Page 118 of Shattered

“Steady, everyone,” Kalkin muttered. “Don’t go too soon, or else we’ll lose them.”

The man raised his hand in greeting to Bell as he approached. Bell turned and gave him one of her biggest smiles while placing her hand on her belly. They talked for a moment, then when the man saw his opening as Maliki distracted Bell, he snatched at Bell’s arm, pulling her toward the waiting SUV.

“Go! Go!” Kalkin yelled, jumping out of his vehicle. The SUV sped away before the man could get Bell inside, and Hayden broke off from the vehicles in the parking lot to give chase. The man who’d been struggling with Bell, pulled a gun from his waistband.Shit.

Kalkin heard the whistle seconds after the bullet pierced the man’s hand. A second one got him in the shoulder, dropping him to the ground. Logan was there in a flash, taking the man to the ground, cuffing his hands behind his back.

“We’re clear,” Logan said. “One in custody.”

Bell sat down on the bench and sighed. “That was intense.”

“You should try doing it every day,” Kalkin teased. “You and the cubs okay?”

She nodded. “We’re fine. They’re active. Must be all the excitement.”

Kalkin chuckled. “Must be. Go on home. We’ll call you to get your statement.” He glanced over at Maliki who watched everyone with keen interest. “You.”

The boy pointed to himself. “M-me?”

“Yep.” Kalkin crooked his finger at him. “Come here.”

The little boy cautiously made his way to Kalkin. “Y-yes.”

“Take care of your, what’s the word, Jackson says... Mama, and make sure she gets home okay,” Kalkin said.

The boy nodded. “Bine.” He ambled over to Bell and took her hand. “Come. We go now.”

Bell giggled. “Thank you, Kalkin.”

“Don’t mention it.” He stared after her as she and Maliki started for home.

The radio at his side cracked, and Hayden’s voice came through clear and filled with excitement. “10-50, two in custody. That’ll teach those bastards to run on me. I deployed two disablers causing the SUV to fishtail and come to a stop in the ditch. Nico and Jenna are here with me securing the suspects.”

“Good work,” Kalkin said. “I’ll have a couple of units meet you there for transport and clean up.”

“We’re at the corner of Apache and Sierra Vista Way, near the grocery store,” she said.

“10-4,” Kalkin replied. “Units will be in route shortly.”

“By the look of these tattoos, I’d say Yakuza,” Logan said, lifting the guy up. “What do you think?”

Kalkin gave the man a once over. Though he was covered in tattoos and Asian, it didn’t automatically mean they’d caught a member of the Yakuza, for all Kalkin knew he could be a member of the Triad or a Tong, too. “Maybe not. I’m not sure. I’ll have Ulysses meet us at the Sheriff’s Department after he gets patched up at the hospital.” Kalkin grabbed his phone and typed out a quick message to Ulysses.

BigPoppaAlpha:All clear. Meet me at SD in two hours.

UlyssesYamomoto:Can do. Bringing Aislinn with me.

BigPoppaAlpha:Good maybe she can identify the men. See you soon.

Kalkin put his phone away then stepped aside as the EMT and Paramedics rushed over to assess the suspect. If this didn’t bring the head of the Makino family and the St. John family out of the shadows, he didn’t know what would.

Mackenzie rushed through the doors of the clinic, Aurora in his arms, Abby, Riley, Alika, and Liam right on his heels. They’d only been opening a few boxes in the kitchen after moving, when Aurora fainted, almost hitting her head on the table. Had it not been for Alika and Liam being right there, he might have lost her.

“Danielle!” Makenzie called out, pushing into the small examination room.

Danielle rushed through the door, easing her way between the kids to come up next to Mackenzie. “What happened?”

“We were unpacking after the move. She didn’t say anything was wrong, but I turned my back for a second, and she fell over. If it wasn’t for the boys...” Mackenzie swallowed hard. “I brought her right here.”

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