Chapter 172
"Okay. Charlotte Prudence Johnson. You are an adult. You know what to do. You have to save the McLeods. They are your family and they are your only link to your mom." Charlotte said aloud to herself then took a few deep breaths.
"I can do this. I know what to do. I am a woman of Drovers Run. I am a McLeod! I can do this. I am not going to let him take them from me. My mom would have fought back, and so must I." Charlotte announced to herself.
Charlotte decided what to do. She jumped on Hazel and steered her to the edge of the woods before the clearing."
"Oh no, she's going after them!" exclaimed Kate. I hope she knows what she's doing. Please let her be alright."
"C'mon Charlotte! Be smart." said Russell.
"I am a McLeod woman. I am Charlotte Prudence Johnson-MCLEOD of Drovers Run, and I must protect my family!" Charlotte whispered to herself as she removed the loaded rifle from it's holster. She held it in a shooting position and sent Hazel into a gallop across the clearing.
"Put your fucking gun down now and let my family go!" Charlotte shouted, as she stopped Hazel about five meters from the man. "Put the gun down and let them go immediately, or I will shoot you right through your left eye," Charlotte threatened without blinking, staring the man down.
"What are you, twelve? You probably don't even know how to shoot that thing," the man responded.
"Oh I assure you I do." Charlotte spoke calmly and confidently, she reached up and removed the safety of her rifle. "I can see that my safety is off, while your hammer isn't cocked. If you try to do it now, I will get my shot off first and you'll die, because I'm an excellent shot." Charlotte looked down the rifle and aimed it right at his chest. "I have you sighted, and I'm very certain of my target. You have ten seconds to drop the gun and let my family go. My finger is on the trigger, so you better fucking believe I will shoot. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, Put the fucking gun down! The cops are on the way. Do you want to die right now mother fucker? 3, 2,.."
He dropped the gun and Tess dove for it. Grace turned around and uppercut him in the jaw. Jodi tackled him rugby style, and Jaz kicked him repeatedly in the ribs with her riding boots. Regan took off her belt and used it to tie his hands around his back.
"You messed with the wrong family, asshole." Charlotte said as she returned the safety to her gun, but kept it drawn. "Grace, come grab this rope. I reckon you can tie this prick up just like a steer."
"I sure can," said Grace as she took the rope from Charlotte's saddle and threw the guy to his stomach. She wrapped the rope around his wrists, tying both arms and one leg together behind his back and handed the belt back to Regan.
"Yess! Charlotte!" Ben cheered.
"Oh thank God." Stevie exhaled. They had been preparing dinner together when they got the text from Kate to watch the live stream immediately.
"I can't lose her." Matt was crying tears of joy.
"They're okay, Tess is Okay. Charlotte saved them all. Tess is okay. Jodi is okay, everyone is okay." Finn was crying tears of relief.
Matt reached across the center console and gave Finn a hug. "Thank you for letting me be here with you during this. I'm sorry I knew your secret. Tess tells Jodi everything, and well, Jodi tells me everything. I'm glad I knew, because I wanted to be here for you, Finn. I know how hard it is to have to start over somewhere new, where you don't know anyone, especially carrying the pain of a lost spouse and child. I hope things continue to go well for you with Tess. I love her as my own sister, and I hope we start to get to know each other better too. Tess is mad about you, and it's pretty clear how you feel about her, and I just want to say, you're welcome here, at Drovers, with us," said Matt, still hugging Finn. "Now where the hell is Dylan? He needs to get there and deal with this!" yelled Matt as he remembered the situation was still live.