Page 2 of Ground Zero

The first man dry tases her. She jerks from the jolt of electricity, dropping her phone. The weight of her backpack causes her to begin to keel over, but she is only momentarily stunned.

The men each grab an arm and begin dragging her to the van. She regains her wits and starts kicking and screaming, putting up one hell of a fight for a little thing.

I rush up to the back of the van unseen. They are focused on getting the flailing girl fighting for her life inside so they can flee with her as fast as possible.

I step around the side, and in two strides, I'm at the sliding door. My weapon pointed less than three feet from the face of the man inside who is hoisting her in by her hair.

I smile at him and say to them, "Hooyah, Motherfuckers, not on my watch."

The three men freeze in fear, and their grips slacken on the fighting girl enabling her to break free. She flees, screaming for her mama.

As the driver of the van turns his attention on the crew in the back, he yells, "WHAT THE FUCK?"

Then, "SHIT," when he sees me with my pistol pointed at his accomplice.

His eyes flare in fear, and I see a flash of panic right before he makes a deadly decision. He reaches for his pistol lying on the center console. When he lifts it, I hit him with a single shot between his eyes. His head snaps back as the bullet enters, then recoils forward from the force of his skull exploding. His brain splattering on the steering wheel and windshield.

Nina

Watching the only man, I have ever desired and the man I could not have rescue the little girl I love like my own is the biggest mind fuck of my life.

My sister and I were in the kitchen enjoying a morning cup of coffee when we heard my niece screaming bloody murder from the front yard. The sound sent a wave of sheer terror through us, and we jumped to our feet, then charged out the front door.

What we saw forever changed our lives.

Jeff Crockett held three men at gunpoint outside a white van parked at the curb, while Bethany raced across the yard to us, calling her mama like a three-year-old. When she arrived, she flung herself into Bri's outstretched arms, and they rushed inside.

I stood rooted to the spot as wild emotions coursed through my veins. My training kicked in, and I assessed the situation, but I hesitated.

Should I return to the house to retrieve my weapon and rush down to help him, or should I go inside the house and pretend I don't know Bravo's badass leader. The man that I served alongside as the team's targeting officer for four years.

Crockett

Immediately, my weapon returns to my first target's face, and sheer terror stares back at me. A dark wet spot grows at his groin. He's pissed himself.

Before any of the remaining three choose to make a deadly decision, I command them, "Put your hands on your head. Interlace your fingers."

In shock, they do what they are told.

"Step out of the van. Drop to your knees."

They obey, but I know the adrenaline rush will hit them at any moment, and nature will make them choose, fight or flight.

I take a menacing step toward them to counteract it and give them their only option. "Kiss the ground that little girl walked on, and don't fucking move a goddamn muscle, or I will drop you where you stand."

The forcefulness of my verbal command makes them fall on their faces, and we wait for the police to arrive.

Nina

The men fall forward face down. Rocket having the situation under control makes my decision easy. I choose to let sleeping dogs lie, following my sister and niece inside.

My decision isn't based on logic or timing. It is based on survival. I honestly do not know if my broken heart could take a face-off with Crockett if it led to nothing more than friendship.

Crockett

In less than a minute, two police cruisers are on site.

As soon as the police officers exit their vehicles, I drop to my knees, place my weapon on the ground, and put my hands on my head, interlocking my fingers.

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