“I can’t, sweetheart. My arm won’t let me.”
“What’s wrong with your arm?”
“I’ll show you later. Let’s hurry now.”
Razorback knelt down in the sand. “Hop on. I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to get back and make sure your mom’s okay.”
She reluctantly climbed on his back and he took off running, the pail hitting his cheek and chin as he ran.
He was acutely aware of the passage of time as his feet sank into the sand and he pushed off again. Their approach was anything but clandestine, the presence of their mysterious visitor tangible as they ran.
“We need backup,” Razorback barked.
“We need Kevlar,” said Sloan.
So he felt it, too. They were being watched. Hell, they might as well have been in a goddamn parade. A parade of sitting ducks.
Selena sobbed in his ear. “I want my mommy.”
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Razorback said. “I’ve got you now.”
13
Razorback tucked Selena into the front closet while he and Sloan cleared the house. Jackie was asleep on her bed fully clothed on top of the covers. He dropped to his hands and knees at the door, crawled to the bed, and woke her—telling her about the sniper with his sight trained on her room, and Selena’s injury.
He ran back downstairs for Selena, carrying the girl as he called to Sloan, “Get my medical pack out of my bag.”
The shades were already drawn in Selena’s room, and he inspected her injury as Jackie held her close. He was grateful to see the cut wasn’t as bad as he’d feared, the flow of blood already considerably less than it had been. The edges closed neatly beneath his steady fingers, allowing him to use strong medical glue to close it instead of needle and thread.
Selena’s eyes were wide, staring at him while he cleaned the area, her scrutiny intense. “Are you a doctor?”
“Yes.”
She seemed to consider that. “You help people?”
“That’s right.”
She frowned. “You don’t look like a doctor.”
“Why not?”
“Doctors are nice.”
He grinned. “Yeah, well, people don’t always look like you think they will. And sometimes I’m nice.” He winked at her, earning him a smile.
Sloan was on his computer. “The motion sensors on cameras two and three have been tampered with.” He cursed under his breath. “Not just anybody could do that.”
“You call for backup?”
“Just a sec.”
Jackie turned concerned eyes to Razorback. “Not just anybody? Who do you think is out there?”
“The man who attacked you.”
Selena cocked her head. “But Bill killed him.”
Razorback whipped around to stare at Jackie. “Is that true?”
