He heard the sound of the cash register drawer opening and then slamming shut in the other room. But he couldn’t see anyone. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his phone just as it vibrated with a text from Hunter.
I see her.
She’s behind the counter.
Someone is with her. But I can’t see who it is.
Be careful. I see the gun.
Pointing at her.
Fury grew inside him. If anything happened to Tara…
The police station wasn’t far down the road, but Brody couldn’t be sure where the officers on duty were located or how long it would take them to arrive.
He wasn’t waiting.
As he rounded the corner into the stockroom, he saw the open door into the store. Tara was standing by the cash register, which was now turned over on its side. He didn’t see the person standing next to her but he saw the gun and heard the anger in the man’s voice.
“Don’t screw with me!” the man yelled. “I know you have more somewhere in the store. You’re holding out on me!”
Something took over him. Instead of retreating and waiting for the police to arrive, Brody rushed forward and quickly ran through the door into the store. He tackled the man with the gun until they were both rolling on the floor. He heard Tara’s scream, but it only made him grab onto Ox and hold the hand that held gun tighter until it felt like a death grip.
“Get down, Tara.”
Brody could tell that Ox was on something. He was high as a kite and stronger than any animal he’d ever had to tame.
“Run!” he called out again to Tara as he continued to roll on the floor trying to wrestle the gun out of Ox’s his hand.
They struggled for a few minutes until he saw a shadow out of the corner of his eye. In one fell swoop, Ox grunted and then fell back. The look on his face was dazed, but crazed.
“Watch out!” Tara screamed.
“Get out of here, Tara.” he heard Hunter yell. “Watch for the police.”
“I’m not going back to jail,” Ox yelled as he lifted himself up.
Brody only had a few seconds to get his bearings before the struggle started up again.
In the confusion, Brody had no idea where the gun was. He took a blow to the chin and his head snapped back. The fight or flight instinct in him had him lunging forward and pushing Ox against a table display. All the items on the table fell over and crashed to the floor. Brody and Ox tumbled over the table and fell onto the glass-filled floor. He didn’t have time to react to the pain and most likely Ox didn’t even feel it.
Memories of that day on the reservation when he’d found Doug giving drugs to his sister filled his mind. He didn’t want to go back to jail. Not for trying to save someone. But Brody didn’t have time to think about whether or not this time would be different. All he knew was that, as with his sister, he didn’t want Ox to hurt Tara. The terrified look on her face was laser printed in his mind. That fear. His sister hadn’t had any fear. She’d been too drugged herself. And that’s why she hadn’t supported him when he’d been arrested.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow then. But the bigger brutality was that his sister never stopped using. To this day, she was somewhere. Probably using. And this man had been a big part of getting her hooked.
Anger surged through him as he lifted from the floor. As Ox stumbled to his feet, Brody saw the blood on the back of Ox’s neck and his stomach lurched. This can’t be happening again.
“It’s over, Ox,” Brody said, trying to take a step back as Ox took another swing at him. Ox was so wasted that he could barely stand.
“You going to get killed or kill someone else, Ox. Just stop it. It’s over.”
Ox lunged at him again, but Brody darted out of the way just in time to avoid the blow. When Ox fell to the floor, he saw that the gun was gone. He wasn’t exactly sure where the gun had fallen. But at least Ox no longer had it. He didn’t need to fight him. He just needed to hold on long enough until the police arrived.
Minutes later the place was filled with police officers. Zeb can came rushing through the back room first and tackled Ox to the ground along with Caleb and two other officers Brody didn’t know. They were able to contain Ox despite the massive struggle Ox put up.
When Brody was sure that Ox was no longer a threat. He took a step back and then realized Tara was no longer inside the store. He turned and searched for her, finding her in the stockroom moments later. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. As soon as she saw him, she rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him, crying uncontrollably.
“It’s okay,” Brody said, trying to catch his breath. “You’re safe now. He can’t hurt you.” He held Tara’s trembling body in his arms and thanked God that she was safe and hadn’t been killed. The store was a wreck. So many of the beautiful pieces she had told him about were now destroyed.
But none of that mattered. The real beauty and treasure was in his arms and he didn’t want to let go. Everything else could be replaced.
“Oh my God, you’re bleeding.”
Tara pulled back and looked at her hand. It was covered with his blood.
“Am I?” he asked. “I guess I don’t feel it yet.”
“You will,” Caleb said, coming into the stockroom. You’re not as bad off as this guy is, but you’re bleeding. Mia is on her way over with the ambulance. She’ll take a
