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I let out a pained grunt. The impact hurt like hell, and I was going to bruise like a mother fucker. On the bright side, at least the vest took the round. The man looked surprised as hell that I was still standing, likely not realizing that I had a vest on. I quickly charged him as another shot went off, hitting me again. I took him to the ground, and his head bounced off the hardwood.
“Whose shot?” Yates panted into the radio.
“I took fire. I’m okay. Suspect’s down.” I clocked my attacker straight in the jaw. He had no way to defend himself. His gun was five feet away, and my knees pinned each of his arms. My hand around his throat kept him from turning away from the hit.
I felt his nose crunch under my next hit, blood splattered, but I didn’t care. He cried out in pain, and I hit him again, this time rendering him unconscious.
“I’m on my way,” Yates shouted.
I heard the front door open as I got the unconscious man into zip-ties.
“I need you to finish clearing this floor. I’m going up to the next,” I told him.
“Abby’s up there?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said with a grunt as I got up and sprinted up the stairs.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
abby
Isaw the target, and it was like I had a one-track mind. Adam had this room under control, so I sprinted into the hallway and up the stairs that the suspect ran up. What was he trying to do, wake the whole fucking house? Actually, if he was smart, that’s exactly what he’d do. He’d try to get any backup that he could.
“Stop running,” I whisper-shouted at him.
He ignored me and gained speed. He moved out of my sight when he got to the top of the stairs—and now we played hide and go seek. I hoped to God there were no balconies on the other side of the house that he could jump from. It would be a third-story drop, but if he had a rope ladder or something, it would be nothing for him to escape. I remained silent, so he couldn’t figure out where I was. Unfortunately, we’d both have the element of surprise, and I had no idea if he was armed or if he was taking this opportunity to pick up a weapon. None of this was ideal, and the stakes were high.
I kept my Glock 19M in front of me. It was best for close-quarter shooting like this, and I had normal rounds. I kept an ear out for Adam below—just in case he needed me. I continued my silent stalking down the hall. One foot in front of the other marked the seconds that ticked by. The only sounds came from downstairs.
I entered the room to my left first. Someone came up behind me, and before I could turn around, something was wrapped around my throat. I lowered my weapon just slightly so I could bring my non-dominant hand up to my throat—to see what was wrapped around it. It felt like a leather belt. It was pulled tight against my neck, cutting off my air supply. I tried bringing my elbow back into my attacker’s gut, but he quickly dodged. He pinned my arm behind my back. A sharp pain vibrated through my shoulder at the uncomfortable position. He kept his body weight behind me, pressed tightly against my back so that I wouldn’t have the opportunity to break free.
Fuck that. I would not go down like that. I still had so much more to do.
I looked down at my feet without moving my head. His right foot was just to the right of mine. If I could see it, I could shoot it. I lowered the Glock and aimed at his foot, then pulled the trigger.
He let out a shocked and pained cry—the pressure around my neck disappeared. I dropped low to the ground. The force freed the belt from his hands, and it fell to the ground too. While in a squatting position, I used my leg to sweep him off his feet. He fell to the ground with a thud. Blood gushed from his foot, the scent quickly filling the air.
“Whose shots fired?” Guy asked into the radio; he sounded slightly panicked.
Get it together, Guy.
“From house two, Abby was in pursuit of Ricketts’ brother. Send backup to house two so I can check it out,” Adam replied. He sounded slightly calmer than his friend, but not much.
“I’m fine,” I interjected. I hadn’t realized how out of breath I was until I spoke. “Mine,” I added so they knew I fired the shots.
The asshole was on his stomach and zip-tied his hands behind his back. I secured his ankle to a bed.
“Where are you?” Adam asked.
“Don’t worry about it… I’ve got this covered. Watch my six.”
I moved to the next room with my weapon still drawn.
“You’re going to leave me here like this?” my attacker called out.
“Yup,” I said with a wicked grin and then moved along.
I made it to the next room, and a wave of frustration swam through my veins. Ricketts could be gone by now, along with anyone else hanging up here. If they hadn’t been scared of me before, they certainly would be after my tango with the leather belt strangler. More gunshots echoed from outside the house. I hoped that the guys were okay.
