Page 7 of Wicked Sin

“Helicopter?”

“We’ll patch you in so you can talk to the eyes in the sky.”

I suck in a breath. Fuck.

“Are you visible from the road?”

“No. We took cover around the corner of the building.” I look at Taylor. “How many people are inside?”

She blinks at me and shakes her head. “I don’t know. A few, at least. We’ve got two volunteers in our office.”

“Civilians need to be evacuated,” I bark into the phone. I look at Taylor again. “Is there a back entrance?”

She nods, her face drained completely of color.

“Hey, stay with me,” I say.

In my ear, the dispatcher catches that. “Still no injuries, detective?”

“Ms. Reid may need medical attention for shock.”

“Ambulances are on their way.” The beats of an emergency response. They’re second nature to me now, and I sink into that.

Just another job.

Just another lucky break that means I live to see another day.

But Taylor doesn’t have that advantage. And as I sit back on my heels, as I settle myself into the task of seeing the crime scene as a puzzle to be solved, she lets out a shuddering breath and topples sideways.

4

Taylor

“Whoa there,”I hear. A low, warm voice right in my ear.

Hands on my shoulders haul me upright.

I just want to go to sleep.

“Keep talking, Taylor.”

“Can’t,” I mumble.

“You know anyone who might want to kill you, princess?”

Kill me.

Cold sweat slicks my body as I start to shiver.

“You’re okay. You’re alive.”

I guess so.

“Can you open your eyes for me?”

I blink slowly. It feels like sandpaper, dragging my eyelids up my eyeballs. My face feels puffy and tight.

All of me feels tight. It doesn’t matter how big a gulp of air I try to take, it’s not enough. My chest is constricted and my head feels like it’s wrapped in a vise.

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