Page 90 of Chasing Honor

“One-Palmer-One. Go in soft. South side of the building.”

“Copy, dispatch.”

Lorenz turned off the sirens but left on the flashing lights and slowed his speed just enough to allow the traffic to move right.

It didn’t take long for Lorenz to pull into the south driveway of the nursing home. He’d just put the vehicle in park when the back door of the building flew open. A man fitting the suspect’s description fled the building with a female dressed in a white lab coat in front of him.

“Fuck,” I muttered and drew my weapon from my holster, using the open door of the cruiser as cover.

“Let her go and drop your weapon,” the officer closest to the suspect yelled and started to retreat to find cover.

The man brought the gun he’d had pointed at the doctor’s side up to her head and stopped.

“Move back or I’ll shoot her,” the man yelled.

I shifted my attention from the suspect to the hostage. She looked oddly calm, her arms limp at her sides, hands unclenched, and staring straight ahead. Before I had time to further analyze her behavior, she nodded slightly and dropped her weight in the suspect’s grasp. He tried to catch her as she fell to her knees in front of him. The distraction was all the officers needed.

A series of shots rang out, and I took off running toward the woman as the injured suspect crumpled on top of her. Lorenz got to them the same time I did and kicked the suspect’s gun out of arms reach and pulled his bleeding body off the woman.

“I got you,” I told her and pulled her to her feet. Holding her tightly I moved us away from the man’s dead body. “I’m not sure if that was the bravest or stupidest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“My . . . my . . . dad and brothers are cops at the 727,” she stuttered. “It was my best chance. He was going to kill me.”

“Sounds like they taught you well.”

Her legs buckled, and I picked her up before she could fall.

“You’re safe now,” I reminded her.

She buried her face in my chest and started to sob. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” I found a bench and sat with her, still crying, in my arms.

“Will you radio my dad?”

I took in the scene around us, the SWAT was pulling in, even though they were late to the fire fight, and an ambulance was coming in behind them. The sea of red and blue flashing lights was overwhelming. It went against regulations, but the woman in my arms needed her dad.

“One-Palmer-One to dispatch,” I called into the radio on my shoulder. “What’s your dad’s name?”

“Sergeant Hudson. Steve Hudson,” she answered.

“Go. One-Palmer-One.”

“Call the 7-2-7. Sergeant Hudson’s attendance is requested at this location, forthwith. Be advised, his daughter was the hostage. Unharmed. I repeat, she is unharmed but requesting his presence.”

“Copy. One-Palmer-One.”

“He’ll be here soon,” I told her.

“Thank you, Officer . . .”

“Lenox,” I offered.

“I’m Lauren Hudson.”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Hudson.”

I continued to hold Lauren on my lap as the other officers secured the building. Lorenz caught my attention from across the parking lot and started toward us.