Curran

I recognize that look, the one that shifts in a perp’s face. It’s the same one that kid had right before he reached for his gun and shot Joey full of holes. This perp, like that teen, knows there’s no going back, not after what he’s done.

He’s going to kill Tess, the mother of my child, my soon-to-be wife, and the woman I promised forever. There’s no doubt in my mind.

He makes his choice.

And I make mine.

My target is his left eye, and that’s precisely where my bullet strikes.

I bolt to Tess’s side when his body buckles and her knees give out. From one blink to the next, she’s in my arms. I wrench her to her feet and drag her away, over to where McMullen and two others are seeing to Lu.

“You all right?” I ask Tess. “You hurt?”

She points in the direction of the perp with one eye and a busted skull. I think she means to say something about him, but instead asks, “How did you find me?”

My hold on her tightens as I remember the call. “Lu saw them take you. She phoned me and half the precinct. With all the traffic this time of night—and festivals going on down at Penn’s Landing—no one could get to you fast enough. For the time being, we knew we were on our own. So we formed a plan as soon as we got a handle on where you were headed, and moved in.” I motion ahead to our left. “I parked on the block before this one. Snuck through that small alley and stuck to the shadows. Lu took her time pulling up behind you and getting out, giving me time to get in position. It worked. Perps never saw me coming.”

“I see,” she says, two seconds before she almost collapses. I ease her down on the curb. “Your job sucks,” she stammers, breathing hard and clinging to my shirt with white knuckles.

Maybe, but it’s what I’m meant to do.

I kiss her forehead, because that’s all I can do right now. What I want to do is snatch her to me and never let her go. She almost died—Christ Almighty, my girl, my kid, I almost lost them, just like that.

I kiss her again, this time a little lower. Her glasses are crooked. I try to fix them, but they’re bent from the throw-down. “They thought I was Declan’s girlfriend,” she says, her voice continuing to tremble.

“Then my guess is Montenegro’s wife put a hit on you.” I shrug to make like everything’s fine, and that I’m not freaking the fuck out over her being kidnapped and held at gunpoint at twelve goddamn weeks pregnant. “Women are funny when it comes to their men.”

I don’t mean to make her tear up, but that’s what she does. She clutches the front of my shirt and loses it, crying so hard I can barely understand her. “I thought you were dead. You were outnumbered; Lu was hurt. D-did you kill them—all of them?”

I nod, anger reverting me to cop mode.

Police officers are taught to protect, and to do so, that means we’re also taught to kill. I’m not immune to taking a life. I felt the impact with each one I ended tonight. But I also know I didn’t have a choice. Not this time. Not if it meant saving the woman I love and the baby she’s carrying inside her.

I hold on to Tess and let her cry, ’cause that’s what she needs to do. By the time the EMTs arrive to take Lu to the hospital, she’s calm enough to let me help her to her feet.

We walk to where they’re securing Lu to a stretcher. Tess holds tight to my hand as she bends to squeeze Lu’s arm. “Thank you for watching over me,” she tells her, softly. “You saved me and our little one.”

Lu nods and offers her a tight smile. I can tell that shot to her shoulder is killing her, but she manages to stay strong and be nice to my girl. She’s a good cop, and an even better woman. I lean in to tell her as much. “Lu, I—”

“Thirty years, O’Brien.” Her scowl and husky voice cut me off. “Thirty fucking years and two shifts left till retirement.”

I straighten and swipe at my face. “Ah, yeah, sorry about this, Lu—”

“No stab wounds, no bullet holes, not even a damn black eye. Then I meet you and take one to the gut.”

“It’s only a flesh wound to the shoulder, ma’am,” the EMT interrupts.

“Was I talking to you, asshole?” Lu growls back.

“Um, no ma’am,” he answers.

“Then shut the hell up. You ain’t no doctor.”

The EMTs exchange glances, then hurry to shove her in back of the ambulance. “Thirty fucking years!” Lu yells.

“I swear I’ll make it up to you,” I promise. “Do you like muffin baskets?”

“Fuck you, O’Brien.” The doors shut, but not before I hear her call me an asshole.

Tess rubs my arm. “She’s just upset about what happened,” she offers.

I take in her beautiful face, her eyes reddening the longer I look at her. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m a mess, and I think I have glass and pieces of bone in my hair. I’d like to go home. Can we go home?”

“As soon as we’re done here. I promise, baby.” I motion to the detectives waiting to take her statement. “It’s just procedure. Tell them everything you remember, and then we’re out of here, okay?”

The two suits step forward. I release Tess and step back just enough so it doesn’t look like I’m coaching her. I reach for my phone and hit the icon for my email. I rattle off the facts in a detailed report and send it directly to my sergeant, all the while keeping tabs on Tess. More cops show in the time it takes us to wrap up.

“Oh, shit,” someone says.

Three rookies gather around the last body, pointing to what remains of the man’s head. “Clean shot. All the way through. Do you know anyone who could do that? I sure don’t.”

“Hell, no. And did you see the perp by the building? O’Brien got him right through the heart.”

“Good job, O’Brien,” the one closest to me calls.

They mean it as a compliment. But they’re young, and still have a lot to learn. Maybe I’ll be able to show them. For now, my girl needs me. I reach for her and lead her back to my truck.

We’ve had enough bad lately. It’s time to start our life of good.