Page 33 of Tough Justice

The rest of the warrant team followed closely behind. They had a five-minute drive to Jack’s location. Right before an op, Deck would normally be 100 percent focused on the takedown. Tonight, his mind was full of weird thoughts, including the fact that he’d lied to Tori.

Unlike what he’d said, he did have a comfort zone, but only about one thing. Getting married was way outside his zone. After what happened to Marianne, his parents’ marriage hadn’t survived. It was devastating for them and about killed Deck to watch their relationship unravel. Married life seemed to work for a select few, but it wasn’t a risk Deck was willing to take.

Strangely, he thought of Tori. Considering how she’d wept for that dead teenager, he’d bet she’d faced loss before. Personal loss.

On top of that, as an ER doctor, she saw the end game up close and personal. Death. Her passionate plea to do more had struck home, and he admired her for stepping outside what had to be her normally by-the-book comfort zone. So he’d convinced ASAC Rivera to let her tag along. To his surprise, Rivera had approved, couching it as a safety precaution. No one wanted a repeat of what happened to Dan. Deck had conveniently neglected to inform his boss that he’d already taken Tori on a warrant, without authorization. She had more grit and determination than any woman he’d ever met. Except maybe his mom.

Thor paced back and forth on the bench seat, snorting beneath his mask. His dog was itching for action. Even Tori seemed amped up. When she’d put on her body armor, he’d caught her hands trembling. There was definitely another side to her—an adventurous side—that she worked hard at keeping in check. She really needed to cut loose once in a while.

Just before she’d tugged the vest over her head, he’d gotten a look at her shirt. It had seen better days and was probably a size too big, but it did nothing to hide what looked like a perfect set of breasts. Yeah, he’d looked. And those black jeans made her waist look even smaller. He could easily span most of her waist with his hands.

“Here we go.” He pulled on his mask then turned into the parking lot where he’d been surveilling Jack and his two goon helpers.

When he was thirty feet from the pickup, he and the rest of the DEA vehicles hit the strobes and spotlights, lighting up the area like a Broadway stage.

“Be careful,” Tori said, freezing him in his seat for half a second. He could swear there was genuine concern in her voice, and he liked it.

“Always.” He grabbed his rifle and was out the door, hitting the fob button to release Thor.

As a unit, a dozen armed agents rushed the group of five men clustered around the pickup truck, shouting, “Police! On the ground!”

Two of the men—customers—flung their hands in the air then dropped like rocks to their knees.

Thor stood his ground, barking at the other three men who were less compliant. Evan and another agent dragged two of them to the pavement. The one remaining guy stupidly yanked open the driver’s side door of the pickup, got in, then slammed it shut.

“Thor!” Deck shouted.

His dog leaped partly through the open window, his hind legs dangling as he latched onto Jack’s forearm, shaking it back and forth with a throaty growl. Jack would be going to jail with a set of incisor marks on his arm.

“Get him off, get him off!” Jack screamed.

Deck whipped off his mask. “Don’t move,” he ordered the whimpering dealer, carefully aiming the muzzle of his rifle at the man through the front windshield but avoiding Thor’s body.

Another agent had run to the other side of the truck and opened the door, also aiming a rifle at Jack.

The dealer’s head disappeared for a second.

“Show me your hands!” Deck shouted. “Show me your hands!” Nothing good ever came from a drug dealer reaching under the seat.

Thor continued growling, shaking his head back and forth as Jack resisted more and more. Something black appeared in Jack’s right hand.

“Gun!” Deck shouted.

“Thor, release! Down!” The last thing he wanted was his dog caught in the crossfire.

Thor unclamped his jaw from Jack’s arm and dropped to the pavement.

Stupidly, Jack began raising his arm. He still held the gun in his hand. Don’t do it. But Jack did.

The muzzle of the gun rose above the level of the dashboard. Deck fired two rounds through the windshield, but not before Jack got off a round. The agent at the passenger door fired another shot.

“Stay aimed in,” Deck ordered. Keeping his rifle aimed at the driver, he opened the door. The dealer lay slumped in the seat, eyes open and sightless. In his lap was a Glock 9mm. Deck yanked off one of his gloves then reached inside the truck and touched two fingers to the man’s carotid, waiting to feel even the hint of a pulse, but got nothing.

“You okay?” Evan yelled from the rear of the pickup.

He verified Thor was lying safely on the ground then let out an uneasy breath. “Yeah.” Except that he’d really wanted to interrogate this guy. “I’ll call it in.”

After making sure the rest of the team had things under control and the scene was secure, he grabbed his phone and queued up ASAC Rivera’s number. There’d be red tape to file for any shooting. Agency policy dictated he notify his boss ASAP.