Page 2 of Three to Fall

That only pissed the men off more. One picked up a large terracotta potted plant and hurled it at the window. It hit the reinforced glass with a splintering crack.

The window didn’t break, but the pot did, falling to the concrete in shattered pieces. Despite the failure, the other men followed suit, the three of them trying to break through with anything they could find.

The women’s screams imprinted themselves on my brain, a trauma to process another time, because the thought of Hayley Jade in a classroom somewhere, screaming like that, was too much for me to bear to stop and try to help.

I stalked my way through the school, trying to think clearly, trying to calm my breath while knowing I probably only had minutes before the cops would arrive and that minutes might not be enough to get Hayley Jade away.

“Repent! Repent! Repent!” men shouted as the doors gave way and a cheer went up, a group storming into a long hallway.

Panic lit up inside me, and I twisted and turned, getting swept along with the pack, no idea which way to go or where Hayley Jade’s classroom was.

A hand grabbed me, slamming me up against the wall.

On instinct, I shoved the guy back before realizing it was Hawk.

In the next instant, he was putting something into my hand. “Where the fuck is Kara?”

I didn’t want to answer that. I didn’t even want to think about where she was or if she was okay. I couldn’t. If I let my brain go there, I’d lose it.

Instead, I stared down at the knife he’d given me, and then back up at him. “Are you fucking insane? Are you trying to terrify these kids?”

His fingers gripped his gun, mostly covered by the sleeve of his jacket. “They’re already terrified. Those Josiah-loving assholes are all carrying. You want to be the only one who’s not if it comes down to it?”

I didn’t want any of this. This was the life I’d tried to leave behind. The life of violence I didn’t want for me, or for Kara or even for Hawk. His chest heaved, his eyes alert, ears listening for danger.

He glanced at me as the panic alarm and warning sirens echoed back from somewhere outside. “There’s a lot more of them than there is of me. I don’t know where my guys are. Or how long it’s going to take the cops to do their goddamn fucking jobs, especially when we’d be lucky if there’s more than one car on their way. Fuck this town and their useless police force. Do you have my back or not?”

His green eyes stared into mine.

That was insulting. Of course I did. I took the knife, praying I wouldn’t need it, shoving the sheathed weapon into my pocket.

When Hawk took off, his run purposeful through the huge elementary school, I followed. It was three more turns before he stopped in front of a classroom door and tapped his gun against it.

I breathed hard, watching the hallway for any sign of life, covering his back.

“Miss Winters? If you’re in there, it’s Hawk. Hayley Jade’s…” He swallowed hard, glancing at me, but then a look of determination dropped over his expression. “Hayley Jade’s dad. We’ve met a few times when I’ve picked her up. Don’t come out. Just tap twice if she’s with you.”

There was a moment of pause, before two tiny taps came from the other side of the door.

“And once more if you’re all okay.”

There was another quick tap.

I slumped a little, relief kicking in. “They’re better off staying in there.” I kept my voice low so no one but Hawk would hear me. “We can’t get her out safely with these pricks still lingering around and all hopped up on the thrill of the hunt.”

“Agreed.” Hawk’s gaze flickered up and down the hallway, constantly assessing the situation. “Better off just standing guard until the cops get in here.” He closed his eyes for the tiniest of seconds, shoving the heels of his hands to rub at them. “I hate this so fucking much. Hate she can’t just go to school and be safe. Hate that Kara is…”

“Stop,” I ordered quietly. “Kara is just fucking fine.” I jerked my head toward the door. For all I knew, Hayley Jade was right on the other side of it listening to every word we were saying. She didn’t need to be scared for her life, as well as her mother’s.

Hawk swore softly and nodded.

A commotion from somewhere down the hallway had us freezing. A clatter of something being knocked over.

“What was that?” he murmured.

“Hopefully nothing.”

But both of us had our gazes trained on the end of the hallway.

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