Logan, the one who’d taken the shot, came in next, his gun still at the ready. He went straight to Meyer, disarmed him and then said, “Pepper?”
Cannon stood in the doorway, taking in the destruction.
Safe. They were all safe.
Rowdy was still hugging Pepper on one side, Avery on the other, when Pepper struggled away from him and ran to Logan.
Logan caught her up with one arm, squeezing her hard. For only a moment, Logan closed his eyes in relief.
He’d misjudged him, Rowdy realized. Logan was a cop through and through, and no matter how personal things might get, he had a cool enough head to do what needed to be done.
Pepper stuck her face in Logan’s neck and damn, the way her shoulders jerked, Rowdy thought she might be crying.
A suffocating pressure squeezed his chest. He’d never felt anything like it, but now, knowing Avery and his sister were both okay, it should have eased.
It didn’t. It got worse and worse, painful, frightening.
Until Avery gulped in air, once, twice, then gave a soft sob. Everything inside him turned to mush. He pulled her up and into his lap, cradling her close. “You’re not hurt?”
She shook her head, her hands on his face, big tears tracking down her cheeks. She had a bruise on the left side of her face.
“Who did this?” Rowdy asked, brushing gently with his thumb.
She shook her head, letting him know it didn’t matter. Not now. “You scared me so badly.”
“Oh, babe.” He pulled her in, kissed her forehead. “Scared doesn’t even begin to cover it.”
Going from soft and shaken to furious in a single beat, she slugged him. Hard. Right in the shoulder. “What the hell do you mean, Rowdy Yates, daring that maniac to shoot you?”
“I didn’t.” Not really. His only thought had been to keep Avery and Pepper safe.
Suddenly Pepper was back, her expression mean as she dropped to her haunches to give him a shove.
Rowdy almost toppled backward. “What the hell, Pepper.”
“You bastard!”
Rowdy stared at her. Never had his sister cursed him.
She reached past Avery, who still sat on his lap, to grab his ear. “You could have been killed!”
“Jesus.” He caught her wrist—gently, because he loved her more than life—and freed his ear. “He was going to shoot you.”
“I wouldn’t have let that happen,” Avery said around another sob.
“And you!” He pulled Pepper down beside him again so he could give his attention to Avery. “I had it under control, honey. You should have stayed back instead of—”
“Doing what you did?” She struggled up and away from him. “I love you, damn it.”
Rowdy stared up at her. Half the neighborhood had probably just heard her shout.
“He’ll live,” Reese said as he checked on Fisher. “But he probably won’t be walking anytime soon.”
Cannon came to stand by Avery. “Ambulance will be here soon. I can already hear their sirens.”
Rowdy thought about sprawling back on the cold floor, taking a minute to get himself together, to come to grips with all he felt. Avery stood there heaving, Cannon looked expectant, his sister openly cried while clutching his arm and Reese and Logan were handling everything.
But it was his apartment, so he manned up and stood, then pulled two chairs away from the table. “Sit down,” he said to Pepper.
“We’re going to talk about this,” she insisted. “About this warped way you have of putting yourself at—”
“Sure, kiddo.” He got her to sit, then messed up her hair. “Whatever you want.”
“And don’t you patronize me!”
“Wouldn’t think of it.” He glanced toward Logan, but his brother-in-law looked carved from stone—probably his way of keeping his shit together until he got done doing his job. Rowdy leaned down to Pepper’s ear. “I think he needs a little comfort, kiddo.”
“He needs to work first,” Logan said. “She can comfort me later.”
Yeah, he didn’t want to know about that. Rowdy didn’t quite look at Avery yet, but in every fiber of his being, he was aware of her standing there, shaking, upset. “Do you need me for anything?” he asked Logan.
Reese glanced up at him, then at Avery. “At the moment? No. But don’t take off.”
Where the hell would he go?
Because Cannon looked like he wanted to help, Rowdy said, “Get her something to drink, okay? Stay with her until Logan finishes up.”
“Sure.” Cannon rubbed the back of his neck. “Jesus, what a mess. Tonight, whatever I can do to help out at the bar, just let me know.”
“Thanks.” Rowdy gave one last kiss to the top of Pepper’s head. “You did great, kiddo.”
“My phone is still under your bed.” Bracing her feet on the edge of the chair, she pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around her shins. “It was the only way I could think of to let you know what was happening.”
“It was perfect.”
“She’s perfect,” Logan said. Then he announced, “This one’s dead.”
Rowdy glanced toward Meyer, and his only thought was of Sonya. She’d have Avery in her life to help her through the loss, and personally, he thought that was more than the woman deserved.
Preparing himself, because he knew it wasn’t going to be easy, Rowdy turned to Avery. She was a terrible crier. Mascara tracks ran down her bruised face and her nose was already redder than her hair. Her skin had turned blotchy, her eyes swollen.