Page 38 of Inevitable

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Fucker,” Brady spat out as the sound of a gunshot rang out. He had his go bag in the truck, but there was no way he wanted to leave Claire to go out and get it. He’d called Brock a second ago and prayed his brother could come here quickly and bring it in. He had all kinds of things that could be useful, depending on how this thing unfolded. A flash bang would be the perfect thing to get the guy neutralized long enough to subdue him. His rifle would also be nice to have because if there was a shot to be made, he was going to be the one to damn well take it.

When Claire had texted him that she had control of the interior cameras, he’d grinned with pride. Didn’t matter if there was a man with a gun less than three feet away from her. She was operational and gathering intel. God damn, he loved her.

He had his earbud stuffed into one ear and he was listening to the open line that she’d given him when she called a minute ago. He had his .45 in his hand and knew he could take the shot with that if he had to, but having his rifle would make him feel a lot more comfortable. His phone vibrated with a text. He glanced down and saw that it was from Claire. In case this guy really jumps on the crazy train and I don’t make it out of here, I want you to know that the last week and a half has been the best of my life.

“No,” he said quietly. This was not the end for them. This was the fucking beginning of who they were going to become together. She was the woman who would be holding his hand on his last day on earth. He typed a response quickly while keeping an eye on the store. I love you, Claire, and there is no way we’re not walking out of this mall hand in hand.

His phone vibrated again and he saw that she’d sent him a heart emoji and told him to check his email. He followed directions and pulled up the one that she’d sent everyone in the company. When he clicked on the link, he saw that she had the feed from the security cameras available. The minute this shit was over, he was going to tell her how proud he was. Not only did she have his heart, she had his undying respect.

He studied the images and saw that the man causing all the problems was pointing his gun at a woman who was dressed in some sort of nightgown. At least, he thought that’s what it was. He didn’t have a lot of experience with women’s sleepwear, so it was a wild guess on his part. Pushing the earbud deeper into his ear, he hoped to pick up something that would tell him what had set the man off. And what his end goal might be. If this was a suicide mission, then Brady needed to take him down as soon as possible. People who had nothing to lose were his least favorite because they had a tendency to make the body count too damn high.

Hearing the squeak of boots, he turned and saw his brother running toward him with a bag slung over his shoulder. Thank God Brock had made it so quickly. “Never so happy to see you,” Brady called out.

“Good thing you guys came here instead of the Arcadian Mall. That one is across town. This one’s ten minutes from my house,” Brock said as he kneeled and opened the bag. He pulled out two com sets and handed his brother one. He hit the earpiece and waited for Brady to nod. “I called the sheriff’s department when I hung up with you, and I got ahold of Pete. He’s on his way over. There are uniforms clearing the mall as we speak, so it’s you and me until Pete and his team show up.”

“Roger that,” Brady replied. “Claire linked us up with the security camera feed, so we’ve got eyes inside. It looks like the perp is after one woman and this is not a random act of violence.” He lifted his phone and showed his brother.

“How do you want to handle this?” Brock asked as he held the phone. “You go in with a flash bang and I feed you intel?”

“Yeah, that will work.” He took the phone back from his brother and studied the layout to determine if he needed his rifle. It looked like it wasn’t going to be necessary because the shot was going to be close. What might help, though, would be his silencer. The moment the bullet left the chamber of his gun, it was going to be loud enough to startle the man, and that could prove deadly for the woman in his clutches. He bent down and began going through his bag, looking for what he needed. “Keep an eye on the situation while I get my weapon ready.”

“It looks like the guy is holding a Beretta. Which means he’s probably got at least twenty in his magazine. How many shots so far?” Brock asked as he studied the images.

“Four, maybe five.”

“Too much damn firepower left,” Brock replied. “We don’t know how many women are back there because of the full doors.”

“And we can’t tell how much of a bloodbath this guy is looking for. It could be he’s focused on the woman in front of him, or he could be one of the guys who wants to make all women pay. Let’s neutralize him and not find out how deep the crazy runs,” Brady said as he stood and double-checked his weapon. “One shot to his arm and he’s no longer a threat.”

“Yeah, I’m going to agree with your assessment. Let’s not wait around and see how many people he shoots.”

“We’ve got Loren on speed dial, so when someone sues us for acting, we’ll be covered,” Brady said as the sound of gunshots rang out. “It’s time.” He took the phone from his brother and saw that the asshole had just hit every door in the dressing room with a bullet. Which meant they could already have a casualty. “Go time.”

“Go in through the left and stay low around the first display. Even with the mirrors, he won’t catch your reflection if he looks up.”

“How the hell do you know that?” Brady asked.

“Lilly loves this store, so I’ve spent a lot of time in there while she’s shopping.”

“Okay, what else?”

“There are usually a bunch of racks set up in the middle room that should give you the opportunity to make it within a couple of feet of the dressing room without being detected. Once you’re close, you’ll have to see what’s available.”

“Got it.” He tapped his ear and his brother nodded, which meant that they were locked and ready to go. Time to take care of this asshole ruining his Thursday night. He hadn’t been to the mall in longer than he could remember and this little visit today was not making him want to come back anytime soon.

The fact that he was having such stupid thoughts told him that he was keeping reality at bay so he could go in there and take care of business. If he allowed the overwhelming fear of something happening to Claire to enter his brain, he wouldn’t do her a bit of good. And for fuck’s sake, he was going to make sure he kept her safe.

He entered the store in a crouch and moved silently along the displays. Keeping it loose and easy, he picked his way through the racks of lingerie and prayed he was going to get there before the guy had a chance to discharge his weapon again.

Silk and satin brushed against his arms, and as far as he was concerned, this was the last time they needed to worry about any of this shit. He didn’t need Claire’s body wrapped up in some slinky bit of lace for him to be turned on. All she had to do was breathe and he was hard as steel…panting. But he hadn’t told her that because he didn’t want to be an asshole. Now he wished he had because maybe they could’ve avoided this whole thing.

The moment he had her in his arms, he was going to make it real clear that she didn’t need anything in this store. His brother’s voice filtered through the bud as he slid next to a rack.

“Asshole is pointing the gun at the woman’s head. Take the shot when you’re in range. Let’s not find out how crazy this SOB is.”

Nodding in agreement, Brady moved through the room and around the cash wrap, which gave him a perfect vantage point of the action. He could now see that the man’s hands were shaking and his back was soaked in sweat. Which told him this wasn’t the man’s natural habitat.

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