to shoot you too. Would have if Levi hadn’t been quicker and taken him down first.”

His body went cold, knowing how close they’d both come to losing their lives. He stumbled and struggled to catch his breath.

A clammy hand twined with his.Colt.

“Hey,” Colt croaked, his blue eyes bloodshot but still the most gorgeous sight Mason had ever seen. “I’m here. We’re safe now.”

“Jesus, Mase.” Katie raced into the entryway and wrapped her arms around him. “You scared us all half to death.”

Mason grunted but didn’t complain. Colt didn’t blame him. He’d accepted awkward hugs from his brothers when he’d been given the green light to leave the hospital that night, even though his whole torso felt like a herd of horses had trampled him.

He smiled as he watched Mason’s sisters and his crew—apart from John, who had been taken back into custody the day before—fuss over Mason.

They’d been lucky out there. Things could have gone so differently.

Colt would never forget the sight of Mason when they’d found him. The image would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. Tied to a tree, his mouth duct-taped shut, his handsome face bruised and bloodied. The rage and terror he’d felt in that moment clawed up his insides, as if the moment was happening again in real time.

Mason had panicked when he’d dropped down to remove the duct tape, and though Colt had quickly figured out it had been a warning, he’d reacted too late. He’d heard Nick and his brothers shouting, heard crashing and twigs breaking. Heard a gunshot and, a split second later, what had felt like a two-thousand-pound bull slammed into him. Then nothing until he’d come to with Mason, both of his brothers, and Nick crowding over him.

He’d never been more grateful that he’d taken the extra seconds to put the bulletproof vest on—if he hadn’t tripped over it when he’d gone to mount up, he wouldn’t have. The bullet from Gus’s gun had hit him just below the shoulder blade on his right side, and the force of it had briefly knocked him out. There was a massive hematoma from the impact that was going to take some time to heal, but he was alive. And so was Mason.

None of Mason’s injuries were life-threatening or required staying in the hospital any longer than it took to clean and bandage his wrists. All in all, they’d been lucky, thanks to Colt’s brothers and Nick and his deputies.

Gus and his oldest son, Gentry, were once again locked up in Havenridge’s jail cells—this time with no chance of bail. Adding attempted murder to their growing list of crimes would ensure they’d both be enjoying life in a six-by-eight cell, courtesy of the federal prison system, for a long time.

“You too, Colt.” Katie reached out to hug him, and her hand landed right on top of his injury. He jolted at the contact and hissed through clenched teeth.

“I’m so sorry.” Katie jumped back. Her face stricken. “I forgot. I’m just so happy you saved my brother. That you’re both okay.”

“It’s alright,” Colt said, but he couldn’t hide the strain from his voice. He’d never tell her that hug had felt like hell on his back. “It’s worth it to see him standing here alive.”

Katie nodded and stepped back to curl herself into Angela’s arms for comfort.

Trina was gentler with her appreciation. She lightly brushed her hand down Colt’s biceps. “Thank you. I’m so glad this is finally over.”

“Me too,” Colt said.

“I hope you and your brothers will stick around for a while,” Trina said, her eyes, so much like Mason’s, imploring. “Circumstances aside, it’s been nice having you guys here.”

---