7. Michael
“Eagle, do you have eyes?” I bark into my earpiece and wait for what feels like forever for his response.
I know he’s trying to focus, and the only way I can help him is to shut the fuck up while he scans the rooftops for our shooter.
“Tango range five hundred yards north. Give me a second.” His words are clipped, and seconds feel like minutes before he continues, “Just one—engaged, but I don’t have a shot yet.” His voice is a whisper.
He’s focused.
And now we wait for our shooter to stick his neck out.
Dana shifts behind me like a caged animal, and I try to catch her attention to settle her down. The kids she’s come to care about are scattered all over the street. By the looks of it, they’ve all managed to get to a safe place, but Dana is still agitated. When she moves a little too far, my hand loses its connection.
“Stay.” I turn toward her, and she stills, but her eyes are glassy.
She’s showing signs of trauma.
She’s trying to process everything at once, but she stays still within my grasp as I continue to listen into my headset as the rest of our team offers whatever information they have.
Glancing into the street, I check to make sure everyone is well-hidden. That’s when Dana shifts once more, and my eyes lock onto what she sees.
The kid who led the group is covering a girl as they attempt to get closer to a truck parked across the street.
Dana jerks up in worry.
On instinct, I reach over, grab her shirt at the neck, and pull her down hard when I hear it. The unmistakable crack of a sniper rifle, followed by a shot from a second location, ricochets around my head, and my vision goes dark as I imagine the shooter getting a shot into Dana this time. As she hits the ground, the car window above us shatters, and I lose my shit.
“DAMMIT, WOMAN. I WON’T LOSE YOU AGAIN.” My words come out without restraint or thought, and maybe it’s about time.
My patience with her is gone. I will protect this woman from anything that might harm her. Even if it means protecting her from her own selfless actions.
It was my fault she got away a year ago. After everything she sacrificed to trust us, I was the one who failed her, and I won’t let it happen again.
“Tango down. Kill suspected, not confirmed. I’m moving to engage.” Eagle’s words are clipped and confident.
He has never been wrong about a suspected kill, and I watch as Logan sends Grey off running with his gun drawn. Grey’s voice comes through my earpiece: “Eagle, I’m heading in your direction.”
Time slows as we listen to their voices go back and forth through our comms until we get the all clear.
I stand up, lifting Dana along with me. “Okay, the shooter has been neutralized.” I get her up to a full standing position.
“I need to see all of you kids out here right now,” Logan calls, and the kids hesitantly pop their heads out from their hiding spots.
I assess the kids as they gather near Logan.
All of them stand behind Tyler. The only injury outside of the shooter appears to be me, and it’s a flesh wound at worst. Dana grabs at my arm, and the pain from the gunshot finally registers as my adrenaline dissipates.
I catch her expression; the vacant look on her face is a warning. The first sign of shock.
Her eyes dart all around, then go wide as she notices my blood on her hands.
“Dana?” There’s no point in saying any more. She won’t remember this. She looks intoxicated. Her brain has overridden her senses, and she’s shutting down.
“Well, that’s done then.” She tries to straighten and brush herself off, but her body sways as her head rolls back. I step into her and grab her before her limp body can crumple onto the pavement.
A couple of girls in the group gasp, drawing everyone’s attention to the woman out cold in my arms.
“She’s okay,” I call into the street. “Just fainted. Jack, a little help.”
Logan draws the kids’ attention back to him. I have no idea how he’s going to talk our way out of this one.
Jack steps beside me, taking my gun out of my hand so I can carry Dana to our vehicle.
An alarm goes off in Logan’s pocket. He pulls it out to look at it, then glances up and stops us. “We can’t take her to our place. The perimeter alarm has been tripped. We need to check it out—without her.” He points at Dana.
He’s right. We can’t have her near our operations right now. We could be walking into an ambush.
The coffee shop has been discovered by at least one hitman. We need to operate under the assumption they all know her new identity. Plus, our little disruption in the street has drawn attention.
Our priorities are set. We need to clean up, retrieve the body, and then secure our place.
Staying at the coffee shop tonight is out of the question now.
I know if Dana wakes up in any of these kids’ homes, she’ll kill all of us for placing them in further danger.
Taking her out to Stan’s isn’t an option. We haven’t cleared him out yet, and if another contract killer decides to check out his address, there will be another shoot-out.
“Why is no one coming out to check on what just went down?” Logan points at the buildings around us as he asks the kids.
“Shops close up early here—if they even decide to open at all. Most of them are at home. Some are probably at Dale’s. It’s Wednesday,” Tyler answers, as though we should all know this.
Dana mumbles as she stirs, and I turn my attention to Logan and Jack.
“We need to get her somewhere safe until we can secure everything.” I offer no further information. These kids don’t need to know that we need to check out our property and deal with the growing number of bodies around town.
