"Is it safe?"
"It's fine. David called in backup. Jerry should be here soon to take Burnett into custody."
"What about Jean?" I knew Sal had said Jean was here and armed.
"I'm sorry, but Jean was shot. He didn't make it."
I was sorry for the loss of life but not so sorry Jean was gone. "Why was he here?"
"He was working with Burnett."
My eyebrows lifted. "I didn't even know they knew each other."
"I didn't either, but apparently they hooked up at some point. Burnett wanted to get rid of my SWAT team, and Jean wanted to get rid of David."
"Why?"
"Burnett seems to think we're breaking all sorts of laws and will infect the entire police force with our crimes. Jean wanted to get rid of David because he believes he was the only thing standing between you and him riding off into the sunset together."
I shivered in revulsion. "Not in this lifetime."
I wanted nothing to do with him.
"I don't think Jean will be a problem anymore."
"And Burnett?"
Those were the only two people I knew were after us.
Sal shook his head. "He's going away for a very long time."
Good to know.
I gestured to Sal's face. "You should see a doctor."
Sal chuckled. "I've had worse than this shaving."
Yeah, I didn't think so.
"You might want to think about getting some X-rays, just to be sure nothing is broken."
"I'll consider it. I need to make sure my family is safe first."
I needed to do the same thing.
"Is anyone else hurt?"
"Burke got knocked out, but he's awake now. Other than a few scrapes and scratches, the rest of us are fine."
"I'm going to go check on David."
My heart seemed to beat a bit faster as I walked out of the panic room and then the kitchen before heading down the hallway to Sal's office. I stepped inside and immediately scanned the interior. There was a body on the floor next to Sal's desk, covered by a sheet. Brodsky was sweeping up some glass by the window frame. Joe was at Sal's desk on his computer. Burke and Clarke stood behind him, Clarke talking on his phone and Burke staring at the computer screen over Joe's shoulder.
"Where's David?"
"I'm here, babe."
I swung around and then sucked in a breath when I saw David standing in the hallway behind me. I quickly scanned him from head to toe, looking for injuries. Except for a few scratches on his arms, he looked okay.
