Lily was sitting in the police station in a cold sweat, while Hunter was giving his evaluation of her performance. Whether she would continue with the Amberton PD as a patrol officer or be stuck filling out paperwork all day, depended on his report. She had her life all planned out. The first step of her plan to eventually head up the detective division required that she make it as a patrol officer. New detectives almost always came out of patrol, rarely out of admin.

 

“Officer Donovan?” Lieutenant Dare said, opening the door to a small conference room. “If you’ll step in please.”

 

She swallowed hard and rose, making sure her uniform was neat before she stepped into the room and stood at attention. Before her, sitting at a battered wooden table, were two senior patrol officers and Lieutenant Dare, the man in charge of the patrol division.

 

“At ease, Donovan,” Dare said with a smile.

 

Lily stood at attention, stiff and formal, trying to impress. She relaxed, but only slightly.

 

“We’ve heard Officer Cullen’s evaluation of your performance. Do you have anything you would like to say?”

 

“No, sir. I’m sure Officer Cullen was fair,” she replied and then felt her phone buzz on her belt, but she ignored it. Compared to this, the call wasn’t important.

 

“Very well. After listening to Cullen’s report, the board is in agreement that you are the type of patrol officer the Amberton PD is looking for… and I would be honored to have you serving with me.” Dare rose and extended his hand across the table. “Welcome aboard, Officer Donovan.”

 

Lily’s face broke into a broad smile as she accepted the offered hand. “Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll do my best.”

 

“I expect nothing less,” Dare replied.

 

She shook the other two officer’s hands, thanking them for the chance to serve. She then turned her attention to Hunter. He winked at her, and her smile grew even wider.

 

“Congratulations, Lily,” he said as he extended his hand too.

 

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” she gushed, shaking his hand with both of hers.

 

“You earned it.”

 

“Donovan, you’ll finish out the week with Cullen, then when you rotate to your three to eleven shift, you’ll be on your own,” Dare explained.

 

“Yes sir,” she said, putting as much confidence into her voice as possible.

 

Dare smiled and gave her a nod. “Dismissed. Go catch me some bad guys.”

 

She kept her composure until they reached the parking lot, and then she did a leap in the air, her face glowing with her smile, as she went on to bust some moves on the ground.

 

Hunter chuckled at her happy dance. “Yeah,” he said when she finally stopped. “I can remember when I made patrol too.”

 

They were already out of the station and starting their patrol when she remembered the call. She pulled out her phone and looked at the missed call. It was from Hammer, and there was a message.

 

“Lily, it’s Hammer,” his message began. “I did some looking last night. The name is Robert McBride,” he said, and then spelled it. “Staff Sergeant Robert McBride, Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. He was discharged sometime in 2010. That’s all I know. Call me if you find anything out.” Lily listened to the message several times as she wrote the information down.

 

“I have a possible name on the shooter,” Lily said as she ended the call without deleting the message, just in case she needed to hear it again. “Robert McBride.”

 

“Where did you get that?”

 

“From Joe Grimes. He and the guy had a run in during his stint in the army. And get this, this McBride guy, he was a sniper that was ignoring the ROEs and was targeting civilians. Sound familiar?”

 

“ROEs?”

 

“Rules of Engagement,” Lily told him, feeling smart.

 

“How the hell did you find all this out?”

 

“Grimes told me. He was complaining to me that we, the cops I mean, weren’t taking him seriously. He told me a story about this guy and wondered if maybe he was behind the shootings. He couldn’t remember the guy’s name and said he would try to find out and give me a call. He did.”

 

“And Hammer thinks this Robert guy is targeting him? Why isn’t Hammer dead then?”

 

Lily shrugged. “Don’t know. It may turn out to be nothing, but at least we have something to start with. It can’t hurt to run it down, right?”

 

“Why did he call you instead of the officer in charge of the investigation?”

 

Lily shrugged again. “Maybe because I said I believed him, and he was annoyed with Detective Willard because he didn’t think he was listening to him. I don’t know.”

 

She did know, but she wasn’t going to tell Hunter she was sleeping with Hammer. That was none of his business.

 

“Give it to Willard and let him run it down.”

 

She nodded and picked up the mic. “Dispatch, patch me through to Detective Willard. I have some information on the Blasick and Stilton murders.”

 

###

 

“Have something?” Hammer asked when he answered his phone.

 

“Doubtful,” Lily replied. “I gave the name you gave me to the investigating detective, and he ran it. We got a hit, but I don’t think he’s our guy.”

