“Shots fired!” Mason yells, already out of the vehicle.
I’m moving just as quickly, door flying open, and adrenaline slamming through my system as I draw my weapon.
“Take cover!” Mason yells into his handheld radio.
The street erupts into chaos with officers scrambling, shouting, and returning fire.
The SUV peels off just as fast as it came, disappearing down the block before we can pin it.
Cowards. No, not cowards. It’s strategic, they made their point. They just weren’t expecting three more cars of officers.
I move toward the hit unit, heart pounding hard enough to drown out everything else. “Mason, with me!” I bark.
He makes it there at the same time I do. Looking inside, my stomach drops. The windshield is spiderwebbed with bullet holes.
Inside- “Jesus…”
One of the officers is slumped over the wheel. The other… isn’t moving. There’s blood, too much blood.
I force it down. Mason’s already calling it in, getting medics en route. But it’s too late. They’re gone. We’ve lost them both. Between the crash and the bullet spray…
This wasn’t random, it wasn’t a mistake. This was a message. They know they were infiltrated, and they want Liv next.
Chapter 30
Alex
I’m already moving before the thought finishes forming.
“Where are you going?” Mason calls after me.
I don’t stop. “Getting her out,” I throw over my shoulder.
“Alex!”
I don’t wait for the rest because there’s no time. My mind is already running through scenarios. If they’ve been watching, if they know her routine, and if they decide to move now…
My chest constricts. Every time she walks to work and back home, she’s at risk. At any moment, they could grab her and I won’t know until it’s too late. And then she’ll be getting shuttled through their system and being forced to-
No, not happening. Not on my watch. I smash doorbell buttons at the entry until someone lets me in, another flaw with her building, then take the stairs two at a time. My pulse is a steady roar in my ears. I knock once, hard, then again. “Liv!”
The door swings open and suddenly she’s there, alive and unharmed.
For a second, everything stops. I’m just so glad to see her that I can’t think.
But she pulls me out of my trance, worry flooding her features. “What’s wrong?” she asks, her eyes scanning my face.
No time.
“Pack a bag,” I say.
Her brow furrows. “What?”
“Now,” I repeat. “Essentials only. We’re leaving.”
Her expression sharpens. “Alex, what’s going on?”
I step inside, closing the door behind me, already scanning the room out of instinct. “They know.”
