by Peyton Banks
Shit.
Now was not the time to be off in la-la land. They were about to go into a dangerous situation, and he needed to be fully aware of everything.
Mac gave him a hard stare before continuing on. “Ash was able to get the suspect on the telephone once, and he confirmed there are two hostages inside with him. The suspect would not verify if they were unharmed. The call was disconnected, and now he will not answer. The power company is here and will be cutting all power to the house.”
Myles gave the nod to show he was listening. This tactic was used to isolate the suspect. No television, radio, or any other way he could get information on what was going on outside. The local news channels were posted outside the police tape, all reporting what was going on. It would do them more damage than good if the suspect could see and know what they were doing.
“Why the hell they let those civilians get so damn close?” Declan rejoined the group. “They had one job to do.”
Myles agreed with Declan. The last thing they needed was the suspect opening fire on the nosey people trying to see what was going on.
“What’s the move?” Myles tried to keep Roxxy from creeping back into his thoughts.
“Since we don’t know the status of the hostages, we’re going to have been careful with this. I want you, Brodie, Iker, and Zain to approach the house. Once the power is cut, we’re going to provide a cell phone. This should make him open a line of communication with us. If that fails, then we’ll breach the home.”
Myles nodded and glanced over at his teammates. They’d practiced this plenty of times. SWAT always didn’t rush into situations with guns blazing. When it came to rescuing hostages, they had to be delicate about the mission. Not knowing if the hostages were harmed or safe heightened the tension. The ultimate goal of a case like this would be to extract everyone from the house unscathed.
Myles followed Brodie over to the other side of the BEAR, where they could obtain what would be needed.
“Same as always.” Brodie opened a compartment on the vehicle.
“Yeah,” Myles responded.
Brodie would be first in their procession line. He’d carry the shield to protect them from random shots that could be taken at them. The next person would have the tool to break the glass and insert the device into the home while the other two behind provided cover.
It was standard procedure, but having an armed suspect who could decide to use them as target practice made this extremely dangerous.
“Just as we practiced. In and out quick,” Zain agreed.
He and Iker came to stand next to Myles. They both had their weapons in their hands. Myles didn’t doubt for a second these two would protect him and Brodie. He was close to each member, and there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t do for each other.
“I just need Myles to stop daydreaming. Don’t think you got away from telling us what happened with you and the surveyor chick.” Iker chuckled. “Beers on me tonight.”
Myles rolled his eyes. He pulled his mask up over his face and secured his helmet. “One day, boys, when you grow up, you’ll learn not to kiss and tell.”
“Hmm…kissing was involved. Now we have to hear what happened.” Zain barked a hearty laugh. “We all live through your sexcapades.”
“Speak for yourself. I get plenty of women,” Iker said.
“Why haven’t I seen any of these so-called women?” Zain scratched his head.
“Because I wouldn’t want to scare them off with your ugly mug of a face,” Iker replied.
Myles and Brodie chuckled at the two of them.
Myles glanced over and caught a glare from Mac, who was speaking with the other sergeants in charge of the scene. “We best get a move on it.”
“Here is the cell you are to insert into the window.” Declan joined them. He handed the cheap phone to Myles. “Ash is staying behind to try to talk the suspect down. Mac and I will be posted to provide additional cover. We don’t like how many windows are in the house. We can’t see him and don’t want to take any chances.”
“The power?” Zain asked.
All amusement and joking had been put to the side.
“It’s been cut. You’re good to go. Be careful and keep your eyes open.” Declan met their eyes and gave the nod. He turned and jogged over where Mac was waiting for him.
“Let’s roll, men,” Myles announced, motioning to Iker and Zain.
Ash had plenty of experience negotiating. He was a natural at it and had an excellent track record. Myles trusted his close friend to be able to convince the man to release the hostages.
They lined up in close formation and approached the house. It was daylight, and everything in the yard was visible. Myles was thankful for the sun. Had this been at night, it would make it harder for all the unknowns who would be hidden under cover of darkness.
They kept a tight line with Brodie in front. Iker and Zain had their weapons trained on the house.
Silence ensued.
Tensions were high.
This was not a practice drill.
It was the real deal.
Myles could feel Iker behind him. They arrived at the side of the front porch and stayed as close to the home as possible. They slowly walked to the first window. Myles held the long metal pole with a clamp at the end. He’d use it to break the glass and toss the phone inside.
Brodie raised his fist, signaling their arrival at the destination.
The older home had outdated windows. It would be simple to hit the pane and smash it. From experience, the newer homes came fitted with glass that could withstand more pressure and were harder to shatter.
Myles moved in closer, staying conscious of his surroundings. He extended the pole with the hammer edge toward the target. Ready, he waited for the signal.
“We’re good,” Iker murmured quietly.
Myles swung the hammer, fracturing the glass. He tossed the phone inside.
Mission accomplished.
A man’s deep voice cursed from inside.
