The building groans again, and Lincoln looks behind him with worry on his face.His fucking building. Shit.The gunfire is dying down. I lean up slightly so I can look through the car’s windows. Lane is looking in our direction with his gun raised.
I turn and bring my gun up to point it at one of the men that was beside Donovan who is pointing his gun at me, but before I can pull the trigger, a gun goes off. I suck in a breath, waiting for pain to spread through my body. Instead, the man falls to his knees. Blood pours out of the hole that’s now on his forehead. He falls face forward. I fall back, and the car braces my fall.
Shit, that was close.I exchange a look with Lincoln. Lane comes around the car and looks between Lincoln and I. “You okay, boss?” he asks. I nod, unable to speak at the moment. “Where’s Leo?”
I swallow my mouth dry as hell. The smell of blood and sweat assaulting me. “Arden took him to get help. He was shot,” I say.
Lincoln stands, still holding his bloody suit jacket in his hands. His shirt has blood on it and I don’t know if it’s his or someone else’s.
“I have to go find Ansley. We need to get out of this garage before the building collapses.” Lane and I both nod. I have to get to Olivia. Maybe she found Ansley and they’re together.
I stand and look around, trying to assess the situation. The gunfight slowly stop as Donovan’s men realize they’re outnumbered and their boss is dead. My attention goes straight to where I saw Donovan fall. I quickly walk over to him and stare down at his lifeless body. Still not convinced, I squat and put my fingers at the pulse on his neck. When I’m met with nothing, I know he’s dead, but there’s still a part of me that’s afraid he might pop back up.
“I’ll take care of him,” Malachi says as he walks up to assess the situation as well. I look up at him and nod once.
“I have to go find Olivia. Her arm was hurt badly. I need to make sure she gets medical attention.”
Malachi nods and waves at me to go. Lincoln, Lane, and I walk to the exit gate and are met with chaos. There are first responders everywhere. I spot an FBI vehicle and I shake myhead.This little town got the attention of the fucking FBI.We walk through the various people and rubble. There’s shouting coming from inside the building and Lincoln glances at Lane and I.
“I have to go find out what’s going on,” he says. I can tell he’s torn between finding out what’s happening with his building and the people inside and finding Ansley.
“I’ll find Ansley and Olivia and we will come find you right away,” I tell him. He looks around and nods reluctantly.
“I’m going to talk to the Sheriff or the FBI. I’m assuming they’ll tell me what to do,” he says. He takes off toward where a sheriff deputy's car is and an FBI vehicle are side by side. Lane and I begin our search for Olivia and Ansley.
“Victor!” a voice calls out to me and I turn in time to see Ansley, Bec, and Connor racing toward me. “Where’s Lincoln and Olivia?” Ansley asks. Her eyes frantically look around the street.
“Lincoln had to go speak to the authorities.” I point toward the vehicles and she visibly relaxes when she sees his back. “Is Olivia not with you?” I ask her. She turns back to me and shakes her head.
“No.” She looks at Connor and Bec. “I saw Donovan and his men, so I went to go get help.” She motions to the chaos all around us. “But there wasn’t anyone. Connor and Bec just got here, so I was filling them in on what was happening.”
“I was about to come down to the garage to see if you needed help,” Connor says. Bec is clutching Connor’s arm.
“Donovan is dead,” I tell them. “Arden was able to get Olivia out of the garage and bring her out here. We need to find her.” I start walking without waiting to see if they’re going to follow me, but they do. I glance at Ansley. “You need to go see Lincoln. Even if it’s just for a minute. He needs to know you’re safe,” I tell her.
She looks conflicted, but nods. “I’ll go tell him I’m okay, then help you look for her.” She takes off in the direction of Lincoln.
An EMT walks by us and Bec stops him. “Hey, we’re looking for our friend.” He stops and looks at all of us. His eyes focus on the blood on my shirt.
“I’m okay. It’s someone else’s blood. My wife was injured. We were in the parking garage and I sent her out here to get help,” I explain to him.
“What does she look like? I’ve helped a lot of people, but maybe I’ve seen her.” He looks exhausted.
“She’s petite, has long black hair, and ocean blue eyes. She was wearing a white blouse and gray pants.” I want to say she’s the most beautiful woman he’s probably ever seen, instead I try to think of any kind of marks that might set her apart from others he’s seen today.
“Her eyes,” he says. “When you say ocean blue. You mean—”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.” Hope rises in my chest. Olivia has unusual eyes that set her apart from others. Of course he’d notice.
“I did see her. She had a gash on her bicep that needed attention. She lost a lot of blood, so my colleague took her to the ambulance.” He turns and points in a direction where there isn’t an ambulance. He squints. “The ambulance was there ten minutes ago,” he says as he looks around.
Alarm bells begin to ring in my ears as he turns in circles, like he’s looking for the ambulance.
“Maybe your colleague took her to the hospital,” Connor says. The man shakes his head.
“No, we were instructed to only take those who needed life-saving procedures to the hospital. She wasn’t going to die. She just needed her arm stitched, and she needed to sit down.” He starts walking toward another ambulance and motions for us to follow him. “Hey, Cal! Where’s Alice?”
Cal’s head pops up from helping someone that has a broken foot. “I haven’t seen her in a while.” He looks back at the person’s foot and I realize it’s James.
