Page 28 of Decker

“How many?”

“Six lab techs and the mortuary assistant.”

“Any sign of the gunmen?”

“No, but there’s a chance they made it out without us spotting them. When the hospital locked down, there was a bit of a panic and lots of people ran.”

“Okay, we’ll take it from here.”

Aubrey nodded and stepped back; she knew what they were capable of.

“Go time, boys.”

The six of them approached the mortuary building. Mitch and Waggs disappeared around the back, and the rest of them moved either side of the front door.

“In position,”Mitch said over the comms.

“Execute, execute, execute.”

As one unit, they breached the glass doors and, laser-focused, he and Gunner began clearing the right side of the mortuary. He found the mortuary assistant huddled under, her desk.

“Go.” He waved her behind him where he knew the path was clear to the exit for her and she ran.

He could hear Reid and Liam as they herded the lab techs out of the way.

“Left side clear,”Reid confirmed.

His eyes on the door where he knew Savannah was hiding, it took everything in him, every ounce of training, to not rush to her because that was how people ended up dead and he had no intention of that happening. He saw Mitch and Waggs headed his way and they nodded to the autopsy room. Deck tipped his head in acknowledgement.

Only one door was left, and they hadn’t seen any sign of the gunmen. He could hear Lopez leading them and giving them intel as they moved and, in his gut, he knew they’d missed them. He just prayed that they hadn’t found Savannah first.

With his hand on the door, he nodded to Gunner. Opening it, Gunner stepped in and swept the room, but his eyes were only on the woman curled up in a ball on the floor. He crossed to her in a second as she scrambled to her feet, and he wrapped his arms around her.

The sigh of relief that shuddered through her was met by his own relief. He stepped back as Mitch declared the building clear and his eyes swept over her, trying to catalogue any injuries and thankfully finding none.

“Are you okay?” He cupped her face and tipped her head to him and saw how pale she was. She’d be going into shock any minute now and he needed to get her out of here so he could check her over properly.

“Yes, they didn’t find me.” She exhaled shakily and he brought her into his chest and held her as she clung to him.

Easing away, he wrapped her in his arms and walked her towards the front exit. He knew Mitch and Waggs had found Andy, and Waggs had confirmed his death.

“Let’s get you looked over.”

“I’m fine, Mark.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Mark saw a waiting ambulance had been pulled around to the side and he led her that way and left her with the ambulance crew, who she knew well if the way they greeted her was any indication.

“Mark!”

He turned as she called him, and she hopped off the gurney and held out her phone for him to take. “I recorded as much of what happened as I could.”

He looked at her in shock. Even terrified, this woman had the foresight to know what to do. He took it from her hand and without a thought for what he was doing or what it meant, he hauled her to him and kissed her as if she was the oxygen he needed to survive. Her body leaned into his and she clutched his biceps, holding on. Breaking the kiss, he looked down at her and felt his heart thud hard in his chest.

This woman was special, and way too good for what he was offering her, but he had nothing else to give her and was too selfish to walk away from what she so freely offered. The only thing he could give her was sex and justice, and he’d make sure he gave her both.

The fuckers that had stalked her and threatened her had gotten away this time, but little did they know they’d just made a deadly enemy—the deadliest in fact.