Harry’s face creased in anger and he charged closer, looming over her. “They stole it! They stole it, and we want it back.”
***
Josh had a hard time keeping his pace in check. He wanted to gallop as fast as he could to get to Hope, but they had to stay together. The ten-member herd behind him included Rick, Allison, Connor, and several of the largest shifters they had. The others had been left behind with strict instructions on when to call the sheriff and what to say.
He could see the barn in the distance, so he slowed down as a signal, and the herd came to a slow stop. Josh shifted to remind everyone of the plan.
“We approach as quietly as possible, to keep the element of surprise. Once we get within a hundred feet, Rick and I will increase to full speed and take the lead to break in the door that Allison told us about. When we’re inside, use your best judgment on whether to stay shifted or return to human. I doubt any of them will put up much of a fight, except for Harry. And he’s mine. Got it?”
Quiet snorts and head bobs answered him, and Rick sidled into him, throwing him briefly off balance. Knowing Rick, that meant Stop talking and start doing.
Horses weren’t really suited to sneaking around, but Josh did the best he could, placing his hooves carefully and trying to avoid hard ground where their footsteps would ring out. The half-full moon provided more light than Josh would have wanted, since some of the brighter coats like his were more visible. But this wasn’t a highly organized group they were dealing with, just a bunch of kids too dumb to set a guard. Even so, he wouldn’t relax until they’d taken the gun away from Harry Armstrong and he held Hope safe in his arms.
They reached the hundred-foot mark, and Josh paused for a second, fixing Allison’s description in his mind. A double door on the east side of the barn with rotted planks and rusty hinges. Hope, tied to a chair towards the middle, near an old tractor. He crooked his head around to make sure that everyone was ready to go, and then he charged.
He could hear Rick’s hoofbeats slightly behind him, but he focused on the barn as it grew larger in his vision. After a few seconds, he could see the door, with light leaking through the cracks. He thought he could smell the cheap cigarettes that Harry smoked, the scent growing stronger as they neared the barn. And then, in a flash, they were there.
Almost in unison, he and Rick slid to a stop in front of the door, pivoted on their hind legs, and unleashed devastating kicks. The rotten wood disintegrated as if a bomb had gone off, and the people inside let out terrified yells. Whirling around, Josh charged through the opening, ignoring the slight scrape of the wood splinters hanging from the hinges. He immediately looked for Hope, and to his horror, Harry stood right next to
her chair, close enough that Josh couldn’t charge him without also knocking Hope over.
But maybe Harry didn’t realize that. With a furious scream that sounded like a bugle call, he began running towards Harry, who froze in panic. Josh had counted on him turning and running, putting some distance between him and Hope so that Josh could charge straight into him. Fortunately, he had a Plan B. Shifting in mid-stride, he carried his momentum through into his human form and tackled Harry with all the force of a thousand-pound stallion.
Harry went down under him as if he’d been clubbed with a two-by-four, and Josh landed with the point of his elbow in Harry’s solar plexus. While Harry wheezed and gasped for air, Josh looked around for Hope. Very sensibly, she’d thrown herself to the side, away from the two of them. The chair had broken apart when she hit the ground, and she was struggling to free herself from the wreckage.
“Gun!” she shouted at him. “In his right jacket pocket!”
Josh patted at Harry’s jacket and felt the rigid shape of the gun. He fumbled with it, and after a few tries, pulled it out of the pocket. Of course, now that he had it, what was he supposed to do with it? It was much smaller than the rifle he was used to, almost comically small. Harry hadn’t flicked off the safety, but it still would have hurt or even killed Hope if something had gone wrong. He tucked it into the back of his waistband, making sure to keep his elbow firmly planted in Harry’s stomach.
The noise behind him had died down, and a quick look showed him that the other four Armstrongs were under control. Most people had shifted back to human, but a few of his larger aunts and uncles had remained in horse form, presumably to intimidate the kids. And it seemed to be working well. He looked for Rick and spotted him near the door, pulling up Allison, who must have fallen at some point.
“Rick! Come over here and keep hold of this idiot.”
Rick picked his way through the wreckage that Josh had left in his wake and walked around to Harry’s side. When he was sure Rick had a good hold on Harry’s arm, Josh pushed himself up off the ground. He grabbed Harry’s other arm, and together, he and Rick pulled Harry to his feet.
“You got him?” he asked Rick, barely waiting for confirmation before rushing over to Hope. She’d shaken off the broken pieces of the chair, but the rope still bound her arms and legs. Pulling his pocket knife, he cut through the ropes and hissed with dismay when he saw the marks the rope had left on the fine skin of her wrists.
“I’m fine,” she reassured him. “Really.”
He wrapped her in a desperate embrace, which she returned with fervor, her hands clutching the fabric of his shirt. Her breath puffed against the skin of his neck. Surely she could feel the pounding of his heart, a heart that belonged only to her. “Thank God,” he murmured. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“I’m okay,” she repeated, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as well as him. He fought the urge to hold her even tighter.
“I’m so sorry,” he said, lips pressed to her hair.
“It’s not your fault.”
“You would never have been in this position if it wasn’t for me.”
“That doesn’t make it your fault.”
He shook his head, knowing that he’d never be able to forget the sight of her tied to a chair, pale with fright, with Harry Armstrong looming over her.
They clung to each other until Rick cleared his throat to attract their attention. “Sorry to interrupt, but I think it’s definitely time to get the sheriff involved.”
Josh released Hope and helped her to her feet. He didn’t want to let her go, but he contented himself with just holding her hand. “Allison,” he called to his aunt, “can you call the sheriff? Tell him to get out here immediately.”
“You got it,” Allison replied.