Oath of Honor
Page 31
He’d been given the green light. The call had gone out over the radios and no one was supposed to move. And now Chloe might be dead because an officer had blown the shot for Derek. Had the man not heard the order?
At the moment, it didn’t matter.
What mattered was Chloe.
Derek wasn’t exactly in the most ideal position to make the shot, but it was the only one he had.
He drew in a steadying breath. He had to focus, to be cool, be steady, and return to the zone.
Looking through the scope once more, he saw the driver raise his weapon and aim it at an innocent victim. A woman not quite hidden behind her car.
Derek pulled his trigger and a nanosecond later the bullet hit its mark. The driver’s body went slack. The passenger next to him jerked and turned, aiming his weapon at the cop now hovering at the edge of the driver’s door, hand on the handle, ready to yank the door open in a heroic, if dangerous, possibly stupid, move. Derek could see the cop’s plan as clearly as if he’d written it out with full illustrations. He was going to open the door, pull out the dead driver, and shoot the remaining passenger.
Fortunately, the passenger moved and Derek had a clear shot. A second pull on the trigger and the threat was over. The officer dove out of sight.
Derek lowered his rifle and swiped a hand across his eyes. Two lives. He’d ended two lives. Two more faces he’d see in his dreams. But they’d made their choices, and if Derek hadn’t made his, innocents would be dead instead of the two men bent on destruction.
And now …
“Chloe,” he whispered.
Acknowledgments
As always, I wouldn’t have the accuracy of the police procedural without the help of FBI Special Agent Dru Wells and FBI Special Agent Wayne Smith (Retired).
A special thanks to Mark Mynheir for answering questions and giving me invaluable feedback.
Thanks to Columbia, South Carolina’s, Sheriff Leon Lotts for being patient and answering a number of my questions. Thank you for helping me figure out a way to break into Derek’s office and look for an Ops Plan. Thank you, Tana Bevil and Barbara Porter, for putting me in touch with Sheriff Lotts. You’re both great friends and I love you!
I have to give a shout-out to Officer Steven Moore of Gaffney, South Carolina, and cousin to my fabulous husband. Thank you, too, for your feedback, for your willingness to answer my questions, and for your service.
Thanks to Detective Chris Hammett for answering a few questions and for being willing to be a future resource. A writer can never have too many!
Thank you to Lynn Blackburn, Edie Melson, Alycia Morales, Linda Gilden, and Emme Gannon for all the brainstorming we did on this story. Y’all are amazing—and are just as devious as I am!
Thanks to my “twin sister” (we share the same birthday) and brainstorming buddy, DiAnn Mills. You’re such a special lady and I love you bunches!
Yes, I had a LOT of help on this story from law enforcement sources. That is not to say that I may or may not have taken some author licensure in a couple of places. Any inaccuracies are completely on this author’s shoulders, NOT the individuals who gave me perfectly accurate advice.
Thank you to my family for continuing to put up with me. I love you so much. There are no words to convey it.
And, of course, thank you to Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Without you, I would be nothing.
Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Elite Guardians series. She is the winner of two ACFW Carol Awards, the Selah Award, the Golden Scrolls Book of the year Award (2016), the Daphne Award, the Christian Readers Best Award (2017), the Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award and several others. She has a master’s degree in education from Converse College and lives in South Carolina with her husband and two teens. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.
Books by Lynette Eason
WOMEN OF JUSTICE
Too Close to Home
Don’t Look Back
A Killer Among Us
Gone in a Flash (ebook short)
DEADLY REUNIONS
When the Smoke Clears
When a Heart Stops
When a Secret Kills
Retribution (ebook short)
HIDDEN IDENTITY
No One to Trust
Nowhere to Turn
No Place to Hide
ELITE GUARDIANS
Always Watching
Without Warning
Moving Target
Chasing Secrets
BLUE JUSTICE
Oath of Honor
www.LynetteEason.com
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