Tactical Maneuver

by J. C. Wilder

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “She better be scared.” He hitched up his drooping pants with his free hand.

  Emma gently pushed the woman back onto a stool. Placing herself between the gun and the cashier, she asked how to open the register.

  “P-push the No Sale button.”

  Emma pressed the blue button, the machine made a churning noise and the drawer popped open.

  “Put it in this bag.” The gunman shoved a wrinkled, drawstring bag at her.

  With shaking hands, Emma kept one eye on the dark gun and the other on the cash drawer. She emptied the drawer, all the while praying he’d take what he wanted and leave. When she was done, she shoved the full bag at him.

  “Gimme your money too.” He gestured at her purse.

  “Okay.” She began to remove the strap from over her head when the bells sounded again.

  “What the—”

  The cashier began to wail when two high-school-aged girls entered the store. They took one look at the scene and fled, their screams carrying into the night air.

  “Damn it, you bitch,” he snarled and grabbed Emma’s purse strap and hauled her closer. The counter bit into her upper belly and he jabbed the gun into her temple. “Gimme your purse. With their big mouths, every cop in town will be here in a few minutes.”

  If they were lucky, that would be true.

  “Let go, I can’t get out of it with you holding it so tight.” He released her and she wasted no time in pulling off the purse and shoving it at him. “Take it and go.”

  He clutched both bags and his gaze darted outside. The darkness seemed denser, more sinister now. He shifted from one to foot to the other, his expression uncertain. Emma held her breath, waiting for him to rush for the door and leave them in peace.

  “No.” He gestured toward Emma with the gun. “You’re coming with me.”

  “Oh no, I’m not.” She shook her head, her gaze focused on the gun. She knew the statistics were miniscule for women being taken to a secondary crime scene and living to tell about it.

  “Then you get to watch her bleed to death after I shoot her.” He waved his gun at the cashier’s abdomen and set the woman to wailing again.

  Emma tried to give the cashier what she hoped was a reassuring smile. She slowly moved around the counter, easing a sigh of relief when he pointed the gun away from the other woman. Right now this man held their lives in his shaky hands. If she made one wrong move, she’d never see her family or her friends again.

  Including Jay.

  Her breathing gave a queer little hitch and panic threatened to overtake her. What a fool she’d been. Cop or no cop, she was already in love with him. Yes, intellectually his profession frightened her, but her heart didn’t care one bit. To think of the hours she’d wasted this week on packing. Hours that she could’ve spent with him, where she belonged. She swallowed hard.

  One thing at a time, Emma.

  Right now she had to concentrate on what was happening and how to best get out of it alive. Now, if she could just stall long enough for the police to arrive—

  The door jingled again and a man entered. At first, she was so surprised she didn’t recognize the police officer they called Picasso. His head was down and he was counting money in his hand. Not in uniform, he wore a black T-shirt and baggy, paint-splattered shorts. Around his waist, he wore an oversized fanny pack and the top was unzipped.

  “Hey, Martha, I need some smokes—”

  “Hold it right there, asshole.”

  Picasso looked up and the expression on his face was almost comical. “Dude, what are you doing?”

  “What does it look like?” the robber snapped.

  “Like you’re robbing the place.” Picasso moved away from Emma. Since the gun was now pointed at him, the newest threat, he was causing the gunman to turn away from her as well. “Looks like you have what you want, man. Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

  The man’s hand shook even harder as he looked from Picasso to Emma and then beyond her to the door. He swallowed audibly. “Not without her.” He nodded at Emma. “I need her.”

  “Well, I’m sure sorry to hear you say that.” Picasso shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t let you take her, friend. I can’t take a chance on her getting hurt. It would make me look bad.”

  The robber gave an odd, shuffling sidestep, first to the left then back to the right. “What the hell are you talking about?” His gaze moved from Picasso to the door, then back. “I’m the one with the gun here. I make the rules.”

  “And if I let you make off with her, my coworkers will never let me live it down.” Picasso’s hand moved toward his fanny pack.

  Seconds later, the front door exploded inward. Emma screamed when something hit her square in the side. She landed hard on the tile floor as a smothering weight pinned her to the ground. Her breath left her in a rush as the unmistakable sound of gunfire erupted over her head. Male shouts filled the store and the immovable object continued to pin her. Vaguely, over all the commotion, she could hear the cashier wailing.

  “All clear,” a voice announced.

  The weight lifted and someone hauled her to her feet. She gripped the counter for support, then turned to see Jay standing over her.

  “Are you hurt?” He ran his hands over her face and she winced when he touched the spot where the would-be robber had jabbed the barrel of the gun into her temple. “You’re bleeding.”

  “I-I’m fine,” she said. “Is everyone else okay?”

  Jay gave her a crooked grin. “All except the bad guy.”

  Emma turned to see the would-be robber, facedown in a pile of flattened snack cakes, his hands bound behind his back. He was coated in chunks of cake and whipped cream.

  “Let him eat cake.” Her voice wobbled and she swallowed hard.

  “Come on, babe. Sit down before you fall over.”

  Jay took her arm and walked her to the center of the counter where there was an open space. Lifting her, he sat her next to the register, facing away from the mess and the cluster of cops around the downed robber.

  Emma raised a trembling hand to her face. “He could’ve killed us.”

  “Yes, he could have.” Jay’s voice was low. “But he didn’t and you have to focus on that, not what could’ve happened.”

