Her lips parted to give him an answer.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Shit! That’s gunfire!
Cam’s entire body locked as he pulled Sabrina down and into his chest, his eyes darting to find the source. Two more cracks identified the shooter was on the other side of the park. People started screaming and running willy-nilly with no thought or direction.
He held her close and shouted as loud as he could, jabbing and pointing in the opposite direction. “That way! Find cover behind the food trucks! Call 911!”
The chaotic throng listened to him and headed for the row of broad, heavy vehicles.
“You go too.” He gave Sabrina a push.
“Come with me!” Her face had drained of blood, and she held on to one of his hands with both of hers.
“There’s still people over there, babe.”
Another couple of shots sounded. Shouts from the Knights mixed with the fearful cries from the civilians. Cam spotted Wolf and Quillon making their way through the panicked crowd, facing the danger and putting themselves between the shooter and their prey.
“Are you crazy?”
He ignored her question. “Help with crowd control, yeah? Try to calm everyone down.”
“Cam?” Her voice wavered. Tears filled her eyes, and he had no more time to debate with her.
He seized the back of her neck and brought his mouth down on hers in a firm kiss. It was brief, but he was making a point. “I’ll come back to you, baby. I promise.”
He turned and sprinted to catch up to Wolf and Quillon, and they hid behind the dubious cover of a picnic table. Two people were on the ground, still alive but screaming in pain. Another man staggered across the open area, clutching his bleeding arm. A terrified child sat in the giant sandbox, crying hard and looking around.
“Bennie!” a woman yelled. She tried to run to her child, but she had a baby strapped to her front.
Fuck. Cam darted out of his cover to block the woman before she made herself a target.
“I’ll get him. You stay here.”
A panicked cry came from her lips as several more bullets cracked through the air. Someone shrieked in pain, and Cam spotted Stephan lying behind his massage chair with both hands around his leg.
“The shooter is somewhere on the roof of those storage buildings. I can’t tell which one,” Quillon shouted behind him.
Shit. “I’m going for the kid,” Cam yelled to his brothers. “Are either of you packing?”
Quillon nodded. “Ever since that shit went down with Tracie, I keep my Luger with me at all times.”
“You know I don’t do guns anymore. I’ll spot for you,” Wolf told him while dialing his phone. “Ratchet? The shooter is on one of the storage building rooftops. You can see all three from the pier at the reservoir. See if you can find him.” He clicked off. “Ready when you are, Cam.”
Cam took three large breaths and then took off running toward the kid. Another crack sounded, and a streak of heat flew by his ear.Fuck me, that’s close!He grabbed the kid by the arms and hugged him tight as he ran to the tree line with the intent of getting behind one of the oaks. Thankfully, the boy didn’t struggle, as wrestling an octopus would have made it much harder.
He was almost at his goal when two more shots rang out, one after the other. This time he felt a burn across his left arm and he stumbled, twisting to land on his back and protect the boy. After he hit the ground, he rolled and put the kid under him. “Stay still,” he panted.
“Mommy!”
“She’s okay. We’ll go get her in a minute, yeah?”
Sirens pierced the air, and in minutes the place was surrounded by cops and paramedics. Policemen ran by, guns drawn. Cam flinched, waiting for one of them to kick him off the boy, but they passed by, heading to the storage buildings.
“Stay put!” an officer barked at him.
No problem. His arm throbbed, and he wiggled around to grab it.
