‘Get down!’ he shouted. ‘Everyone on the floor.’ Then he was gone and the van took a hard turn, brakes squealing.
After a single blink, Meredith sprang into action, unbuckling her seatbelt, but Shane was fumbling with his. She batted his hands away and released the catch, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him off the seat just as the van careened again, throwing them both to the floor. Meredith’s head hit the floor hard and she blinked to clear her vision of the bright flashing stars, vaguely aware of her grandfather and Kyle falling to the floor beside her.
Just as the windshield shattered and bullets sprayed the top half of the van’s walls, on the side where Meredith and Shane had been sitting.
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 3.43 P.M.
Crouching as low as he could, Adam grabbed the radio. ‘Detective Kimble,’ he barked when Dispatch acknowledged his call. ‘Shots fired during transport of witnesses. We were shot at. We did not return fire.’
‘Injuries?’ the operator asked.
Troy’s right arm was bleeding, but it appeared to be a slow bleed. He’d slid down so that he could see through the stripe of undamaged glass at the base of the windshield. ‘Special Agent Troy has been shot in the arm. Hold on.’ He looked over his shoulder, his heart stuttering at the sight of Meredith’s green eyes looking up at him from the floor. Thank God. ‘Is anybody hit back there?’
‘No,’ Meredith called back. ‘We’re just shaken up.’
Troy pulled into a small city park and stopped the van behind a thick copse of evergreens. ‘We’re out of range,’ he muttered. With his left hand, he pulled his service weapon from its holster, wincing. ‘The trees will provide cover if the sniper tries again.’
‘No injuries other than Agent Troy,’ Adam told the operator. ‘Send backup. We’re one block north of Linn and Ezzard Charles, out of range of the shooter.’
‘Backup is on the way,’ the operator informed him.
‘Send officers to the school nearest the corner of Linn and Ezzard Charles. The shots came from the roof. Then send another van or several cars to our location. Five of us to continue to the precinct. Agent Troy will need an ambulance.’
‘I can go in one of the squad cars,’ Troy gritted out.
Adam didn’t argue. He figured Troy knew his own body and how badly he was hurt. Besides, EMTs wouldn’t approach a hot zone until it was declared safe. ‘Did you copy that?’ he asked the operator.
‘Yes, Detective,’ she said. ‘Officers on their way.’
‘All right.’ Adam took stock of the damage. The windshield was a mess of fractures, but it had held. Both he and Troy were covered in glass because Adam’s side window had not. ‘Keep your heads down,’ Adam said to Meredith and the others in the back. ‘I’m going to take a look,’ he murmured to Troy, ‘in case he decides to approach on foot.’
Because if he did, they might not see him until it was too late. The sniper would likely try again to take out Adam and Troy, leaving the passengers unprotected.
Adam slipped out of the van and took a three-sixty look, holding his rifle against his chest. It was quiet today, too cold for anyone to be enjoying the small park. It was so peaceful, it was hard to believe they’d been shot at only minutes before. Not wanting to drop his gaze to his phone, he called Isenberg using a voice command.
‘Detective Kimble?’ Isenberg answered when she picked up the call. ‘We expected you already.’
‘We hit a snag,’ Adam said, walking around the van, his eyes on the trees, looking for any movement. Until he saw the passenger side of the van, riddled with bullets. Holy shit. He’d heard the bullets hitting the van but hadn’t had any idea . . . We were lucky. So damn lucky. He jerked his gaze away from the van and back to the trees. ‘We were shot at.’
‘Explain,’ Isenberg said sharply.
‘Both boys are all right, as are Meredith and her grandfather. Shaken, but unhurt.’
‘Hold on.’ Isenberg relayed this to the Davises and Adam heard a small sob. Then Deacon’s voice, asking Isenberg’s clerk to find the parents a conference room in which to wait. ‘Deacon is here. I’m putting you on speaker. Explain.’
‘Are you and Troy all right?’ Deacon asked.
‘Troy’s hit in the arm. Not a gusher, but he’s losing some blood. We’d just gotten off the highway. Troy was driving. I was shotgun. Or rifle.’
‘You’re the sharpshooter,’ Isenberg said practically. ‘Did you return fire?’
‘No. I saw the glint of the rifle on the school rooftop as we approached from the west. I warned Troy and he hit the gas, but the shooter got some shots in as we took evasive action. The windshield was hit with’ – he counted bullet holes –‘four bullets. Passenger side window was destroyed and there are five bullet holes on the passenger side of the van, all at the top.’ He frowned as he came around to inspect them again. ‘All inches from the roof. None would have hit anyone in the back unless they’d ricocheted.’
Adam heard sirens. ‘I’d be shocked if the shooter stuck around, but I had dispatch send officers to the rooftop anyway. CSU should check for the casings. We’re going to move the four passengers to squad cars ASAP and continue to your office. Troy will have one of the squad cars take him to the hospital.’
‘All right,’ Isenberg said wearily. ‘How did they know where you’d be, Adam?’
‘I don’t know,’ he admitted. ‘And I’ve been wondering the same thing. Who knew we were on our way in?’
‘My clerk, who called Kyle’s parents.’ She sighed. ‘And anyone who was in the lobby when they arrived, asking for me. Which was at least a dozen people.’
‘Someone might have heard and assumed we’d be bringing both Shane and Kyle in, but how they knew where our vehicle would be at that exact moment is still unknown.’
‘They’d have to have known your route, which means they’d have to have at least suspected where you’d be coming from.’ She sighed again. ‘Come on in and we’ll figure it out. Be careful.’
‘I will.’ Ending the call, Adam studied the bullet holes on the passenger side once again and took photos with his phone. Either the shooter had been rattled, or he hadn’t intended to kill any of the four passengers.
He frowned again. The only one who’d been actually shot at . . . was me. He did another walk around the van, watching for any movement through the trees. Hugging the van for cover, he didn’t relax his watch until backup arrived.
He directed two of the officers to help Troy, then opened the back door of the van and took his first easy breath. Meredith sat on the floor of the van, her arm around Shane, whose eyes were closed, his face unnaturally pale.
Kyle hadn’t looked good before. Now . . . he was all but catatonic.
Meredith’s gaze shot to Adam’s. Eyes filling with tears, she huffed out a breath that sounded like a sob, letting go of Shane to slide to the open door. ‘Are you hurt?’
‘No,’ he said, then staggered back when she threw her arms around his neck. She was trembling now and he couldn’t stop himself from wrapping his arms around her. To hell with Isenberg’s ‘no getting involved’ bullshit. Meredith needed him now and he wasn’t going to turn her away.
He smoothed a hand down her back. Then frowned when something hard poked him in the sternum. ‘Meredith?’ he murmured cautiously. ‘Are you carrying?’
‘Duh,’ she whispered unsteadily. ‘I’ll check it at CPD security. I do that every time I visit anyway.’
He found himself chuckling. ‘Okay.’
‘You’re sure you’re not hurt? I saw your window. It’s gone.’
‘Just glass in my hair, which is going to be all over you now.’
‘I don’t care.’
Was it ridiculous how good that made him feel? ‘I think me leaning back to warn you guys kept me from being hit. Unfortunately, Troy was.’
‘I’m fine,’ Troy snapped from the front seat.
‘I’m glad,’ Adam called back, then bent his head to whisper in Meredith’s ear. ‘You gonna be okay if I step back?’