Page 34 of Love Me Darkly
A gunshot sounded from upstairs, and Mateo’s heartbeat kicked up as he took the steps two at a time. Donovan’s and Jones’s feet pounded behind him, and the SWAT agents met them in the kitchen.
“Hostile contact confirmed! Repeat, multiple hostiles, noncompliant!”
They moved down the narrow hallway one by one. Williams’s voice blasted in his ear, mingling with more shots coming from upstairs. A thud and a curse. A flurry of feminine screams. Bravo Team hit the landing to find it split left and right. Mateo spotted Williams peeking her head out of a doorway, returning fire at someone down the hall. In the other direction were at least a dozen women, cowering and peeking out from doorways with wide eyes.
Mateo pointed the blade of his hand to the left. “Jones, you and SWAT get them out of here. Donovan, we’re with Alpha.”
He crouched and edged toward the door where he’d seen Williams. In her place now was Smith, shooting down the corridor. Someone appeared from a door further down, returning fire.
Mateo pressed himself against the wall to avoid stray shots and Donovan followed suit.
“Bravo-one, they’ve got us pinned. I can’t get a clean shot!”
“Alpha-one, sit tight. I’ve got eyes.” He swiveled his gaze to Donovan. “What do you think?”
Donovan took a beat before responding. “Suppress and rush. I don’t see another option.”
Mateo nodded, impressed. “That was a test, by the way.”
Donovan crouched and edged forward until he was almost directly under Mateo. He raised his sidearm and grinned. “Did I pass?”
“A-plus, kid. Alpha-one, suppress and rush. Do you copy?”
A pause came in the gunfire, and Mateo assumed the hostiles were reloading. They couldn’t miss this chance.
“Copy, Bravo-one. Standing by.”
Mateo peered around the corner again while Donovan did the same from his position on the floor. “Move on my count. Three … two …”
Two men appeared from the doorway at the end of the hall, one standing and one crouching, mimicking his and Donovan’s positions.
“Move!”
Mateo and Donovan opened fire at the same time, sending short, rapid bursts toward the door at the end of the hall. Their position and angle allowed them to push the men back into the room so that Williams and Smith could advance. They emerged from the room at a crouch as bullets flew overhead, sidearms raised with Williams in the lead and Smith in the rear.
Mateo gripped Donovan’s shoulder to halt his gunfire and watched as they ducked into a door on the other side of the hall, repositioning just as more gunfire came at them. Mateo pressed himself against the wall and waited for the shots to die down again before he picked up where he’d left off. He and Donovan took position.
“Suppressing!”
They fired off more rapid fire, and a bullet struck the crouching man, dropping him to the rug in a pool of blood. The other man disappeared back inside.
“Clear to breach. Stack and go!”
Williams and Smith reappeared with Williams taking the lead and Smith at her back. Donovan fell in behind Smith and Mateo brought up the rear. Williams fired off a shot and another body dropped.
Mateo fell back when another voice came over the line.
“Bravo-one, this is Charlie. I got eyes on a runner, just dropped out of a second-story window. Black male, white wife-beater, gold chain … heading south on foot.”
Suede. Mateo would bet his life on it.
“Donovan, you got this?”
Williams and Smith were already charging into the room, guns raised.
“Go!” Donovan urged before going after them.
Mateo holstered his sidearm and set off for the stairs. “Charlie, confirm visual.”
