Page 19 of Resolution

The second I turned the corner, the brick beside me exploded, hitting me in the face, and momentarily blinding me. I stopped, wiping at my face, trying to clear my vision when another bullet whizzed by my head. I ducked and retreated behind the bricks, dropping to my ass as I evaluated my injuries, thankful as hell when I realized I could see out of both eyes after all. I was waiting for more shots when Raven came charging up to me, instantly dropping into a squat as I heard the squeal of tires on the other side of the wall. I instinctively knew the gunman had jumped into a vehicle and was getting away.

“Miguel! Jesus! You’re hurt.” Both hands instantly went to my face as he bent to survey the damage.

“I’m fine, Raven. Let me up,” I shouted, wiggling to get off my ass, to continue after the guy.

He dropped his hands on both of my shoulders, pushing down with more force than I expected. “Sit there and don’t move, Miguel! Police are on the way.”

I peered up at him, noticing for the first time, that the lid of my right eye must have begun swelling, partially impairing my vision. My eyesight was restricted to a slit but I felt absolutely no pain. Adrenaline is a funny thing. The minute it kicks in, the human body feels bulletproof, enabling the fight or flight response in the brain. But the second it’s gone, it’s replaced by extreme exhaustion, as the body tells you to just stop, the danger is gone, it’s okay to relax.

“He’s getting away,” I said miserably, reaching up to touch my eye.

Raven grabbed my hand, glowering at me. “Don’t touch. It’s injured.” He glanced up and I followed his line of sight, spotting the bloody smear and twelve inches above that, the missing chunk of brick. Part of the wall had been blown outward from the bullet which had nearly taken out my right eye.

As the minutes ticked by, I slumped with my back against the wall, all the air going out of me like a deflating balloon.

“Fuck!” I said, hearing several approaching sirens at once.

Raven faced me, his expression devastated, filled with pain and terror. “Baby, you could have been shot. What were you thinking?”

“I didn’t think, Raven.” I shook my head. “The second you stepped out of that store, he detached himself from the wall behind you and I knew he had a gun. Thank God I’d been watching for you. If I hadn’t seen you—” My throat closed up as tears were suddenly there, blurring my already impaired vision.

Raven instantly plunked down beside me, pulling me into his arms, right before two uniformed officers ran over. They both had their guns drawn, pointed in our direction as they skidded to a stop, twenty feet away.

“Toss the weapons!” one of them shouted.

Only then did I realize my gun was in my lap, in easy reach if I wanted to shoot them. Raven was also wearing his sidearm. I nodded, slowly reaching down to take hold of the gunstock with my finger and thumb, moving it from my lap to the ground beside me. I pushed it several feet out of reach as Raven did the same. We both put up our hands, backs to the bricks.

“We’ve got a concealed carry license,” I said quietly. “We were shot at. The assailant got away.” I pointed above me to the painted wall, not daring to break eye contact with them. They were the first to look away, glancing up before bringing their stare back down to me. “That’s his blood,” I said. “He tried to shoot my partner in the back. I was sitting in the car when I spotted him, coming up behind him. I returned fire, hitting him in the right shoulder as best I can tell.” I nodded at Raven. “That’s my partner, in case you were wondering.” Blood dripped into my eye, and I blinked it away. It was nearly swollen shut. “I think I need an ambulance.”

One of the officers looked at Raven. “A bus is on the way.” He eyed me up again. “You on the job?”

“We’re not police officers,” Raven clarified. “We’re licensed recovery agents and the guns we carry are legal.”

“Bounty hunters?” one of the officers asked, keeping us in his gunsights.

“Yes,” I replied. “And I have no other weapons. Please holster your guns. You’re giving me the shakes.”

Two other officers ran over, guns drawn, trained in our direction and retrieved our weapons. I sighed, slowly turning to Raven, where I met his eyes. “There go my plans for a nice, quiet evening in front of the television with my favorite guy.”

He tilted his head and gifted me with the ghost of a smile.

RAVEN

Two hours later, I was fuming.

Miguel had been treated by paramedics at the scene before both of us were loaded into the back of separate squad cars and driven to the Hollywood division. We’d been locked into separate rooms which the cops had called interview rooms, but the many layers of peeling paint on the drab gray walls, the large window of two-way glass facing me, and the locked door, told me differently. They’d removed my handcuffs when they’d locked me in the box, allowing me to pace without their constriction. When I’d finally flopped down on one of two metal chairs in the room, I was mentally and physically exhausted, but most of all, pissed off.

Miguel saved my life today. The second I’d seen him jump from the truck, gun in hand—and even before I’d heard his shout—I’d known my life was in danger. When he’d ordered me to drop, I’d done it, no questions asked. Feeling a bullet whizz over my head, I’d realized someone had come up from behind me. I hadn’t even seen the man as I’d emerged from the store, eager to get home to Dolly’s vegetable lasagna, and my man. Somewhere in Trader Joe’s parking lot, my almonds and the garlic bread I’d bought to accompany the meal, were probably still there.

Although Miguel had discharged a gun and allegedly hit someone, I was still pissed that the officers hadn’t taken us at our word and instead put us in handcuffs after showing them our concealed carry licenses which we always kept in our wallets. I was even more pissed that they hadn’t immediately called Cassidy and Mike, knowing they would have been here in minutes, if they’d gotten word. I knew they had procedures to follow but feeling like we’d been treated as suspects when we’d been victims made me see red.

When the door finally opened and Cassidy appeared in the doorway, I instantly felt déjà vu, reminding me of how he’d come to our rescue over the incident with Ned, all those months ago. I jumped up and ran over to him, throwing my arms around him, and hugging him tight. He felt so solid and strong as he hugged me hard. I let go and stepped back as he smiled at me, Kelly green eyes twinkling.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here, Raven.”

I walked out behind him and immediately saw Miguel talking to Mike right outside the room. His right eye was covered with a gauze pad, taped up. It took great restraint on my part not to rush to his side and pull him into my arms. He obviously didn’t feel the same way, closing the short distance between us and wrapping his arms around me. I buried my face in his shoulder, feeling tears close to the surface as I hugged the life out of him.

Knowing he’d been hurt and not able to be with him, had been the worst thing of all. I’d begged to be allowed to sit in the same room with him, but the officers at the scene had said it was impossible until we’d been cleared. It made sense but I’d been an emotional wreck, and I know they must have seen it. They’d left me in a lonely room, praying that the paramedic had been right, and Miguel wasn’t going to lose his eye.

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