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Mike stepped forward, raised the ram, andboom! The door crashed down.
Doug ran in first, his eyes immediately finding the asshole cowering on the other side of the bed, a gun wavering in his hand as he clutched a small, wide-eyed girl against him.
Doug didn’t give the man a chance to breathe. He launched himself across the room, and over the bed in one leap, aiming for the man’s weapon hand. He got his fingers wrapped around the piece-of-shit revolver, while at the same time landing a punch to the guy’s head before they both went down to the floor in a pile.
The girl, fast on the uptake, scrambled away like a crab, scuttling into her open closet to cower amongst the dirty clothes there.
Good.
Nesbit took advantage of Doug’s momentary distraction, and began beating on him; kicking, biting, and punching, struggling with the strength of one who knew they were about to go down. But Doug more than held his own, and he didn’t have to wrestle solo with the perp for very long. Several of his teammates swarmed to his side, dragging the guy away by his arms and legs.
Doug rolled to his back, blinking away some blood that dripped into his eye. “Clear?” he asked no one in particular.
“We’re clear,” Mason replied evenly. “He’s zip-tied; wrists and ankles. You okay, Lumous?”
“Just a cut,” he replied, sitting up, then feeling around inside his mouth with his tongue. The small slice on his forehead was visible, but the interior flesh of his cheek… He didn’t spare anothersecondthinking about himself. “Mason. Get Maria, my MECASA partner, in here, stat. Melody needs attention. That’s the little girl’s name,” he clarified.
“Take our perp out to the command bus,” Mason told F Squad leader, Briar. “And in the meantime, send in Maria.”
Doug accepted a cloth from Mike’s outstretched hand, hoping it hadn’t come from the pile of dirty laundry, and pressed it to his cut brow.
“Nice leap,” Mike quipped. “You trying to make the rest of us look bad?”
“Nope. I just saw an opportunity and took it,” Doug replied, slightly defensively. He was used to being scrutinized, but didn’t think he’d gone against protocol this time. It didn’t really matter, though. If he was called out for his actions, he’d suck up the consequences.
“Nice assessment of the situation, Lumous,” Mason’s voice boomed out. “I couldn’t have done it better myself.”
What was that?Praise? Doug shook his head. Maybe he’d been kicked in the head and his hearing had gone wonky.
“I’ll let Talia know you handled yourself admirably,” Mason continued.
No.He’d heard right.Wow.
Doug grunted and got to his feet. “Thanks, Chief.” Because what else was there to say?
He noticed the minute Maria entered the room. She didn’t hesitate, but went right to the closet, where she dropped into a squat.
“Hey, Melody. My name is Maria, and I’m here to bring you someplace safe.”
The girl shook her head. “Mama,” she said.
“Your Mama had to go to the hospital, sweetie.” They tried never to lie to a child if they were old enough to understand things.
“He shot her,” Melody sniffed. “I saw him.”
“Yes, but he won’t do that, ever again. He’s going to jail, and you don’t have to worry about him getting out. I promise. Now will you take my hand?” She slowly proffered her digits.
“Mama?” the little voice questioned again.
Doug could hear the smile in Maria’s voice as she gently answered. “The EMT’s told me she’s going to be fine. She lost some blood, but the bullet missed all the important stuff inside her. That means she’ll have to spend a few days in the hospital, but then she’ll be back with you. We’ll find a safe, pretty place forboth of you to go.” Clearly she’d taken in the disgusting nature of the apartment. “In the meantime, would you like to come with me?”
The little girl’s eyes grew wide, and she shook her head.
“No?” Maria replied softly. “That’s okay. I’ll wait. You don’t have to move until you feel comfortable doing so.”
Melody sniffed again, and one of her hands let go of the dirty, stuffed rabbit she was holding.
She pointed.
