Chapter One
Jared Warszawski scoped out the surrounding area, ensuring everyone was in place, then focused back on the school. The shooter was still inside, somewhere, with god knows how many hostages.
Kids with guns.
Jared shook his head in disbelief. What the hell had happened to tip this kid over the edge? What was so bad in his life that he had taken his dad’s gun, walked into his high school, and started shooting indiscriminately? How many lay injured, or worse, dead?
Rescue Inc had been finishing another mission close by, when word reached them about the hostage situation, so naturally they came to see what they could do to assist.
Jared knew this small town hadn’t faced anything like this before. It was a close-knit community where everyone knew each other. That’s what made this situation so much worse. Everyone knew who this kid was, but no one knew why he’d gone in there and shot at his friends, his classmates, his teachers.
He adjusted his position, wincing at his protesting muscles. He was currently kneeling behind a tree, eyes glued to the small high school, waiting and watching.
When they’d received the call, no one had been surprised. Sadly, school shootings were becoming the norm, a reflection of a life with easy access to guns. Nonetheless, Jared hoped that when they arrived, the situation would be under control. But it wasn’t, and now they all waited, praying the kid would turn himself in and this standoff would end peacefully.
He saw movement out of the corner of his eyes and quickly glanced over, then back to the school again. The local police force had arrived before Rescue Inc and was now crouched behind their cars, also watching the building. Jared knew most of them. He lived here, socialized here.
From this position, he could see their tense, drawn faces, everything about them poised, waiting for the signal to go, from the guns in their hands to the protective helmets and bulletproof vests they wore. Through his earpiece, he could hear Sheriff Jacob and Chester talking. Hushed voices discussed the positions and movement of those inside the high school and what their next steps would be.
He knew his team was positioned around the building, ready and waiting for the signal to go.
The silence was deafening, strange as that sounded. The gunfire had ceased some time earlier, and there had been nothing since but an eerie silence. Not one sound. No one knew where the shooter was or if his hostages were alive or dead.
The fire department had arrived along with law enforcement from the surrounding counties, and they too were waiting. Two ambulances had arrived, waiting to treat the injured and rush them to the local hospital.
Jared knew people were injured, but for the moment, they could do nothing to help. They couldn’t risk further bloodshed until they had a clear picture of the situation.
Rushing in unprepared could endanger the lives of everyone present.
He glanced around again, frowning at the growing crowd. Some of them without a doubt had children that attended the school, but others were here for the entertainment. Jared scowled; there were some sick fuckers in the world if they found a situation like this exciting.
Over the earpieces, Jared heard Chester. “Get ready, team. We’re going in.”
“What’s the intel?” Kerrie asked.
“We go in slowly, quietly. We have an unknown number of assailants. Intel indicates only one but be on the alert for more. Locate the children and evacuate. Find the shooter and incapacitate.”
“No communication established?” Donnie asked.
“Nothing.”
“Shit.” Donnie shook his head, staring at the building in front of them. “Why doesn’t the shooter want to talk?”
“Unknown. The shooter has remained silent, so now it’s our turn.”
Jared also shook his head. What the fuck was this kid playing at?
“Usual procedure. Let’s go.”
❊❊❊
Slipping in through an open window, Jared stepped carefully, avoiding the broken glass that littered the floor. Adjusting his vest, he held his gun up and scanned the room, checking under desks, looking for signs of life, but there was no one in the room.
“Room clear,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Not waiting for a response, he moved cautiously towards the classroom door and looked through the glass, checking for signs of movement in the corridor beyond. All was quiet, so he grabbed the handle and turned it slowly, making sure there was no sound. Once the door opened, he looked up and down the corridor and moved out, staying flat against the wall.
“Corridor clear.”
As he moved, he could hear the rest of the team, updating Chester as to their location and status.
“Staff room. One shooter, seven hostages. Unknown injured.”
The update came through, and Jared grimaced. Shit. Hostages. He was hoping that there were none and the missing kids were hiding somewhere in the school. Seven missing kids, now hostages.
“Received,” he responded.
Making his way towards the staff room, Jared checked each classroom, just in case, but they were all clear. As he approached the room, he could hear raised voices from inside.
A pool of blood caught his attention, and he followed the trail up to a classroom door. Glancing inside, he saw the principal lying on the floor, a vacant stare on his face.
“Damn,” Jared whispered. Over the comms, he said, “One dead.”
“Identifiable?”
“Principal Lawrence.”
Once again, he moved forward, getting closer to where the shooter was, the voices escalating in volume. As he neared the door, a shot rang out, and he automatically dropped into a crouch. He waited, but silence descended, followed by the soft sounds of someone crying.
Approaching the door, he stayed close the floor, rising only to quickly glance into the room. The inside looked distorted due to the frosted glass, but Jared could make out one body on the floor, several seated, and one figure, presumably the shooter, standing over them.
He could hear voices coming through his earpiece, but this close to the shooter, Jared couldn’t respond. He couldn’t risk exposing his position or startling the shooter into injuring or killing more.
Suddenly a male voice screamed. “I’m gonna fuck you all up! Laugh at me, call me shit, ya gonna die!”
