Page 52 of The Hero She Deserves

Then more gunfire ripped through the evening.

Hollis screamed and Sawyer dived. He took her to the ground and covered her body with his. Glass shattered, raining over them.

Ingrained battle mode washed over Sawyer. His senses became more acute, more focused.Protect Hollis.That was all that mattered.

As more shots came, he assessed where the shooter was hiding. The asshole was in some overgrown bushes to the left.

“Stay down,” he warned her.

“Sawyer…” Her voice was shaky, terrified.

“It’ll be all right. Do not move. Understood?”

“Yes.”

He pulled his gun from its holster and rose on one knee. He took aim at the bushes and fired.

The shots stopped, and he heard a grunt.

Sawyer leaped up and over the railing. He fired two more shots in quick succession.

The gunman returned fire and Sawyer dived for cover behind a palm tree. Ducking low, he circled around, moving through the gardens.

The shooting stopped again.

Shit. The shooter had to be making a getaway.

Sawyer abandoned cover, and sprinted, moving in a zigzag pattern. He reached the bushes and found a flattened patch in the vegetation. He looked back and saw that he had a perfect view of the restaurant. There was pandemonium inside.

He searched around, but the asshole was gone.

“Fuck.” He sprinted out toward the parking lot.

He caught a glimpse of a man leaping into the back of a car. It sped off, tires screeching.

There was more than one of them. Someone had been driving that getaway car.

He headed back to the restaurant, gun resting at his side.

Hollis was crouched behind an outdoor table. He held out a hand to her.

“He’s gone, but I want you inside.” He pulled her in through the door, keeping his body between hers and the outside.

As he walked across the restaurant, he pulled out his cellphone and called dispatch. “Shots fired at Mama’s restaurant in Paia.”

“Shots fired?” The man was Noah, one of their dispatchers.

“Send everyone who’s available.”

“Sure thing, Sawyer.”

He slipped the phone away and looked at Hollis. “You’re staying at my place tonight.”

Hollis wasnumb by the time Sawyer drove her to his cottage. As he parked and turned off the engine, she stared at her hands resting on her lap.

Thankfully, no one had died at the shooting. One woman had been clipped by a bullet and taken to the medical center, but Sawyer had told her that the woman would be fine. Others had been cut by flying glass. The deputies and police had arrived at the restaurant. People had been panicked and scared. The twins had rushed to check that Hollis and Sawyer were okay. She’d been shaky, pumped full of adrenaline.

All she could think about was those bullets whizzing overhead and Sawyer protecting her with his own body.

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