“Let us take her,” a girl in the group suggests. The kids look from her to Tyler. He nods, then takes a step forward.
“She can go with Kaley.” Then, turning to the same girl, he nods. “You know where to take her.” The girl, who I assume is Kaley, doesn’t waste a second returning the nod and keeping quiet.
“I don’t like this.” I think my objection will be backed up by everyone on my team, but their faces tell me they are considering it. “It’s too dangerous an ask.”
Logan takes a long look at Jack, then pauses to consider our options before shaking his head to tell him he has nothing better. Then Logan turns his attention to me, and I run safer scenarios through my head.
“I’ll go with them.” Logan is shaking his head again before I even finish speaking. There is too much to do, and I know they need my feet on the ground, so I offer, “How about Grey?” Logan hesitates, and I continue, “We have an odd number of men. This way we are partnered up.”
“Sending one of your team in with her won’t go over well where she’s going. She will be safe.” The other boys nod in agreement with Tyler. I look at Jack, expecting him to shut them down, but both he and Logan are thinking about it.
“How will we find her when we’re done?” The fact that Logan is asking the question isn’t a good sign.
“I’m coming with you.” I’m sure the surprise on our faces as Tyler offers his help isn’t lost on anyone. His friends mumble around him, but he holds firm. “I’m not dealing with the dead guy, but I can help if it’s for Kim. I’ll stay back. Whatever is going on here”—he gestures to the area around him—“is happening in our town. Kim is one of us. You need a local with you. Then I’ll take you to her when you’re ready. Trust me, no one will get her where she’s going. You wouldn’t even be able to pick her up unless I walked in with you.”
The looks Jack and Logan are exchanging tell me I’ve already lost this battle. Our hands are tied. I have no choice but to trust these kids to take care of her, but I have no reason to think they won’t. They stood up for her when they thought we were here to harm her. We’ve just been shot at, and every single one of them is still here.
If Tyler joins me, then we are all paired up, and we need to be since there are still shooters out there somewhere.
Dana stirs in my arms, pushing against my chest, and Jack steps back from her as I stand her up and outline our plan, starting with the kids.
“Okay, she’ll go with you. Tyler, is it?” When he nods, I continue, “You’re with me. You do as I say. Do you have a car?” The kid nods, pointing to the vehicle parked beside ours. “You and I are going to take your Jeep and do a drive-around. You’ll tell me if anything looks out of place. New faces or vehicles. But that’s it.”
There’s no way I’ll have him do anything that will put him at risk of running into hostiles.
Tyler nods his head and walks over to Dana to ask for his keys, and she groggily pulls them out of her pocket.
“Grey and Eagle will secure the—um—body.” I don’t mention Stan in front of the kids. “Apparently we shouldn’t involve the sheriff. Speaking of which, where are the cops? They must have heard the shots?” Except for the kids we started with, the street remains deserted.
Tyler gives me the same ridiculous look he had when he told us it was Wednesday. “They’re almost an hour away. Unless there’s a report, they don’t come out this way.”
At every turn, this town is both a blessing and a curse.
“We need cold storage to store our guy for the time being.” Jack leans into me, but those within earshot can hear him, and Tyler jumps in again.
“We can help with that too.”
“Fine.” I resign myself to the best option we have. “Jack, Logan, check out our base. We need it cleared and the source of the alarm identified. And you.” I spin Dana around to face me. Her eyes move a fraction slower than they should, but she’s coming around; she should understand me. “Go with Kaley. Wherever she takes you. Do not leave until I come to get you. Do you understand me?”
Everyone in the street goes quiet, waiting for her answer. The glances the kids share tell me they know some parts of the real Dana—specifically, the part that doesn’t like to be told what to do.
Dana’s brows are knitted as she stares daggers at me.
I’ve seen that look before.
She’s pissed.
Without taking her eyes off me, she says, “Let’s go, Kaley.” It isn’t lost on me that she doesn’t directly accept my orders.
I think she’s just happy to be getting these kids away from here and out of harm’s way.
Slowly releasing her arms, I test her to make sure she can stand on her own. She takes a step away from me, pulling her arms to her person, and when she spins toward Tyler she changes her expression to reflect her concern for the kid.
“I don’t like this, Tyler. Be careful. Just listen to them, and don’t do anything stupid.” At the word “stupid,” she shoots me a glare, and I know the word is a warning meant for me.
She makes a last-ditch effort to hold out her hand for her backpack, but I shake my head. I’ll keep it with me until I see her again.
Stepping back and turning away from our group, she follows Kaley. The kids disperse to their cars in silence and drive down the main road leading out of town.
I turn to my teammates and Tyler.
“We all have our jobs. Let’s get this done quickly.” I am already regretting the decision we just made. I don’t want to be away from Dana, but we need to secure ourselves first. Otherwise, we’re all liabilities.