Page 29 of Innocent Target

“You serve, lad?”

“Yes, sir. Ten years in the US Air Force before I went private.”

“Ah, should’ve guessed a pretty boy would be Air Force.”

“Let me guess, you were Navy?”

“Damn straight I was. Did thirty years and served in two wars.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. Thank you for your service.” James saw the paramedics come in through the door behind him and waved them over. “Sir, the paramedics are here now, so I’m going to let them take over your care.”

The man gripped his arms with surprising strength. “Make sure you get those assholes.”

“Will do, sir.”

He moved toward Mercy and indicated he was going to make a call. He stepped toward the door where Nick was already handling the police. Hitting dial, he rang King. His heart leaped into his throat when he didn’t answer straight away.

“King.”

“It’s James. Is Abbie okay?”

“Yeah, she’s sleeping in her crib.”

James blew out a breath of relief and then told King what happened.

“You think this is connected to the FBI guy?”

“I’m not certain but ask Imari to dig deeper. My gut says it might be.”

“Sure thing. You need backup, mate?”

“No. Just make sure Abbie is safe.”

“With my life.”

He hung up, reassured that his niece was in good hands and turned to Mercy, who was laughing with the little boy on her lap as she played peekaboo with him. His heart swelled until it almost burst from his chest with what he felt for her, and he knew that he loved her. He hadn’t meant for it to happen, but it had. He could’ve lost her today to a bullet, and he would’ve lived his life knowing he hadn’t told her how he felt. As soon as he got a second alone with her, he’d remedy that.

The next few hours were spent with them answering questions and giving statements. They kept their involvement with the case and the meet with the FBI agent quiet after Shane called and told them the FBI Director wanted their involvement kept on the down-low. When they finally walked through the door of Ian’s home hours later, they were all exhausted.

Mercy went straight to Abbie and lifted her in her arms, and he surrounded them both with his own. Neither spoke for a few moments, each processing how close they had come to dying.

“Do you think Rao did this?”

Her voice was strong, and he felt the anger tense her body before she lowered Abbie back to the bassinet. James walked to the door, waiting to answer until they could discuss it with the others.

Nick and King were in the lounge drinking coffee with Ian. He poured a cup for himself and Mercy, knowing caffeine was the only thing that would keep him awake tonight as the adrenaline crash and exhaustion dragged at him. “Has Imari come back to us on Rao yet?”

King shook his head. “Not yet.”

“You like him for this?” Ian asked.

“I don’t know.”

He’d taken his first sip of coffee in hours when his phone rang. Seeing it was Shane, he put it on speaker. “Shane, you’re on speaker.”

“There have been reports of a bar fight involving the Henchmen not five miles from your location.”

“You want us to see if we can pick them up?”