is looking at me. I’ve only seen the man a couple of times in person, but it doesn’t take an expert to recognize the disappointment in his eyes.
“Only one?” Dominic asks as he steps in beside me, his eyes darting to the house like he can’t stand the sight of me.
“That I could see.”
Dominic makes a quick hand gesture and a bearded man darts off toward the house. I want to yell, to make the man stop in his tracks. I can’t stand and watch as someone else takes a risk that will make my world crumble around me, but the man beside me clamps a hand on my shoulder before I can move.
“There isn’t a better sharpshooter within a thousand miles. Let Shadow work.”
I feel impotent, utterly helpless as we wait, but long minutes go by without a sound. There’s no gunshot. There’s no screaming coming from inside. Only the sound of the wind blowing through nearby trees and an occasional dog bark interrupts the atmosphere around us.
“Were there injuries? Could you see all of them?”
I turn to look at Dustin “Kid” Andrews, and although I know he’s feeling the same riot of emotions threatening to drag me to my knees on the asphalt, he seems put together and confident in his buddy’s ability to save those inside. I wish I shared his certainty.
“I could see Sophia and the boys. They’re tied up. She’s gagged. She’s got bruises on her face like she’s been hit, but I didn’t see any of that on the boys.” I keep my eyes on Dustin instead of turning my attention to Dominic when I continue, “She’s been there since I left this morning. The boys wouldn’t have gotten there until after school got out. I don’t know if they came straight here.”
“They did,” Dustin confirms, and I focus on his news rather than the growl that emits from deep in Dominic’s chest. “I tracked Landon here just before four.”
It doesn’t surprise me that he would keep that close of tabs on his kid, but knowing Sophia could’ve been in this house alone with him for hours makes my gut turn sour.
“She texted me just after one. She hasn’t texted me since.”
“Did her text seem unusual?”
I look back to Dominic.
“No.”
“What was the text?”
I take a step back, wondering if he’s willing to wrestle my phone from me. I’m in no position to make my confessions now, and I’d never betray Sophia’s trust. She wouldn’t want her father digging through our text thread.
“She wasn’t upset. There was no hidden message. If I thought for a minute there was danger, I would’ve been here sooner,” I explain, hoping he takes it at face value.
She did stop texting me abruptly, but that was only after I insisted I needed to work without distractions. I’ll know better next time. If there is a next time.
“One guy,” Shadow says, coming back without me noticing. “He along with all three captives are in the east side of the home. There’s enough of a crack in the curtains that I can get a shot.”
Why the fuck didn’t he do it before coming back? Every second they spend inside increases the chances for any one of them to be hurt.
“Go,” I urge with a hiss. “Do it.”
“We have to wait—thank fuck. Finally.”
We watch as the SWAT team pulls up down the street. Monahan isn’t far behind in his personal SUV.
I stand to the side as my Chief discusses the situation with Dominic and his men.
“We can’t respond the same way we normally would.” I jolt at the sound of Dustin’s voice beside me. “It’s taking everything I have not to run in there, guns blazing and take that fucker down, but I know this situation will be remedied very quickly. They’re all going to be okay.”
I open my mouth to ask what level of okay he’s talking about because alive and okay are two different things. There’s no telling the trauma those three have already endured, and we’re all out here standing around and doing nothing.
“My guys are all mic’d up. Shadow can let you know what frequency,” Dominic says, standing near Monahan as the department’s team waits for instruction.
“We need to open a line of communication. We may be able to settle this without bloodshed if we know what he wants.”
“We don’t even know who it is,” I spit, my legs telling me to take care of this shit myself.
“That’s why you need to call. I bet he’ll pick up if