Page 16 of Tag
I ducked into a side room and waited.
The first one passed.
I tackled him, drove his head into the wall, and took his weapon as he slumped.
The second swung around and opened fire.
I rolled, returning fire, and clipped his shoulder.
The third guy turned and ran.
He was heading toward the room where Aponi was.
I chased him down the hall, blood roaring in my ears.
Aponi
I heard footsteps running toward us.
Not Gideon. Too loud. Too heavy.
I turned just in time to see a man charging down the hall with a blade in his hand.
I shoved Kaylie behind me and raised my weapon—but Tag appeared out of nowhere, slamming the guy into the wall so hard the plaster cracked.
He didn’t even pause.
“Got her?” he asked.
I nodded. “She’s okay.”
“You?”
“I’m good.”
More footsteps echoed behind us—Gideon and his team flooding in, weapons raised, voices sharp.
“Building’s secure!” someone yelled.
Kaylie burst into sobs against my chest.
And I finally let my body shake.
Not from fear.
But from the sheer, brutal relief of knowing—for once—we made it in time.
14
Aponi
The flashing lights from the unmarked vans and medical transport vehicles cast long shadows against the alley walls.
Kaylie sat on the back bumper of an ambulance, wrapped in a silver blanket, sipping apple juice like it was the only thing tethering her to earth. Her hands trembled. Her lips were split. But she was alive.
She hadn’t let go of my hand since we got out of the building.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she whispered. “I just… remembered your face.”