 

“Why?”

 

“My shift is over. Why don’t you meet me at my place and I’ll give you the complete run down on what I have on McBride? I have it all printed out. I also have some news I’m dying to share with somebody.”

 

It was only three in the afternoon, and he wasn’t in the mood for company. The loss of so many brothers so close together weighed heavily on him, but then he remembered how being in Lily’s presence seemed to lighten his load. So far, he’d managed to avoid trying to drown his sorrows in Jack Daniels, and seeing her would make avoiding that temptation a lot easier. After the sun went down was when his ghosts whispered the loudest.

 

“Okay, but can you give me a summary now?”

 

“Hang on a minute,” she said, and he heard the thumps and bumps of her getting into her car, then the sound of the engine starting. “It’s cold, and I wanted to get out of the wind and rain. The thumbnail is, Staff Sergeant Robert McBride was dishonorably discharged from the army, September 23rd, 2011, not 2010. No reason was given, and his prison term was reduced to time served. He currently resides in Paris, Texas and his discharge is under review. Because he was dishonorably discharged, there is no record of him purchasing or owning a weapon of any kind.”

 

“Because it’s illegal for him to possess one, right?” Hammer asked, trying to remember all the bad things that happened with a dishonorable discharge.

 

“That’s right.”

 

Hammer scratched his head. Maybe he was wrong. It all seemed to fit, but Texas was halfway across the country from South Carolina. Obtaining a hunting rifle wouldn’t be a problem. Guns were bought and sold secondhand all the time. But if it was Robert, how had he found him? Maybe he was jumping at shadows, and it was something from the Souls’ past that was catching up to them. So far, the only people targeted were brothers, past and present. It would certainly be a lot easier if it were Finger. At least then they had a name to work with.

 

“What’s your other news?”

 

“Nuh-uh,” she said, her smile in her voice. “That, I’ll only tell you in person. I’m in the mood to celebrate,” she said, and then flushed hot. “I’m sorry, Hammer. That wasn’t very sensitive of me.”

 

His lips quirked. All the excitement was gone from her voice. “It’s okay. I could use some good news for a change.”

 

“You’ll come by?” she asked, her voice hopeful.

 

“Yeah, I’ll swing by.”

 

“Bring some clothes for tomorrow… if you want.”

 

“Okay. I’ll see you in fifteen?”

 

“Make it twenty. I have to put gas in my car.”

 

“I’ll be waiting on you when you get there.”

 

“Good. Let me go,” she said, anxious to get her car filled and get home, so she could tell someone about being accepted as a patrol officer. She’d called her dad, but as typical for him, he didn’t answer his phone. She couldn’t understand the point of him having a cell phone if he never answered it. He’d probably get around to checking his messages tomorrow and call her back, but she wanted to tell someone now.

 

###

 

The shooter lay quietly in his hide. He’d been there since four this morning, using the darkness of early morning to get into position unseen. He’d watched her arrive about six, then leave thirty minutes later. He could have taken her then, but the apartment complex was busy as its residents prepared to leave for work. Waiting for her to arrive in the early afternoon, when many of her neighbors were still at their jobs, would make his escape much easier.

 

It was cold, and drizzling rain, but he’d endured far worse conditions for a lot longer. He was tucked in tight against the hedges surrounding the swimming pool, his camouflaged netting all but buried in the decorative mulch at the base of the plants. It helped keep him warm and dry, but it wasn’t perfect. No matter. A predator had to remain focused on its prey and not be distracted by such things as being cold and wet.

 

He checked his watch. She was late, but he was patient. Now that he had committed, he could wait in his position for days if required. Even if he made the kill on schedule, he wouldn’t move until deep in the night, when the complex was asleep, unless he was forced to. Until then, he depended on his skill at camouflage to keep him safe from discovery.

 

He’d been careful after the first kill, waiting to see how the police reacted, waiting to see if they came pounding at his door with questions. But he now knew the local police were no match for him. He could kill with impunity… so long as he was careful.

 

He’d carefully scouted the area around Donovan’s apartment, and he had only one option. If he had his trusty M24 SWS, chambered in the .338 Laupa Magnum that he used in the army, the 1,800-yard shot from the closed swimming pool to Lily’s parking lot wouldn’t be as difficult, but it was at the extreme limit of his Browning. He’d made several kills at this distance, and beyond, but that was with his dedicated sniper rifle. This would be an extreme test of his skill, and he relished the challenge.