“Move,” Brodie snapped.
They immediately backed away from the structure. Myles kept his eyes on the house, praying the guy didn’t come to the window and start shooting.
It seemed like hours, but only minutes had passed since they’d completed their mission. They got back at the BEAR, unharmed.
“Good job, men.” Mac and Declan arrived where they stood. Their department-issue semiautomatic rifles hung from around their necks. Had the suspect opened fire, he would have paid dearly for it.
Now he was away from the house, Myles allowed his body to relax. He glanced at his team and nodded.
“We’re going to see if Ash can reach him. If we can’t talk him out of the building then we’ll breach the perimeter and enter,” Declan informed them.
“Sergeant MacArthur!” a voice called out.
Myles turned and saw a woman in uniform walking over to them. She was an African-American with dark braids pulled back into a ponytail.
“Officer Stowe,” Mac replied, facing her.
She stopped before them and motioned over to the street corner where another patrol officer was speaking with a few women.
“Those ladies over there came down here because they know who is in the house,” she said, rotating back to them.
She was calm, and Myles could see the wisdom and experience in her eyes. This was one beat cop who didn’t take no shit.
“They were watching the television and caught the news reports. They can identify the suspect.”
Good. All the cops had was his description but no name. He’d refused to give up a name from what Myles knew.
“Iker and Zain, escort them over to the command van. We don’t know the mindset of the suspect and don’t want him randomly shooting,” Mac ordered.
“Yes, sir.” Iker and Zain left with Officer Stowe.
“We’re giving this fucker one time to come out. This has been drawn out longer than necessary,” Declan announced.
; “I agree. The longer we let him remain in there, the more he could escalate,” Myles said.
He glanced back at the house from around the edge of the BEAR.
This was the part of being a SWAT officer he hated the most.
Waiting.
Myles was growing restless with the waiting. They’d received an update that Ash had made contact with the suspect. Apparently, his name was Darius Sherman, and he had a mental history. According to his sisters, Lisa and Kim, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was off his medications. The house belonged to an ex-girlfriend of his who now lived with her new girlfriend.
“Mr. Sherman would not allow Ash to speak to the two women. We’re going to go in prepared to meet the worst.”
The team surrounded Mac while he gave instructions.
SWAT would do what they did best.
It was unfortunate that they had to assume the worst, and the suspect was not cooperating.
If he was indeed off of his mediations and a paranoid schizo, then there was no telling where he was mentally.
“We’re going to use a normal hostage extraction protocol. The front door will be the entry point. A few patrols will post up in the back to make sure he doesn’t try to escape through the rear door.”
Myles listened to the instructions of his sergeant. These were vital. Following orders was how they proved to be a successful team. They worked well together, and each trusted Mac to lead. Each man would be reviewing protocols and knew exactly what would need to be done.
Around him stood the men he knew would do their damnedest to ensure the hostages would be removed safely.
“Any questions?” Mac asked.
Face masks and helmets were pulled into place.
Myles willed his heart to slow down. Anxiety and nerves didn’t belong out in the field. He breathed in deeply and drew his semiautomatic weapon closer to his body as he waited for the phrase he knew were coming.
“SWAT, let’s hunt.” Mac’s voice rung out clear and concise.
Three little words put everyone in the mindset that it was time to do what they did best.
The team moved with their practiced precision. They worked together like a well-oiled machine.
Brodie arrived at the door first with his shield in place. Zain came from behind with the battering ram. Two good hits, and the wood splintered.
“CPD!” Declan’s hard voice shot through the air.
They entered the building swiftly in a single-file line with their weapons drawn. Iker and Myles were the first inside.
“Clear,” Iker called out, scoping his side of the room.
“Clear,” Myles echoed, his gaze sweeping the living room.
The rest of the team moved on, trusting Myles and Iker. Myles and Iker would fall back to the end of the line as they walked through the house.
“Hands on your head!” Mac shouted from the back room.
Myles braced for the sound of gunfire, but it never came. He watched Declan and Brodie go into the small room.
“Hostages. Where are they?” Declan asked.
Myles motioned for Iker and Zain to follow him without waiting to hear the answer. They still had to secure the rest of the house. They could never be too careful when in a hot situation. Even though they knew it was the two women and Darius, they had to be sure there was no one else in the house.
They continued on.
Dining room—cleared.
Kitchen—nothing.
They headed up the stairs.
Myles pushed open the first door, finding it to be a little bathroom. “Clear,” he shouted.
“Clear,” Zain called out, stepping from his area.
“Shit,” Iker cursed. He disappeared into the last room.
Myles and Zain paused in the doorway where Iker was.
The two women were sprawled on the large bed. The dark-haired one’s eyes were open and lifeless, staring at the ceiling. Blood caked the sheets and their bodies. Bullet holes lined the walls, and casings were left on the floor.
It had been a massacre.
There was no telling how long they’d been there. From the looks of it, Darius had caught them in the bed and sprayed them with bullets.