  A uniformed officer called out, “Birdman, water for the lady?”

  He nodded and one of the officers tossed him a bottle of water, which he opened and handed to her.

  “All I could think of was you.” Her hand shook so hard that several drops of water splashed out of the bottle. His hand covered hers, steadying her.

  “Is that so?” He helped her take a sip. “What did you think?”

  Now that the danger had passed and Jay was standing beside her, she was starting to feel calmer. They were both healthy and alive. Now she simply had to take that miracle with both hands and run with it.

  She tilted her chin up and looked him in the eye. “I thought about how much I love you.”

  A slow smile stole across his face and his pale blue eyes gleamed with satisfaction. “Oh, you do, do you? So you think you might want to stay in Haven?”

  She smiled. The feeling of rightness that moved over her was one she couldn’t argue with. “Yes, I think I might.”

  “And when did you come to that conclusion?”

  “When I thought I might have just squandered my chance to spend one more hour with you.” She set the bottle aside and took his hand in hers. “I spoke out of fear. I was afraid to fall in love with you so I gave in to my fear only to realize it was too late. It doesn’t matter what you do for a living as I’m already in love with you.”

  “Oh, is that so?” His grin turned smug.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “Well, that’s good news.”

  Her smile matched his. “And why is that good news?”

  “Because you already knew that I’m in love with you, so I guess that makes us a matched set.” His head dipped closer. “I wish I
could kiss you,” he whispered.

  “Why can’t you?” she hissed back.

  “I’m in uniform.”

  “Ah, well then.” Emma slid off the counter and brought her body into full contact with his for a moment. His eyes widened before he stepped back, just a bit. “I can’t wait to get you out of your uniform then.”

  “I could take care of that for you, Jay,” Picasso spoke.

  Jay scowled at the other man. “If you value your life, back off.”

  “And if you value your woman, you’ll jump at her offer.”

  Jay tipped back his head and gave a bark of laughter as Emma’s toes curled with delight. A blast rattled the windows and the sky outside lit with a shower of fireworks.

  About the Author

  J.C. Wilder left the world of big business to carry on conversations with the people who live in her mind, fictional characters that is. In her past she has worked as a software tester, traveled with an alternative rock band, and currently volunteers for her local police department as a photographer. She lives in Central Ohio with 6,000 books and an impressive collection of dust bunnies.

  You can find her at www.jcwilder.com.

  Look for these titles by J.C. Wilder

  Now Available:

  Thief of Hearts

  Winter’s Daughter

  Paradox

  Paradox I

  Paradox II

  Paradox III

  Shadow Dweller

  Tempt Not the Cat

  Reckoning

  Men of S.W.A.T.

  Kissing Cowboy

  Loving Ranger

  Coming Soon:

  Men of S.W.A.T.

  Tactical Maneuver

  Don’t miss the other titles in J.C. Wilder’s Men of S.W.A.T. Series!

  Sometimes a man just has to take matters into his own hands…

  Men of S.W.A.T., Book 1

  Miranda White has had a crush on S.W.A.T. team sniper John Stephens since he first strode into Fitzy’s Diner. Too bad he’s a serial dater. As a respected business owner, she doesn’t need to become known around town as his next Flavor Of The Month.

  What she does need is a date for an upcoming retirement dinner for one of Haven’s finest. If she has anything to say about it, it won’t be the notorious bad boy.

  John definitely has something to say about Randa’s plan to date one of his teammates. He’s had the hots for her since he first sank his teeth into her sweet baked confections. She’s sexy and curvy in all the right places, and he fantasizes about tearing that polyester uniform from her lush body and showing her how versatile handcuffs can be.

  He’d planned to take his time seducing her, but from their first touch, desire flares hot, hard and primal, temporarily making him forget that the one thing a police officer may not have is time…

  Warning: Contains a smoking-hot cop with a talent for keeping his eye on the target, and a sweet-baking heroine who might as well have that target painted on her curvaceous butt. Misuse of police-department-issued equipment, and one very slippery wading pool.

  Their first kiss melted her resistance, their second one melted his heart.

  She’s a woman with a plan…

  From childhood, Payton ‘Pip’ Whittier has loved Jeff ‘Cowboy’ Diver. Even after he publicly humiliated her and forced her to leave town, he’s the one man she can’t erase from her heart.

  Nine years have passed and Pip has returned to the scene of the crime, her hometown of Haven, Ohio. This time, she’s determined to rid her system of Cowboy, once and for all. He’s a man determined to thwart her every move…

  When Cowboy sees Pip at the local bar, he’s floored by the changes in his one-time best friend. The shy, sweet girl has been replaced with a sexy-as-hell woman in red stilettos. Years ago they’d shared a tender moment, one that changed irrevocably their lives.

  This is his one chance to convince her to give him one more—even if it means his heart could be crushed under her lethal high heels.

  Warning: This book contains the lethal misuse of a pool cue, shenanigans of a sexual nature in the back of a pickup truck, a good girl gone bad and a hero who packs some serious heat—hoo-AH!

  eBooks are not transferable.

  They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

  Cincinnati OH 45249

  Tactical Maneuver

  Copyright © 2016 by J.C. Wilder

  ISBN: 978-1-61923-362-1

  Edited by Tera Cuskaden

  Cover by Scott Carpenter

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: February 2016

  www.samhainpublishing.com