“Where’s Shiloh?”
Before Gordy could answer Shiloh stepped out of the waiting room.
Time froze.
I swayed but at the same time, I did a top-to-toe scan. Blood in her hair but no injury.
No fucking injury.
Fuck yeah, I swayed. I could barely keep my feet as relief washed over me.
“Luke?” I heard Shiloh’s voice like it was coming from far away.
Shiloh.
Her body hit mine, still in full kit. I grunted when her magazines dug into my chest. I welcomed the pain. Pain meant she was in my arms.
I wrapped her up tight, shoved my face in her neck, and finally took in a lungful of oxygen.
“Who was hit?” I asked, not lifting my face.
Shiloh’s body bucked and she rasped, “Riddle’s bicep was grazed and Chip took one to the shoulder. Valentine took two—neck and gut.”
“Fuck. Any word on Valentine?”
“Surgery. How’d you know?”
“News was playing at the bar.”
She hadn’t been gone but two hours. That was all it had taken. Two fucking hours. We’d gone from dinner with her brothers to a hospital hallway.
The fragility of life.
Never forget from one minute to the next it can all be gone.
“Love you, baby,” I whispered.
“Love you, Luke.”
I had to give it to Echo and Phoenix. They’d given me a whole five minutes before they pulled Shiloh from my arms to do their own body scans. I didn’t give the same. As soon as her brothers ascertained she was unharmed and had both given her a hug, I yanked her back and held her close while she told us what happened.
There’d been a second shooter lying in wait covering the downstairs. Valentine made it into the house, Riddle was on his way in, and Chip was in position when the man opened fire. Riddle had gotten lucky; not only did he get clipped in the bicep, he’d taken one to the vest.
Chip had taken out the shooter and another man, Soloman took out the second shooter as he came down the stairs. Neither suspect made it out of the house alive.
Shiloh didn’t seem upset two men were dead, but the shock of the evening hadn’t yet worn off.
“Alpha team! Call out!” a man shouted.
Shiloh went solid in my arms.
“Goddamn,” Gordy grumbled.
“We’re three down,” the man continued. “I’m pulling from Charlie. Sixteen-year-old is being held hostage by her estranged father. Ex-wife might be in the house as well. Suspect, Jeff Shepard is wanted for questioning in the murder of Becca Harper. Staging area’s been texted. No time’s a good time, and I know we’re all on edge after what happened tonight. But I need each of you to get your head right. If you can’t do that, you let me know and I’ll pull more from Charlie.”
“Fucking shit,” Gordy seethed and turned to Shiloh.
I missed what he asked her. My mind was stuck back on Jeff Shepard. The motherfucker tagged his daughter. I was reaching for my phone to call Ethan when I heard my name called.
“He’s here, Cap,” Shiloh answered.
I watched the man who’d been calling out orders walk in our direction. He was weirdly taking in me and Shiloh. My arm curled around her tighter and his eyes narrowed.
Then he cut straight to it.
“Got a call from detective Lenox, he said you’d be here. He’s requested you on scene. I gave my okay, but that was before I knew there was a personal relationship between you and Kent. I can’t have—”
“I’ve been working on the Shepard case with Lenox,” I interrupted him. “Ethan’s requested me there, I’m there. Period.”
“Sunny, why don’t you stay here?”
Shiloh’s head jerked toward Echo and her already solid frame turned to stone.
“Don’t start, Echo. This is my job and you fucking know it. I will not stand down. Not tonight. Not ever.” Her head whipped back and she stared at her captain. “I’m not standing down,” she repeated.
It was then I wasn’t sure if I was proud as fuck having Shiloh at my side holding her ground or if I wanted to beg her brothers to physically restrain her from going out again. I had yet to recover from the twenty minutes it’d taken from the time I saw the news to the time I saw her unharmed.
“Captain Thompson,” the man introduced himself. “Lenox said you were a sniper and now work at TC. He also said you’d have your own gear. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Are you armed?”
“Yes.”
Thompson took a long assessing look. Finally, he broke it with a nod.
“Kent, you’re with your team. You do not break ranks. Whatever Luke and Lenox get up to, you remember your position on your team.”
“Yes, sir,” Shiloh said through gritted teeth.
“And, Luke, remember you’re a civilian and this is Georgia, not Baghdad.”
Without saying more Thompson turned and walked away.
“Call me when you’re done.” Phoenix broke the uncomfortable silence.
Echo yanked Shiloh into a rough hug and without a goodbye, he stood away.
“He’ll be fine,” Phoenix murmured. “Go kick ass, baby sister. And make sure your man here doesn’t eat bullets. I think Echo’s had enough for one night.”
Well, that wasn’t a ringing endorsement that Shiloh’s brothers had accepted me into the family but it certainly fit with the Kent brand of humor.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can,” I told Phoenix and tagged Shiloh’s hand. “You’re riding with me.”
Neither of us spoke a single word as we jogged down the stairs and through the main lobby, nor did we speak when I helped her into my truck. Not a word until we were pulling out and she gave me the address where we were meeting the rest of her team. Then we fell back into silence.
My mind was swirling in a million different directions.
Shepard. His daughter. Ethan. Valentine. Chip. Riddle. Shiloh. Bullets.
“I do not want you on scene,” I choked. “I’d do fucking anything to have you back at the hospital waiting on Valentine to come through surgery. Safe in the waiting room with your brothers.”
“Luke—”
“I’ve known fear. I’ve been captured, beat to fuck, and scared me or Carter, Drake, Trey, Logan, or Matt was gonna die. I’ve tasted it. I’ve breathed it. I’ve heard it. But never, not fucking once have I been so goddamn scared of losing something so special, losing someone I loved so fucking much I knew I’d never go on without them I couldn’t function. I can’t tell you how I made it to the hospital. I didn’t know how long the drive was. I didn’t even know what I was feeling because there was a hole forming in my heart not knowing if you were dead or alive or injured. I was numb. And now that’s gone away and I’m feeling relief you’re alive. But that fucking fear is creeping in, baby, and it’s clogging my throat. It’s choking me. And I didn’t know how the fuck to push it down so I can let you do your job without me losing my fucking mind.”
“Honey,” she whispered and peeled my fingers away from the steering wheel.
Shiloh tugged my hand and rested it on her thigh palm up. She didn’t hold it. Instead, she traced the calluses.