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“Stay down, Ari!” he yelled from the ground and turned slightly, able to get off a couple of shots, hitting the side of the car. “Stay down, baby!”
Nazir gasped and crumbled to the asphalt holding his chest. Blood spilled through his fingers, and fear like nothing Laz had ever experienced gripped him.
He had to get to his kid. She was screaming for him.
Everything was happening so fast. Laz returned fire while trying to take cover, but cursed when a bullet whizzed by and pinged off his truck.
One of the windows shattered. Then another.
Arielle.
Laz had to get to her.
Needing to get to the other side of the truck, he fired off several rounds while he lifted himself up, planning to make a run for it. A bullet slammed into his shoulder, knocking him against the truck.
He cried out as hot, searing pain stabbed him in the shoulder and traveled down his arm.
His gun slipped from his grip when he crashed to the ground.
More bullets flew, and he flinched when one kicked up rocks near his head. He had to move and under the truck was his only option.
He dragged himself beneath the vehicle with his good arm, but each move he made brought with it a stabbing pain that stole his breath.
Don’t stop.
Don’t stop.
Keep moving.
Arielle needed him.
Yelling and people running could be heard in the distance. Bullets were still whizzing by, but Laz blocked out everything except the need to get to his child. He couldn’t move fast. Not only was his wound fighting against him, but the truck’s undercarriage wasn’t as high as he needed. He kept getting snagged but eventually made it to the other side.
Dammit.
He was parked too close to the curb. He couldn’t get on the sidewalk and had to belly-crawl with one arm to the rear of the vehicle. Just as he started to pull up on the sidewalk, the car peeled away, but Arielle was still screaming.
Laz didn’t know what was worse, the searing pain that left his arm immobile or the fear that his daughter was hurt.
On his knees and with strength he didn’t know he had, he wrenched open the back door and found his baby on the floor with her hands over her ears.
Relief flooded through him, and emotion clogged his throat as tears filled his eyes. He blinked them away, ignoring how his chest tightened at seeing her.
“Come here, baby,” he said, dizziness clouding his vision. He blinked rapidly, trying to focus but staggered and bumped into the truck door. Only sheer will kept him upright. “Co—come here.”
Still crying uncontrollably, Arielle crawled toward him, falling on her face once when her arms gave out, but she kept moving until she reached the door.
Emotion gripped Laz when she touched his hand, and a tear slipped down his cheek. He didn’t give a damn. He just needed to hold her.
“Daddy,” Arielle cried, sniffing hard enough to shake her little body. She frantically clawed at his clothes and pulled herself onto his body.
She might’ve been tiny, but the way she lunged at him, the momentum and her weight sent him crashing backward, and he fell to the sidewalk. But he didn’t let go of her. He held her close and was able to lean against the edge of the door.
“Are you hurt?” Laz asked.
She had stopped screaming but was still whimpering and sniffling. He needed to check her, but the death grip she had around his neck made it almost impossible. That and the fact that he was seeing double as dizziness rocked him. Still, he ran his good hand down her body, praying that he wouldn’t feel any blood.
She seemed okay, but he wasn’t sure as he struggled to keep his head up. His eyes drifted closed despite willing himself to stay alert.
