Page 164 of Into the Fire

The other two guns were on the nearby box, barely visible in the faint light.

She had to get to them first.

As Bri scrambled toward the box, Alison latched on to her ankle.

Gritting her teeth, she tried to yank it free, ignoring the pain that radiated up her bad leg.

Alison’s grip didn’t waver.

Changing strategy, Bri scooted closer to the woman and kicked with her free leg. It connected with flesh, and Alison gave anoomphas her hold slackened.

Bri yanked again. Extricated her ankle. Combat crawled to the box and grabbed both guns.

A second later, Alison was on Bri’s back, clawing toward the weapons. Bri lost her grip on one of the guns, and it clattered to the floor. Out of sight.

Blast, blast, blast, blast, blast!

Rolling to her side, she took Alison with her—away from that gun.

The other woman groped for her hand. The one that held the pistol she controlled.

“I ... I don’t want ... to shoot you, Alison. But ... I will.” She tightened her grip on the gun as they writhed on the hard concrete.

“You won’t.” Alison mashed a palm against her face, crushing her tender nose and bruised eye while she flailed for the gun with her other hand.

Pain exploded in Bri’s head as she threw her leg over the other woman, forced her onto her back, and pressed down hard on her windpipe with her free hand.

Alison clutched at her hand as she struggled for air, thrashing beneath her.

After maintaining pressure for another few seconds, Bri rolled off and hauled herself to her feet. Limped several feet away as fast as her shaky legs would carry her.

A few moments later, Alison sprang up too, half crouched as if intending to continue the fight.

But Bri had the gun, and she pointed it at the other woman. “Stay where you are.”

“What if I don’t?” Alison’s irises glittered in the pale, eerie light.

“I’ll shoot you.”

“I don’t believe that. You’re not a killer.”

“I can kill in self-defense.”

“Are you certain of that?” She edged closer, as if to test Bri’s conviction.

“Yes.” Bri spoke with far more confidence than she felt. Of course she’d always known that in a life-threatening situation, any law enforcement officer could be called upon to kill. You accepted that or you found a different career.

But it was a lot harder to pull the trigger in practice than intheory, even if the woman in your sights would do the same to you in a nanosecond without giving it a second thought.

“Then I guess you’ll have to.” Alison took another step.

Bri retreated a few more paces. “Don’t make me do this, Alison.” She kept the gun aimed at the woman’s center mass, as she’d been trained to do.

But fire investigators rarely had to put that training to use.

“Look, what do you say we call a truce? We’re friends, right? We can sort this out.” Alison’s gaze flicked for the barest second to the ground to her left.

Bri gave the spot a quick glance.

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