Ian pressed his back to the wall again and looked at her, not at all surprised to see her. “I told you to stay in there.”
“Corwin!” Hank yelled. “Corwin!”
“I’m going to let that attitude slide,” Savannah told him, “because you’re clearly under a lot of stress.
“Corwin,” Hank yelled.
“He can’t talk right now,” Ian told Hank. “He’s drowning in his own blood. How about it, Hank? Want to give it a try?”
“Rosen,” Hank called. “Get over here.”
Corwin gasped for air, gurgling in an attempt to speak. Savannah tried to think about all he’d done, day in and day out to make her life utterly miserable for no other reason than that he could. But her gut still rolled as she watched Corwin writhe in pain, effectively dying before her eyes.
This was what Ian was capable of, up close and personal.
“No one can help you now,” he told Hank. “Your own father is the one who pulled you into this mess.”
“Shut up, you piece of trash,” Lyle yelled from a distance.
“More cops are on the way, Heller,” Hank said. “You’re not getting out of this.”
“Says you.”
“Rosen,” Hank yelled. “Get the fuck over here.” To Ian, he said, “This isn’t your fight. Send Savannah out, and I’ll let you go.”
“Come on in,” Ian said, his voice eerily congenial, as if this situation didn’t stress him in the least. “Let’s talk about it.”
“Lyle,” Rosen yelled. “Put that down, or I’ll shoot you.”
Savannah’s gut cranked tighter. A gleam pulled her eyes toward the window on her left.
Rosen’s next command started with “I won’t tell you again—”
Savannah focused on the movement and found Lyle’s rifle aimed right at them through the window. She didn’t think, just reacted, raising the Glock and pulling the trigger. The dirty glass shattered, but she didn’t hear it. She felt her finger squeezing the trigger, again and again, but only the rush of blood in her ears registered.
Lyle went down, and Ian put a hand over hers on the grip of the weapon. She turned her head, saw the fear in his eyes, saw his lips moving with words, but couldn’t hear anything.
She was cold. So cold. From the inside out, she felt like ice.
More yelling echoed in her head, like voices in a canyon. Hank charged the cabin, and Ian pivoted away from her, returning fire.
In slow motion, Savannah saw Hank fall off-balance, saw red burst from somewhere in the area of his head or neck. The sheetrock to her right exploded. Savannah cringed and turned away. She opened her eyes just as Hank fell into a heap on top of Corwin and go still.
Her gaze jumped back to Ian, scanned his body, terrified he’d been hit. He turned toward her, his eyes sharp and free of pain. But he was splattered in blood. Not the kind from a bullet wound, but the speckling of blowback, across his face, his shirt. Hank’s blood.
Ian came toward her. He was speaking, but she couldn’t understand anything. Her face turned icy. Her limbs went cold. And she started to shake. A bone-deep tremor of terror and sickness and relief. With her back pressed against the wall, she slid away from him, pushing herself into the corner. Ian pulled back, worry etching his features, and crouched to her level. He continued talking to her, but Savannah couldn’t process anything. She curled into a terrified, sickened ball, dropped her head to her knees.
She focused on her breathing. One in, one out. One in, one out. One in, one out.
Her hearing returned slowly but still sounded as if she were inside a tin can. Rosen asking if Savannah was okay. Ian asking Rosen to call Roman. Then quiet.
“I’m just going to take the gun.” Ian’s voice was quiet and steady, morphing from tinny to a normal tone. His hand closed over hers, and she released the weapon. Then he sat on the floor next to her and wrapped her in his arms. Savannah curled into him, burying her face against his neck. “It’s over, baby.” He held her tight. “It’s over now.”
She couldn’t move. Her muscles were rigid. Her mind frozen. Three people were dead all around her.
The sound of tires on snow raked down her spine like a claw. She sat up and reached for the gun Ian had just taken. “Someone’s coming.”
Ian held tight to the weapon and covered her hand with his. “Savannah, look at me.”