Page 30 of Peace Under Fire

“Then let’s move.” He urged her forward. “The cops will keep those assholes busy. As long as they’re concentrating on each other, we’ve got half a chance of getting out of here.” She slipped the cell phone back into her coat pocket as he half-carried, half-shoved her toward the front of the foyer.

Glass crunched beneath each step as he rushed her across chunks of wood and metal. A field of broken glass sparkled beneath swaying overhead lights. The air was hazy, filaments of dust just beginning to settle.

A quick glance over her shoulder showed the hatchback sitting behind them, shrouded in glass and metal, half of a sliding door stuck to its hood. The clinic’s exit was a gaping maw enveloped by red and blue flashers and screaming sirens. The silver Accord idled in front of where the exit had once stood.

He'd driven her car through the sliding glass doors. Good God, it was a miracle they hadn’t hit someone.

“Don’t look back,” he said, his voice barely audible above the shouts and sirens behind them. “Try to blend in.”

Blend in? How were they supposed to do that?

Her knees were shaking. In truth, every inch of her was trembling. Her temple throbbed in time to her rapid heartbeat. She touched her head. A lump was already forming. But when she pulled her fingers back, they were barely wet, barely red. At least she wasn’t bleeding much.

“You okay?” Jacob asked with a quick glance toward her hand, which was hovering near her face. Almost as soon as it fell on her, his gaze skated away to scan their surroundings—a clear indication they were still in danger.

“I’m fine.” Mandy dropped her hand. Her head could wait.

As they approached the end of the foyer and the corridor that led to the stairs, a smattering of people appeared.

“What happened?” a brassy-haired woman in blue scrubs asked as she peered around the corner of the hallway.

“Some idiot drove through the glass doors,” Jacob said without missing a beat. “Must have been drunk.” His hand tight around Mandy’s elbow, he weaved his way through the growing crowd.

“Anyone hurt?” a tall man in dress slacks and a pinstriped shirt asked.

“No idea.” Jacob urged Mandy through the crowd. “But I wouldn’t get too close. Sounds like gunshots back there. I’d find a place to hide if I were you.”

A slew of questions broke out. “Did you call the cops? Who’s shooting? Are either of you injured?”

“The cops will want to talk to you,” a matronly woman with shrewd eyes said, stepping in front of them.

Ignoring the comment, Jacob dragged Mandy around the woman.

“Are you in trouble, honey?” the woman asked, turning to follow them, her astute eyes on Mandy’s face. She reached for Mandy’s arm.

“I’m fine.” Mandy jerked her arm from the woman’s grasp. “Just in a hurry.”

And then they were clear of the crowd and hustling down the hall.

“Where are we going?” she asked on a relieved breath when nobody tried to stop them. He seemed to have a destination in mind.

“To my truck.”

She tugged on his hand to slow him down. “They could be waiting for us there.”

“There were two of them in the Accord, like you said. The cops have them surrounded.” He glanced at her. “We need to get out of here ASAP. The cops will come looking for us once they have the bozos who are after you contained.”

Mandy thought of the woman with the shrewd eyes. He was right. Someone would describe them. They were the only ones who’d come from the destroyed exit.

“What if the two men following you called for help? What if more of those cockroaches are waiting for us out front?” Mandy asked, her voice scratchy with fear.

Jacob shrugged, tugging her forward, silently urging her to pick up her pace. “We’ll have to chance it. We can’t stay here. Slipping out the back isn’t an option. Hell, we can’t take off on foot—that would leave us too exposed. My truck’s the best shot we have.”

Her chest a tight knot of anxiety, her breathing hitchy, Mandy increased her pace, forcing herself to keep going, even though she wanted to crumple into a whimpering mess.

She’d come to him because he was a warrior. Because he had experience in dangerous situations, and because he’d know how to rescue her sisters.

She’d just have to trust him now, trust him to keep her safe.

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