Page 32 of Her Protector Daddies

JAY

Ahail of bullets thumped violently into the side of my car. I grabbed Selena by the shoulder as she screamed in fright and forced her down away from the windows.

“Stay down!”

Thank fuck I dropped Dae off at daycare before coming here.

I’d brought Selena to Matt in the hopes that he would be more willing to talk to her directly. She isn’t a police officer and given her relation to Marcus, it made sense that he would be more open to that kind of discussion.

But just as I parked the car and ran over the details of how to approach Matt in a way that he wouldn’t feel attacked, a van careered into the street and smashed into the side of the ambulance. The men who poured with assault rifles had the upper hand immediately.

Thankfully, the small glimpse I got of Tyler and Bailey before we ducked was them diving behind cover.

“What is happening?!” Selena gasped, covering her head with her trembling hands.

I positioned my body over her as more stray bullets thumped into the side of my car and cracked a few windows. Then, there was a beat of silence as the men out there reloaded their weapons.

This was my window.

“Stay here,” I instructed, grabbing my gun from the glove compartment. “Get in the back and stay down between the seats, okay?”

“You’re leaving me?!” Selena grabbed my wrist, clinging tightly and stopping me from leaping out of the car like I had planned.

“My friends are out there. I have to help them. Here. I pressed the radio into her hands, causing her to finally release my wrist. “Use the radio and call this in. My identification number is there on the dash. Tell them officers are under fire and give them the address, okay?”

Selena nodded quickly, clutching the radio and when she lifted her eyes to meet mine, they were swimming with tears. There was no telling how triggering this was for her.

“Back seat,” I repeated. “Down in the gap, and you will be safe.”

“Okay,” she replied shakily.

I stumbled from the car, closing the door as quietly as I could. Being parked a little further up the street, I had a better angle on where the shooters were using the van for cover. As gunfire erupted once more from each of their rifles, a range of cries and screams rose up from the paramedics and a few stray civilians in the area.

I darted forward from my car and dove behind the next parked car, narrowly avoiding a few stray bullets as they collided with the light pole. Through the gate in front of me, I spotted a woman on the ground, cowering around her shopping bags only a few feet from her door.

“Hey!” I yelled, trying to get her attention. “Hey!”

After a moment, she rolled over and locked onto me with fearful blue eyes.

“The second, the second the shooting stops, you get inside your house, okay?” I yelled at her. “The very second. Get inside, lock the door.”

She nodded frantically, and as the explosions of gunfire dropped into a lull once more, she scrambled to her feet. I lifted up from my crouched position and opened fire across the hood of the car. I hit one man in the thigh, and the others ducked further down out of the way of my bullets. Five shots and I ducked for cover once more.

The garden in front of me was empty, and I prayed that the woman had made it inside unharmed.

Instead of rising over the car again, I dropped flat onto my stomach and rolled under the car. From here I could see several pairs of legs darting about as the suspects sought a better shooting angle on Bailey and Tyler. They were still pinned down in the garden across the street, and right now, I was their only hope.

Small stones and rough cement cut into my palms as I scrambled up on the other side of the car. I raised my gun and put two bullets into the back of an assailant. He yelled out in pain and his assault rifle slipped from his fingers. He crashed down like a sack of bricks.

His lack of gunfire gave Tyler and Bailey a window to attack, and I spotted them both darting up from their hiding place to open fire.

Pincered from both sides, the armed men were starting to split with minimal communication. I sprinted forward, narrowly avoiding another body as it crumpled after being shot by my friend. I tackled the third man, and we crashed down hard onto the ground.

His gun shoved into my stomach, winding me. I landed two punches square on his face then I was forced to roll to the side as the barrel of his weapon pressed into the soft flesh of my side. As he fought for aim, I smashed the butt of my gun against his nose. Bone and cartilage exploded beneath the blow, sending blood sprayed in all directions and he cried out in pain.

He pulled the trigger, and I rolled once more, dodging the few bullets that hit the tarmac. On my back, I raised my gun and shot him three times in the chest when he tried to get up. A look of surprise crossed his face then he collapsed forward.

My ears ran from the constant gunfire but with three down, we were making progress. Panting, I rolled over and pulled myself to my feet – only for a pained cry to ring in my ears from behind me. My spine curled, and every nerve inside me jumped sharply in alarm as I spun around.

---