Page 68 of Her Protector Daddies

They turned right, and I was right there with them. They veered left, I was on their ass. They tried to lose me by weaving through other cars, I was already clearing a path and keeping pace with them. Whoever was in that car wasn’t getting away.

I didn’t waver until my front bumper clipped their back and the sedan lurched forward.

“Careful!” Jay snapped. “Selena could be in there.”

That was enough for me to pull back a fraction and change tactics. We were well trained in how to safely bring a car chase to a safe stop, minimizing damage to people, vehicles and property. With three more squad cars now lighting up the night sky behind me, it was the perfect time to act.

All it took was slowing down enough for the sedan’s driver to think they had a chance, then I sped up quickly and clipped the back corner of their vehicle. My car rattled from the collision, and the sedan started to spin out of control with a scream of rubber and clouds of smoke.

The car spun once, then twice, unable to regain its grip on the road as I nudged it each time until finally, the car crashed to a stop over a small wall with the front wheels spinning uselessly in the air.

“Bailey!”

Jay’s cry barely registered as I flew from the car with my gun heavy in my hands and sprinted toward the vehicle.

One man launched himself from the front of the vehicle and raised his weapon, recklessly opening fire. I dove forward and shot him twice in the chest. Scrambling up, the bar door of the car flew open and I immediately kicked it closed, crushing the arm of whoever was trying to escape.

A yell of pain erupted from the car, so I opened the door once more, grabbed the injured arm, and hauled the man out onto the ground. Cops swarmed around the vehicle, quickly disarming one other man from the car as I rolled the man over. The fourth member of the car opened fire, and I glimpsed Jay shooting him swiftly, putting an end to his murderous attempts.

“No fucking way.”

Andrés Dorame lay at my feet, clutching his injured arm and bleeding profusely from a head wound with a look of thunder flashing across his face.

The aim of my gun didn’t waver. One shot, and he’d be done for.

“Where. Is. She.” The car was empty, with no sign of Selena. Cold, hard rage consumed me like the lick of an open flame and I stepped forward, catching Andrés’ wrist under my shoe and leaning my full weight forward. The metal of my handgun pressed between his brow.

“Who?” Andrés chuckled coldly, sending a sickening chill down my spine.

“What the fuck did you do?” I asked quietly, my voice low. “What the fuck did you do!?”

“Bailey.” Jay’s hand wrapped around my arm, applying pressure to pull me back that I resisted immediately, while Andrés’ face twisted into a bloody laugh at my feet.

“Where is she?!”

“-guys?” Tyler’s voice suddenly filled the air, broken with interference and static and my heart stopped.

“We found her. We found Selena.”

By the broken sound of his voice, I knew something was wrong.

Police sirens rang in the air like the call of a late-night bird, echoing back and forth between the tall, cold buildings.

I stood with Jay on my left and Tyler on my right, staring through the soft blur of unshed tears as the doors to the ambulance slammed closed, hiding Selena’s body from view. The ambulance sirens joined the screaming noise around us and the vehicle raced off to the hospital.

Tyler had found her. Selena had been shot twice in the torso and her body was dumped behind some trash cans like she was nothing. I’d heard the story three times in the past ten minutes, but I couldn’t get past that particular detail. He dumped her like she was garbage, like she was absolutely nothing and that kills me.

Slowly, I turned to Tyler, whose face constantly switched between crestfallen and furious. His hands clenched and unclenched while his lower lip wobbled with barely restrained emotion.

I knew because I was the same. All that remained was one very thin thread and I was seconds away from snapping that myself.

“Go to the hospital,” I said, my voice sounding alien to my own ears. “Be there for her.”

“But what about…?” Tyler glanced over my shoulder to the squad car currently surrounded by several members of SWAT. The Captains stood nearby, giving a rundown with the SWAT commander on how to safely transport Andrés to a police cell.

Because his safety was fucking important, apparently.

“We can’t do anything about that,” Jay replied weakly. “As much as we may want to.”

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