Jared stared at the floor, waiting for a signal from Chester, but nothing came through. He couldn’t wait much longer, not when those kids’ lives were at risk.
A sound to his right drew his attention, and he found Michaela across from him, her gun at the ready. He lifted his hand and signaled the information across to her. She nodded, and she moved over to him, taking a position on the other side of the door.
He tapped his earpiece, and she shook her head.
Another gunshot from inside the room, followed by screaming. Jared and Mich looked at each other and then nodded.
“I’ve got the door,” Mich whispered.
Jared nodded again and got in position. Mich kicked the door open and Jared rushed in, gun up in front of him. One look at the room gave him all the information he needed, and he aimed at the shooter.
The kid, all of fourteen, widened his eyes then shot repeatedly, aiming for Jared. He took one to the arm but held his gun steady, shooting the boy in the shoulder.
The boy fell to the ground, dropping the gun and Mich was in, kicking it away as she rolled him onto his back and zip-tied his hands behind his back.
Jared checked the room and heard movement behind him as Donnie entered. Now that the danger had passed, he became aware of a burning sensation and grimaced in pain. His arm was bleeding heavily, the blood flowing quickly down to drip from his hand.
Within minutes, the shooter was being taken away, and the children checked over. The principal was dead, along with two students. Jared shook his head sadly. Such a terrible waste of life.
He left the building and Chester immediately approached him, looking down at his arm.
“Got nicked. Nothing a few stitches won’t sort out,” Jared informed him.
“You look like the last time you were ‘nicked.’” He’d ended up spending a week in the hospital with a stab wound to his shoulder. “Get yourself checked out then you’re off until you’ve healed.”
Nodding, Jared walked over to one of the ambulances. He was ready to go home, but first, he needed to go to the hospital, get antibiotics and stitches before writing his report.
Sighing, he got in the truck with Donnie and left the scene behind.
❊❊❊
Sacha Marchesi gasped and grabbed his arm, glancing around the main office to see if anyone had noticed. Walking quickly, he rushed to his office and shut the door behind him.
Biting his lip, he stripped his shirt off and scanned his arm, twisting it around, looking for a wound, but he didn’t find one. It wasn’t him so that meant it was Jared.
He ran a shaky hand through his hair and panted, sweat breaking out on his skin. He couldn’t contact Jared and ask how he was. Jared would know something was wrong. There was no way Sacha would know Jared was injured.
Sacha had never told him, and he wasn’t going to.
How could tell Jared that he was his mate, and he’d kept it a secret for almost ten years?
Jared was the straightest man Sacha had ever met. Only dating women, Sacha had never seen Jared look at a man in any way other than friendship.
They’d met while Jared was in the Marines and a year later they’d moved in together. As friends.
Sacha leaned back against the door, closing his eyes as they filled with tears. Ten fucking lonely years. He’d lost count of Jared’s many relationships. Each one lasting weeks, if that. None of the women stayed around, and Jared appeared happy with the situation. Content to play the field.
He’d discussed the situation with his father many times, and his father had surmised that it could be the mate bond that was causing Jared’s relationships to fail. He’d pointed out that Jared lived with him, spent all his free time with him. He was positive Jared felt the connection and had advised him on multiple occasions to be honest and tell Jared the truth.
But too much time had passed. Jared would hate Sacha for lying to him for all these years.
Pushing away from the door, Sacha walked around his desk and slumped in his chair. He didn’t know what to do. Being so close to his mate and watching him with others tore him apart, but he couldn’t walk away or risk their friendship. He loved Jared. Had from the moment he’d met him, and he knew Jared cared for him, but that was it. Jared didn’t love him the way Sacha loved Jared.
Rubbing his arm at the lingering pain, Sacha debated sending Jared a text. He could ask how the call out was going.
Biting his lip, he picked up his cell and typed out the message then sent it, knowing Jared would answer when he could.
Unlocking his computer, Sacha stared at the designs on the screen. He worked for a tech company, his father’s tech company. He’d worked his way through the ranks like everyone else here and had become a division manager a year ago. His father hadn’t given him any special treatment and Sacha was happy about that. It meant that he was treated like everyone else. The other staff saw this too and treated him as an equal, allowing Sacha to make friends.
Three other division managers also worked their way up, and every morning, they met to discuss progress in their respective areas. These meetings weren’t strictly necessary and they could probably achieve the same result with one, maybe two meetings but they were his friends, and Sacha valued them, but more importantly, he enjoyed the time he spent with them.
He dropped his head onto the desk, feeling tears slip free. How many times had he cried over Jared? How many times had the tears fallen when Jared had stayed the night at some woman’s place? How many more would he shed before he finally walked away?
How could he tell Jared they were mates?
It was an hour later when Jared responded, and Sacha frantically reached for his cell.
All good. Coming home soon.
You okay?
Nothing to worry about.
Were you injured?
A few stitches. Home soon.
Sacha stared at the final message. Trust Jared to downplay the injury. It had to have hurt because Sacha felt it, but Jared being Jared would never tell him, and Sacha could never reveal how he knew.
He couldn’t lose his mate.