His brother looked up at him, eyes wide and glassy, but still breathing. “I didn’t take his money.”
“Okay. It doesn’t matter.”
Sirens wailed from somewhere close by, the sound growing louder as it echoed off the long line of buildings on the street.
“All clear!” someone called out.
Jason glanced over his shoulder.
Todd peeked around the corner of the alcove. “Warner’s dead, his bodyguard contained.”
Oh, thank God. Jason let out a deep sigh, relief flooding through him as Emma scooted across the space and kneeled at his side, putting her arm around his waist. He kissed the top of her head.
“Is he alive?” Todd asked, gesturing to Byron.
“Yes.”
“Why don’t you let me take over?” Todd had been a PJ too. He could care for Byron as well as Jason. Maybe better. “That arm must be killing you.”
At the reminder, the heat in his left triceps morphed into a red-hot poker. “How’s it look?” He bit his lip hard as Todd probed his upper arm, trying like hell to keep pressure on Byron’s chest.
“More of a graze than anything. No concerns about hitting an artery,” Todd said. “Just get it cleaned and bandaged soon.” He looked at Emma. “You okay?”
“I think so.” Her face was chalk white and her hands shook. “What happened to Renfro?”
“Multiple bullet wounds to the chest,” Todd said. Like every military and law enforcement trainee in the world, he’d been trained to “shoot to stop” the threat. That always meant aiming for center mass.
Emma’s jaw hardened and her grip on Jason’s waist tightened. “Good.”
Jason couldn’t help but agree. With the kind of money and power Warner had, there was too much chance of him weaseling out of any serious charges. That was no longer a concern.
“I’ve got this,” Jason said. “Can you deal with the cops?”
“On it.” Todd disappeared around the corner.
The sirens turned silent and chaos erupted with cops yelling in German for everyone to put down their weapons and get on the ground.
Jason held steady, trusting Todd and the rest of his team to handle things, not moving until the paramedics arrived and took over with Byron, prepping him and loading him on a gurney. “Ich bin sein Bruder,” he said, explaining that he was his brother in his limited German. He pointed to himself and the ambulance. “Ich gehe?”
He wasn’t letting Byron go to the hospital alone.
Emma appeared at his side and began speaking in rapid German to the paramedic, pointing to Byron, and then to Jason’s arm. Finally, the medic nodded and Jason followed the team to the ambulance, holding Emma’s hand.
As Byron was loaded onto the rig, Jason glanced over at the body with a ring of police officers standing around it. A few yards way, Warner’s massive bodyguard was on the ground in handcuffs. “Stick with Todd. Please? I need to know you’re safe.”
She nodded. “I’m so sorry about Byron. What can I do?”
“Stay alert.” The tension in his muscles coiled tighter. Byron knew all of Warner’s secrets, which made him a liability to anyone else involved in the man’s depraved activities. Jason and Emma would have to work a lot harder to expose Warner’s network if something happened to Byron, but even without him, they presented a threat to Warner’s cronies. “Please ask Todd to get a security team on Byron's family immediately. I’ll call his wife Mallory and fill her in.”
“Be careful.” Emma leaned up on her toes and kissed him hard on the lips. “I—”
“Entschuldigung,” a woman said sharply.
Emma stepped back and turned toward the police officer. The woman started speaking in German, and Emma shook her head.
After a brief exchange, Em looked at him, frowning. “She wants you to stay and answer questions.”
Not happening. “She can find me at the hospital. Unless she plans to arrest me for something, I’m not leaving Byron’s side.” He squeezed Emma’s hand and reluctantly released her before stepping up into the ambulance.
