Page 112 of Love Without Demands

“No, I swear to god, I can do it. Please.” Desperation wrapped around every word like a vine.

His eyes narrowed on me. “Fuck almighty,” he mumbled. “I’m trusting you, Estrada. Your priority here is to do your fucking job. You are not a boyfriend right now; you’re a machine. Understood?”

“I’ve got this, Curly.”

“Christ, don’t make me regret this.” He swiveled and began barking out orders. Chris was to stay on the first floor to provide protection for the medical first responders who were coming in to help the victims. Kai, the best sharpshooter, was sent to the third floor so he would have an elevated position and the best chance to take the guy out.

Me, Curly, Maverick, Jayden, and a guy called Radar were sent to the second floor. I didn’t know Radar all that well because he didn’t hang out with us after work, but he was a damn good teammate.

Carter was synced to our comms so he could keep us updated if he spotted the shooter on camera. The suspect was apparently using the employee hallways behind the stores to travel between locations because security cameras were sparse back there.

The entire debrief and Curly’s orders took less than four minutes, and then we were storming the second floor from all directions. Curly and I took the central stairs, our heads on a swivel and our eyes taking in every detail.

As we encountered civilians, we quietly hissed orders to them to head downstairs and out the main door, where they would be met by uniformed officers and any necessary medical personnel.

I counted at least fifty that made it safely down the stairs behind us, but none were a curly blonde with gray eyes.Jesus, where are you, baby?

With my H&K MP-5 held confidently in my hands, I motioned to Curly that we should enter the sporting goods store first, and he nodded. We entered, him going left and me going right to cover more ground.

Fuck, this store is huge.The space seemed empty, hopefully because all the customers and employees had gotten out safely.

Taking cover behind a free-standing wall with athletic shoes lining the shelves, I peeked around the corner and almost fell to my knees when I spotted a blonde head poke out from a circular rack of athletic pants.

Lehra!

It was as if she could hear my silent scream, and our gazes locked. The fear in hers broke me, and I started to step around the wall and go to her when a movement from my right caught my eye. With a quick flick of my hand, I motioned for her tohide, and she immediately pulled her head back into the rack of clothes, concealing herself once again.

Good girl.

The shooter was making his way across the floor at an angle.

Motherfucker. He’s right between us. Stay hidden, Lehra. Please, for the love of god, do not move an inch.

I prayed she was somehow catching my silent messages.

The suspect was going from rack to rack, separating the clothes with the barrel of his Uzi, looking for… what? Survivors? Someone else to kill?

God no. Please keep her safe.

He was dressed all in black, much like our team, complete with Kevlar vest and helmet. My mind assessed the situation. His back was to me, so any shot I took wouldn’t do any damage to his body armor. I was a damn good shot, but if I missed, a stray bullet could hit Lehra, who was hiding just on the other side of the fucker.

Not an option.

He was two racks away from her now, and I glanced at Curly—who was hidden behind another wall to my left—in a panic. He nodded and pointed up and behind him, indicating that he’d notified Kai of the shooter’s location.

“I need him to turn around,” Kai’s soft voice said through the earpiece in my left ear.Right. He needed to see his face to get a clear shot since the guy was wearing an armored helmet.

The suspect was now one rack from the one Lehra was hiding in. She had only seconds before he would find her.

Fuck no. Not going to happen.

Stepping out from behind the wall, I yelled, “Drop your weapon!”

The man whirled around, pointing his Uzi at me, and I saw brown eyes widen behind his black ski mask. Then he opened fire on me.

A split second before I was knocked onto my back, I saw a small red circle appear on his forehead.

And Kai instantly became my favorite teammate.

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