Framed Shadows: Shadows Landing #6, Kathleen Brooks [great novels of all time TXT] 📗

Paxton was loaded into the ambulance. Tinsley wanted to ride with him, but Gavin was with them and working hard to stop the bleeding. She didn’t need him to tell her it was serious. She’d seen the amount of blood Paxton had left behind.

“Come on, Tins. Let’s get to the hospital. I want someone to check out your face, too,” Ryker told her as he slipped his arm around her waist. With Greer on one side and Ryker on the other, she stepped out into the daylight.

The bright sun made her squint until she could adjust to it. All around her were police, FBI, DEA, and ATF vehicles. Myriad members were being arrested and moved to buses while others were taken away by ambulance.

Outside, armies of people were working to secure the scene, but they all stopped to look over their shoulders at her when she reached the bottom of the steps. They nodded at her and Tinsley nodded back. Then the hive of activity went on. At the end of the driveway, Ridge shoved a police officer to the side and ran by the wall of officers roping the area off. The poor guy didn’t even have time to yell at Ridge before the whole Faulkner family was running past him.

“Tins!” Her brother’s embrace broke her. Tinsley had been strong and brave until then, but with her brother and all her cousins wrapping her in a group hug, the emotions overflowed. Tears broke free and poured down her face as she cried into Ridge’s chest. “It’s okay. We’re here. You’re safe now. Are you hurt?”

“Just a punch to the face,” Tinsley said as she tried to stop the out-of-control emotions.

“Thank you all for protecting her,” Ridge said over her head to the Keeneston group.

“We didn’t have to protect her. She took out a bunch of men, including the leader of the Myriad with a dagger throw to the heart,” Ahmed told her family. “It was very impressive. I don’t know many men who could make that throw. Where did you learn that?”

Ridge was speechless and it made Tinsley laugh. She looked at the faces of her brother and cousins and only Ryker and Harper didn’t look shocked.

“At church,” Tinsley answered simply, then laughed harder at Ahmed’s reaction.

“We have a Special Forces priest and we don’t learn that in church,” Miles muttered.

“Yeah, we need to talk to Ben about that. I think we could incorporate that into mass,” Marshall agreed.

“Whitlock!” Ryker yelled out. A man a little older than Paxton and with dirty blond hair turned and walked toward them in his FBI jacket. “This is my cousin Tinsley. We need to get her to the hospital.”

“Let me shake your hand first,” Whitlock said. “I’m the head of the gang unit. Thanks to you and your very, um, unique family, we arrested a hundred and thirty-seven Myriad members. We also confiscated thousands of illegal guns, and I can’t tell you how many drugs. Of course, your uncles and cousin blew up quite a bit of it, too, so the true value is unknown.”

Tinsley couldn’t help the small laugh that came out. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

“Patrick!” Whitlock yelled out. “Get Miss Faulkner to the hospital as fast as possible.”

“We’re going with her,” Ridge said.

“Take one of the SUVs,” Whitlock yelled out to the young agent.

“Thank you,” Tinsley said, turning back to her family. She had been told how they had rappelled from a helicopter, swum through the marsh, and the final group had come in through the front door while Whitlock’s group helped round up and arrest the men and storm the front of the bar. “Thank you all. Now I just want to get to Paxton as quickly as possible.”

“Watch out, Harp,” Ridge called out as he held open the SUV door for her. “We have a new badass in the family.”

“I’ve known she was a badass all along, but now I’m making her work the Clemson and South Carolina football game to stop the bar fights,” Harper called out as she hugged her husband.

Tinsley sent a wink to her cousin and got into the SUV. “Patrick?”

“Yes, ma’am?” the young agent answered as Ryker, Ridge, and Greer got into the SUV with her.

“Drive fast,” Tinsley ordered as all her thoughts were focused squarely on getting to Paxton.

30

Paxton was in so much pain that lights were flashing behind his eyes. Ahmed had pulled the tourniquet so tight that his leg was alternately throbbing yet somehow numb, too.

“Tell them to prepare for surgery. The femoral artery was nicked. They’ll need blood for a transfusion. Lots of it,” Gavin yelled out for the EMT to radio in. “We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Gavin’s face was directly in front of Paxton’s as he flashed a penlight into his eyes. “You’ll go right into surgery,” Gavin said as he took Paxton’s blood pressure. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“No,” Paxton said through teeth gritted in pain.

“No what?” Gavin asked.

“No surgery until I talk to Tinsley.”

Gavin’s grave face popped back in front of Paxton’s. “Not happening. You need surgery.”

“I need Tinsley,” Paxton said, and Gavin huffed out an annoyed breath.

“Okay, let me see what I can do.” Gavin disappeared from view as Paxton stared at the roof of the ambulance that was being escorted by the police. “Paxton needs surgery like yesterday, but he won’t go in without seeing Tinsley,” Gavin said into a phone. “Well, tell the agent to drive faster!” Gavin all but shouted.

“Shit,” Paxton cursed and Gavin’s face was instantly in front of his again.

“What is it?”

“I need a ring.”

Gavin’s confused look would be humorous if Paxton wasn’t in so much pain. “I’m sorry, what?”

“There’s no way I’m going into a surgery I might not survive without Tinsley knowing I want to marry her. I need an engagement ring.”

“You can ask her without one,” Gavin said, patting his hand.

Paxton grabbed Gavin’s hand and squeezed. “Get me a ring. I don’t care if it’s a piece of string, but