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“Gemma. Rafael. You can work with us. We’ll take care of you.”
The door slams open. “FBI!”
CHAPTER36
SOPHIA
The acrid smell of gun residue and blood taints the air. I direct my gun at Rafael.
“Gemma. Put your gun down.” It’s Fisher. He’s here.
She lets out a sob. “You won’t kill him?”
“No. Hand me your gun.” Fisher holds his hand out. “No one else has to get hurt.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see Gemma’s hands cover her face.
Fisher stands behind me. To my frozen skin, he’s hot. He presses his ear. “We’ve got her. All clear.”
My gaze tracks to the hole in the glass. A web of cracks. Alejandro’s gaping head.
“Baby, it’s okay. It’s over.”
In training, they talk about an out-of-body experience. I lived it once. But it was hazy. I was drugged. There are no drugs in my system now. And I feel like my soul has departed my body and I’m taking in the room. Blood stains the carpet. Blood spray covers the walls, the coffee table, the sofa.
Three men in SWAT gear and AR rifles line up in the hall. One man latches handcuffs on Gemma. Out the window, across the courtyard, I swear I think I see the shadow of my father, putting away his long gun.
Killington’s eyes are open. His fingers still clutch his handgun. It has a walnut handle. One from the Sullivan Arms custom collection. He’s dead. A corpse.
And behind me, my first kill. Ivan. A hired man.
“Sophia, babe.” Fisher’s hand covers my wrist. The touch kicks off a chain of reactions. I blink. Swallow. “It’s okay.”
I meet Rafael’s gaze. “You’ll work with us?”
He gives a slight nod, and I lower my gun.
There’s a flurry of activity. Everything had gone quiet. But now I hear police sirens and the whir of a helicopter. A floodlight shines over the courtyard.
My hand muscles cramp, and I pass the gun to my other hand and stretch out the fingers.
Fisher wraps his arm around me. He pulls me into his chest. He’s wearing a vest, and the rough edges cut into my skin, but relief he’s wearing one surfaces.
“You okay?” Ryan stands in front of me. A flashback to him standing there, years ago, when I was rescued, hits me. He’d stood off in the distance as my father carried me away from a nightmare.
“I’m good.”
My dad pushes through the line of agents and officers, Trevor following him. “You okay?”
My gaze falls to Ivan on the ground. Part of his skull is missing.
“You dropped to the ground like we taught you,” Trevor says, pride evident. He’s a coach, through and through.
“Thought I was going to have a heart attack when you did that. We weren’t quite set up yet.” Dad’s a sniper, but he’s careful. He doesn’t take a shot unless he’s sure.
“You were on the roof?” I glance out the shattered window, to the building across the courtyard.
“We didn’t know if we might have a hostage situation,” he explains unnecessarily. I’m sure when they heard what was going on, they jumped to cover all possible events. “What was Killington doing here?”
Gemma and Rafael are no longer in the room. They’ve been escorted out.
