Page 39 of Inevitable

If he had to bet, he’d say the guy wasn’t former military or law enforcement. Which was going to make him easier to take down, but also make his movements harder to predict. Lifting his gun, Brady measured his shot and knew he could hit the man’s arm, which would immediately disable him, and hopefully not trigger his finger into releasing a bullet into the woman’s head.

Patience, he instructed himself. All his years with HRT had taught him that a rushed shot was the wrong shot. It always paid off to wait for the right moment to take the perp out. Breathing deeply, he listened to the man rage about all the transgressions he perceived the woman to be guilty of. From the brief exchange, he gathered that they had been married at one point and the man was pissed that she was moving on. As far as Brady could tell, she hadn’t moved on far enough because she was still in the state. There was no way this was the man’s first bout with a loss of control, and he bet that the woman thought that by divorcing him, she had set herself free.

Which was never how it worked. Divorce only meant the law recognized the break. He’d seen this shit enough times in some form or fashion and he knew the only real solution was getting as far away as you could. The FBI didn’t deal in domestic issues, but they did deal in Federal hostage issues and he’d seen several that were motivated by rage and jealousy. No matter what flag they wrapped it up in.

Brady watched the man lift his gun away from the women’s head and he exhaled, ready to take the shot. The next second, the guy let out a feral scream and sprayed the dressing room doors with gunfire. “No fucking way,” Brady said as he kept the man in his sight line.

One…two, three seconds. When the guy stood still, Brady released the first bullet from his gun and shot it into the man’s leg. Then he released a second bullet into his arm; when the man went down, he scrambled around the cash wrap and flew across the short distance, yelling, “Down! Stay down or the next shot ends this.” He kicked the gun away from the man, pushed his knee into his back and subdued him against the ground. “It’s done, you fucking son of a bitch.”

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw his brother and Pete running toward him. When they were by his side, he got off the guy and checked the woman trembling on the ground. She had been grazed by a bullet and nothing more. He leaped to his feet and started throwing doors open to the dressing rooms. Where the hell was Claire and why was it so quiet?

Every door he opened revealed an empty room. When he got the last one, he pushed it open slowly and saw Claire crumpled on the ground with a large patch of blood covering her T-shirt. “Medic!” he screamed.

Kneeling beside her, he ripped her T-shirt open and saw that she’d been hit above her breast, near her collarbone. He picked up something in a pile near her feet and pressed it into the wound. “Honey, I’m right here and we’re going to get you to the hospital before you know it.”

He leaned down and rested his head against hers. “I love you Claire, and God did not send me here equipped to deal with losing you. You stay with me.”

A hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up to see his brother. “Paramedics are coming, one minute out. Hang on.”

He nodded and turned back to look at Claire. The fabric that he’d pressed against the wound in her shoulder was soaked through. “Hold on, baby. The medics are almost here.”

The store filled up almost instantly with people from the sheriff’s department, a couple of firemen and, thankfully, the paramedics. He watched his brother push people aside so that the medics could get through and was grateful that he had such a loud, annoying voice. It was the kind that made people stop and take notice. Which was what was needed so that he could get Claire the hell out of the mall and into the hospital. Shoulder wounds were no laughing matter and he didn’t want an extra second wasted on getting her into the ambulance.

Moving to the side, he kept pressure on the GSW until the paramedics were in place and taking care of her. Which was what he was supposed to be doing. He’d never seen a trip to the mall as a dangerous activity but that had changed on a dime. As far as he was concerned, they never needed to come back here. Online shopping was the way to go. If Claire didn’t agree, then he was going to make her wear tactical gear the next time they ventured out. And they would be venturing out because no way was he losing the love of his life. He’d already lost his mama. God wouldn’t expect him to lose Claire as well.

***

Brady paced the hall while Claire was in surgery. Typically, gunshot wounds to the shoulder were not life-threatening, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t in some amount of danger while under anesthesia. Oftentimes, complications occurred when people were coming in and out of consciousness, and he hoped like hell that Claire wasn’t one of them.

It was like flying. The most dangerous part of the trip was taking off and landing, and that was often true for surgery as well. Once he hit the bank of windows at the end of the hall, he turned around and started his loop again. If he kept moving, then he felt like he could keep hold of his sanity. No way could he sit down with everyone in the waiting room and not lose his ever-loving mind. The place was packed with all the operators from TRG as well as Lilly and Erin.

Thankfully, Heart Hospital was where Andi was doing her residency, so she was able to keep them updated as the surgery progressed. Speaking of Andi, he saw her striding down the hall in a pair of scrubs and a smile. Jogging toward her, he met her halfway down the hall. “Your smile tells me she’s doing good.”

“Absolutely. They’re closing her up and were able to repair the damage.”

“How bad was it?” he asked faintly.

“It could have been worse. The bullet’s velocity was diminished since it had to travel through the door, and that was good news for Claire because it hit the subclavian artery. That’s the one feeding the brachial artery, which is the main artery of the arm. Pretty much the worst place for a bullet to land in the shoulder.”

“At some point, you’re going to have to tell me that again because I could only process about fifty percent of what you said.” He leaned against the wall and braced his foot against it. “She’s okay, though?”

“Yes. No reason to believe that she can’t recover and regain the full functionality of her arm. Nerve damage looked minimal, so her fast-flying fingers shouldn’t be affected.”

“Thank you, Jesus,” Brady muttered as he closed his eyes for a moment and said a quick prayer. “How is the woman the man was after?”

“Fine, she was only grazed by the bullet. I heard the shooter was still in surgery but expected to recover.”

“Good. Then he can spend some quality time in jail and think about the shit-storm he kicked up.”

Andi patted his arm and smiled. “I’m going to go check on Claire and then head home. I had a double shift and I’m about to fall over.”

“I’ll let Kane know and have him take you home. Driving when you’re exhausted is about as dangerous as driving drunk,” he said with conviction.

“Normally, I’d refuse, but I’m worn out. The last couple of hours worrying about Claire have sent me over the edge and I don’t want to get into an accident.”

“Smart move.” He pushed himself off the wall and gave Andi a hug. “Thanks for keeping me updated. I’m going to let everyone know and send them home.”

“Okay, I’ll come down and look for Kane in a bit.” She gave him one last smile and then moved toward the elevators.

Brady headed in the direction of the waiting room and felt like his heart was back in rhythm. It had been beating furiously against his chest since he heard the first gunshot, and he realized the adrenaline that was helping him function was about to drain away. Squaring his shoulders, he instructed himself to pull it together. Claire wasn’t one hundred percent out of danger, and till she was, he needed every ounce of strength he could muster.

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