“Anything?” Myles asked, but he already knew the answer.
Iker checked for a pulse on both of them and stepped back, shaking his head.
They were too late.
“We found the hostages,” Myles announced through their communicators. “Call for the medical examiner.”
Chapter 11
Roxxy had to force herself to concentrate on the meeting at hand. Their team was currently reviewing over the details of the audit and what was still needed in order for them to conclude. Her gaze roamed around the conference table and took in their team. Each of the men were loyal to the company and had worked for her father for years.
Images of Myles kept creeping into her thoughts. She had to force them from her mind. No matter how much she wanted to replay their night together, now was not the time.
“SWAT is out on a call now. When they return, we will follow up with them and finish the interviews,” Earl stated.
Roxxy blinked.
Candidate interviews.
She could do that.
“I’ve already spoken with Sergeants MacArthur, Owen, and Officer Burton,” she remarked, looking down at her notes.
“Oh? When did you meet with Burton?” her father asked. He paused rifling through his papers and lifted his head.
Her face warmed at his innocent question. “Right after the tryouts.”
Earl eyed her before giving her a slight nod.
She blew out a deep breath, thankful he didn’t question her further.
“They’ve been dispatched on call for hours. I think we should go out there,” Phil suggested. He was one of the top auditors with the company. He, too, was a former cop who after taking a bullet to the knee, decided on using his skills in a different manner. He had never been cleared to work in the field again and did not want to spend the rest of his career behind a desk. Logistics Intelligence Services gave former policemen and women a way to use the skills they had developed over the years.
“Great idea. Why don’t you and Roxxy head out and observe.” Earl motioned to them.
Roxxy glanced at her co-worker and offered a tight smile. “Lou and Jim can handle the interviews. I want the men and women who tried out for SWAT to be included.”
“Yes, sir,” Lou and Jim echoed.
“We should be concluding within the next day or so,” Earl announced.
Even though Roxxy knew they wouldn’t be in Columbia for a long time, her father’s words still hit her like cold water to the face. She’d go back to her small town while Myles would still be here.
They hadn’t promised each other anything. She knew when she’d invited him up to her hotel that it was going to be for a night of hot sex.
Myles certainly hadn’t let her down.
Hell, he had her aching now just with the memories of everything they’d done.
“Ready to go?” Phil’s voice broke through her thoughts.
Roxxy glanced around and saw her team had dispersed. Earl stood at the door eyeing her.
“Sorry. Yeah, I’m ready.” She gathered her papers and put them in her binder. She stood from the table, embarrassed at being caught in a daydream.
They walked to the doorway together, but he held up a hand to her.
“I’ll go grab my car and pull it around.” Phil must have sensed the boss wanted to have a private moment with her.
“Okay. Thanks.” Roxxy tucked her dark hair behind her ear.
He disappeared from the room. Earl closed the door behind him.
Roxxy swallowed hard and held her binder close to her chest. She suddenly felt sixteen again, staring up at him.
“Is there something you need to tell me, Roxxy?” Earl’s eyebrow rose high.
“Should there be?”
“I’m just curious as
to when you would have time to question Officer Burton.” He slid his hands into his pants pocket.
This was a tactic he’d used on her when she was younger. He tried to look curious, and when she was a child, she fell for it every time. Now that she was grown, it wasn’t going to work.
“I told you I had time at the tryouts. In between their drills and for a few minutes afterwards when he escorted me to my car.”
Earl stared at her. His blue eyes bored into her, and she had to fight the urge to squirm. He had always been the ultra-protective militant father. Tough. Caring. Strict.
But he had one weakness.
His daughter’s wide eyes and smile.
“Did I do something wrong?” She turned on the charm and tilted her head to the side.
He’d never been able to resist her innocent act. Even when she was a child and he had all the evidence that she’d done wrong, one pitiful look from Roxxy would break him.
“No, you didn’t.” He chuckled.
She relaxed a little and smiled. It had worked like a charm. She knew her father well.
“Yesterday when I went down to the hotel lobby to snag a cup of coffee, I just happened to see Officer Burton coming from the elevators and leaving. You wouldn’t know anything about that now, would you?”
Roxxy froze, her smile still in place.
Shit.
She maintained eye contact with him for she knew if she cut away, it would be a dead giveaway she was not telling the truth.
Instead, she shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. “I wouldn’t know. This is a small city after all.”
“Is that so?” he murmured.
She stood on her tiptoes and laid a kiss on his cheek. “Love you, Daddy. See you in a little bit.”
Roxxy escaped from the room and breathed a sigh of relief. Her feet carried her as fast as they could in heels without running to put some distance between her and her father.
She didn’t want to give him the chance to call her back into the room.
Nope.
Not going to even have that conversation with him.
Exciting the precinct, she caught sight of Phil pulling up to the door. She hopped in the car. “Let’s roll.”
