by A. M. Brooks
“Yeah,” Silas agrees, “quit eye-fucking my sister.”
I flip them both off. They laugh and joke at my expense, and I don’t care. I keep Saylor in my line of vision. She cut her hair recently. The strands hit her shoulders now. She’s not wearing her usual get up of sweats and hoodies or leggings and oversized shirts. Something she also blames me for. She’s back to skirts and tight fitted jeans and even tighter shirts. She looks perfect no matter what she wears. For fuck’s sake she’d make a pillow case look sexy. I’ve stared down, and even threatened, at least five guys today who were brave enough to look at her for more than two seconds. I’ve never been one for labels, but, for Saylor, I’m ready to make the concession. She’s mine, whether she wants to admit it or not.
When lunch is over, we get up to dump our trays. I take one step into the hallway when the announcement comes.
“ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS. PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR NEAREST LOCKED DOOR ROOM. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”
“What the hell?” Kai starts walking faster down the hall. People start clearing out and rushing into classrooms. It’s unorganized chaos.
“Grab your target,” I fire off orders, following the protocol Rogue set in motion years ago. My eyes scan the sea of bodies for purple. I see Winter dragging her down the hall toward me.
“I got it,” I tell her, taking Saylor’s arm, while Winter dashes off to a room.
“What’s going on?” Saylor’s eyes are round, and she looks terrified.
“We’re going into a lockdown. Follow me, so we can figure out what’s going on,” I instruct, leading us to the designated empty classroom, pulling her in with me. Kai and Reed are already here, and Silas and Bentley sneak in right before the door closes.
“I fuckin knew it.” Rhodes laughs when he sees Saylor. Idiot just made the connection she’s being hidden like him. Reed’s eyes roll.
“Is there a school shooting or something?’ Saylor asks more questions. I can tell this is really getting to her.
“I just sent Matt an alarm message. Kai’s pulling up the news.” I wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into my chest. She automatically wraps herself around me. I hide my grin in her hair.
“This isn’t good,” Kai finally announces.
“What?” I ask, moving closer to his phone.
“It’s a live news broadcast. All the schools in the country went into a lockdown for a threatened shooting. Like every single school in the country,” he reads off the information.
My phone vibrates. “Matt, you see the news?”
“You need to get to the shop. Something isn’t right,” he bites out. “Do you have all your targets?”
“Yeah, we got em’,” I answer. “Do we have a clear path?”
“As far as I can see, the parking lot is empty, move now, Ciaran,” Matt orders, before hanging up the phone.
I nod to Kai and Silas. “Let’s go.”
I pull Saylor into my body, shielding her with my back. We sneak across the empty hallways and out the side door in the gym. The exit leads right to the student parking lot.
“Clear,” Silas calls out. We jog single file to my truck. I fling my door open and have Saylor climb across to the passenger seat.
“Buckle up,” I order. I gun the gas and we speed out of the parking lot. Kai follows between Silas and I, while we roll down to Rogue’s. Matt has the doors open, and we pull all the way through.
“What’s happening?” I ask Matt’s retreating form, as he jogs back up to the office. We follow close behind, bringing our targets with us. Once we’re in the office, Matt locks it down. Jason, Randy and Kai’s dad are already here.
“We got a distress call a few hours ago from one of the safe houses. Then nothing. We attempted contact a couple times now. About thirty minutes before the schools went into lockdown, we got another call. There was a lot of gunfire. I sent the nearest extraction team to the area to check it out.” Matt’s pale and his hands are shaking.
“Which house?” I ask, even while a pit of dread stirs in my stomach. I can see it written all over his face. My eyes swing to Jason who’s cradling his head in his hands, taking deep breaths.
“Matt?” Saylor’s voice cracks. I can see her body sway, and I instinctively step closer to her, ready to grab her if she falls.
“It’s your mom and Mila,” Matt confirms, his eyes glistening.
“They could be all right, though,” Saylor states, trying to sound hopeful.
“Say,” Matt starts to say, but she cuts him off.
“You don’t know for sure yet.” She backs out of my hold, her arms wrapping around her middle. Her face is so pale, her skin almost looks translucent.
“We’ll know soon.” Matt lowers his head, spinning the radio between his hands.
“So the school thing was just, what?” Bentley asks. “A ruse to take attention off the safe house?”
Matt nods. “That’s what we’re thinking.”
My eyes scan the room. This is fucked up. Saylor’s breath hitches, and I take a step in her direction, before she holds her hand up stopping me.
“I can’t right now.” She shakes her head.
“Okay, Baby,” I tell her, stepping back to give her room. “Just breathe.”
The radio in Matt’s hand flickers with static. “Rogue command two, come in.”
“This is Rogue,” Matt answers.
“This is extraction team WY1223. We’re on the property.” The voice sounds strained. Everything in me can feel that whatever happens next is going to change everything.
An ominous feeling surrounds the room. “Go ahead,” Matt says the words, his eyes closing.
“Multiple rounds of ammunition were used on the exterior of the home. We extracted two DOA’s from the building. One is a Caucasian female, the other a Caucasian male. We’re airlifting another Caucasian minor by air for life support,” the voice responds.
“No!” Saylor cries, the sound echoing in my soul. The anguish she feels is written all over her face. Jason lands on his knees, reaching for her. She falls into him, and he rocks her, while sobs rip through her body, over and over again.
“You need to see this Rogue.” The voice over the radio flips back in. Kai hits a button on the screen and the feed from the extraction team comes into view.
“Fuck,” Kai breathes. My eyes roam over the image. Anger swirls in my veins until I see red. Bullet holes decorate the walls. Blood splatter in various parts of the house are a stark contrast against the white walls. The camera zooms in on the written message on the wall.
“What’s that say?” Matt asks, trying to look at it sideways.
“It’s Latin,” I reply.
Eye for an eye,” Reed translates.
I can’t think. The image is more gruesome and real now that I have a personal connection to the lives lost. My eyes swing to the girl in my best friend’s dad’s arms. I walk over to them and fall to my knees in front of her, pulling her body into mine. She comes willingly. Her tears leak onto the skin around my neck and all over the collar of my shirt. I hold her to me like I could absorb her under my skin and keep her safe forever. The emotions and realization hit me like a truck. I love her. I don’t know if I’ll get her past this, but I won’t give up until she gets justice. I won’t quit until she’s safe.
The End…for now
Coming Soon…
Midwest Boys Series
My#MNGirl- Book 2
#SummerGirl- Book 3
#NYGirl- Book 4
Warrior- The Salvation Soceity
Scar (Trent’s Story
Available Now….
The Hearts Series Duet
Hearts and Bruises
Hearts and Flowers
Where Demons Hide
Website: www.ambrooksbooks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ambrooksbooks/
Twitter: @brooksauthor
Instagram: ambrooksbooks
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/ambrooksbooks/
A.M. Brooks, #MNGirl (Midwest Boys Series Book 1)