 

He watched through the scope where he knew her car had to appear. He was firing between a cluster of six buildings, their alignment giving him a narrow opening of perhaps a ½-degree of arc to fire, though. He had, at most, five seconds from when she exited her car to the time his line of sight was blocked by the edge of a building to make his kill. Complicating matters was the flight time of the bullet. It would take about two seconds for the bullet to travel the required distance. He couldn’t shoot where she was, he would have to shoot where she would be when the bullet arrived.

 

He saw her bright yellow car arrive and pull into the dedicated space. When she exited the car, he centered the crosshairs on her head, knowing she was wearing a ballistic vest, and then adjusted his aim to correct for drop and lead. He exhaled and held his breath as she turned from her car, looking back at something or someone.

 

###

 

Hammer stepped out of his truck as Lily pulled into her parking space. He was a biker, but he wasn’t dedicated enough to ride in the cold and the rain. He could handle one or the other, but not both together. She’d noticed him and waved as she’d shut the door to her car. He suddenly saw her go hard to the ground and he frowned, wondering what had happened, then heard the sharp report of far off gunfire.

“Lily!” he shouted, running toward her. The time between the impact of the bullet and the sound of the shot indicated the shooter was at a great distance. He hadn’t heard the telltale sizzling pop of a supersonic bullet passing close by; the round had either dropped to subsonic or he had been too far away to hear it pass.

 

Running hard, depending on the distance and speed to keep him safe, he charged across the parking lot. He threw himself to the ground beside her, not even noticing the tearing of his skin on the pavement, then grabbed her by the collar with a strong hand and pulled her roughly to the front of her car. He only guessed it was a safe location based on how her body had moved when the bullet hit her.

 

“Are you hurt?” he gasped, ripping open her shirt and looking for a wound.

 

“Son-of-a-bitch, that hurts!” she snarled, tearing at her ballistic vest, desperate to see if she was seriously injured. She ripped open the Velcro closures and reached inside, pulling her hand back to check for blood. It was clean.

 

He sighed in profound relief. She was wearing Type IIIA armor, designed to stop handgun rounds only. It was a standard police issue, and a high-powered bullet should have punched right through. The impact had been high on her chest, just below her chin and slightly to the left of center, above the heart, and would have been a fatal wound had it not been for the vest. The shooter had probably known she was wearing armor and had been going for a headshot but missed, and the distance and her vest had saved her life.

 

He grabbed the phone from his pocket as he pulled her to him and kicked farther in front of the car. Since there hadn’t been a repeat shot, the car must be blocking the shooter’s line of sight.

 

“911 Emergency. What is the nature of your emergency?”

 

“Officer down at the Rosewood Apartment Complex!” he yelled into the phone, saying the one thing that would bring every cop in the city as fast as they could get there.

 

There was a brief pause. “Emergency services have been dispatched. What is your location?”

 

“Building G, in the parking lot.”

 

“Can you stay with the officer until help arrives?”

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said before hanging up, pulling Lily to his chest, holding her tight, as he sat on the ground and rocked, his eyes darting as he watched for threats.

 

She tried to squirm out of his arms, grimacing in pain as she struggled. “I can’t breathe,” she wheezed, his embrace so constricting he was literally squeezing the air out of her.

 

He gave a soft laugh and peppered her face with fast, butterfly kisses as he forced his embrace to relax. He wasn’t usually one for that kind of affection, but right at that moment, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. After all, he’d almost lost her. And he knew he’d be at breaking point if another person he cared about were murdered in cold blood.

 

Now, things were clearer than ever. He had to protect Lily.

 

“You scared the shit out of me,” he said, then laughed again, his relief now almost giddy. “You’re going to be okay.” He pulled her into his chest again and held her tight, being more aware this time of his strength. “You’re going to be okay,” he repeated again, unsure if he was comforting her or trying to convince himself.

 

She sat up, pulling away from him—wincing, gasping, and grabbing at her chest with both hands as she bent over. “Shit! Fuck! I feel like someone just clobbered me with a bat!”

 

“Maybe, but you’re lucky to be alive.”

 

“Yeah, but I’ve only been a full-fledged patrol officer for six hours, and I’ve already been shot!”

 

Hammer looked up as he heard the faint wail of approaching sirens. The cops were responding in full force to help one of their own. He’d never had much use for cops in the past, but he was thankful to hear them now.

 

“That was your news? That you’d made it as a patrol officer?”

 

“Yeah,” she said then smiled as she rubbed at her chest, still grimacing and grunting in pain. “You think me getting shot on my first day as a patrol officer is going to count against me?”