Liberty At Last (The Liberty Series) by Leigh James Read Free Book Online

said, and I heard him hit her a couple of times, hard. Then there was no more struggling.
    I was pretty sure his kid just went in time out.
    We wrestled her limp form through the opening. Matthew came next and propped her up against the wall.
    “Did you have to knock her out?” I asked him, stricken.
    “ You shot her,” he said, defensively. “Besides, it’s not a family reunion without a little drama.”
    I sighed, totally overwhelmed by the circumstances. “What am I going to tell him?” I asked.
    “The truth. He’ll only want the truth,” Matthew said. “Now, we gotta take care of that foot.” He ripped part of his teeshirt off and tied it around her foot tightly, so she would’t lose any more blood.
    We saw headlights then, and Matthew pushed me next to Catherine, behind him, and crouched in front of us, his gun ready.
    It was a massive white Hummer, gleaming in the darkness. Matthew put his gun down and stood up. “It’s Ethan,” he said. “Liberty, stick your head under there and tell them he’s back. We gotta go.”
    I went back under the fence and found all three of them on their knees, firing round after round. “The car’s here,” I said. “John! Come now!” Corey got off some more shots and then followed me. Confident that they’d heard me, I jumped into the car, next to a still unconscious Catherine. Matthew was still outside the car, making sure the other men got out and checking for trouble.
    “Liberty,” Ethan said, turning around and smiling. “Always a pleasure.”
    “It’s good to see you, too,” I said, but I was barely able to focus on him. I gripped the edge of my seat, still listening to the firing. Finally, Corey and Sean jumped into the car, into the back. Matthew hopped into the front seat.
    I held my breath while I waited. And waited.
    After what seemed like an eternity John jumped into the car and slammed the door. “Go go go !”’ he yelled at Ethan. Ethan floored it and the tires squealed underneath us. Then there were booms coming from the compound. Big booms. I could see fire bursting up towards the sky over the wall.
    “Nice touch,” Matthew said.
    “It might buy us a few minutes,” John said. I didn’t even wait a second — didn’t wait for things to stop blowing up all around us —before I grabbed his hand and yanked him towards me. “John. I have to tell you something. It’s Catherine,” I said, motioning to the form next to me.
    “What?” he said. In the darkness I could the uncomprehending look on his face.
    “Your daughter,” I said. “This is your daughter. She’s passed out. Matthew punched her.”
    “What?” John asked. He looked staggered.
    “Liberty shot her,” Matthew said.
    “What?” John asked. He sounded near hysterics. “That’s Catherine ?Give her to me,” he said, and I moved quickly over so he could get to her.”
    “She’s okay. I got her in the foot…Matthew bandaged her up,” I said, miserably.
    “It’s okay, Liberty. It’s okay,” he said, and briefly squeezed my hand.
    None of the us spoke as he hit the overhead light and took her face in his hands. He looked at her in wonder. He ran his hand across her cheek gently. Then he looked over at me, his eyes shining with tears. “It’s her,” he said, and an actual tear ran down his face. “It’s my daughter.”
    Just then Matthew started talking to Ethan about directions and Sean and Corey started discussing the type of explosives that John had used.
    John reached over and pulled me to him,putting his cheek against mine. “You found her. I can’t believe it.” He pulled back, too quickly for my taste, and checked her foot. He untied the fabric and inspected the wound. “Matthew, the First Aid kit,” he said, and Matthew handed it back. John went to work on her, cleaning the wound with antiseptic and bandaging it tightly.
    “That should get us to the border,” he said. He sat back and put his arm around me, pulling me to him. I finally got to put my