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SKYLAR DROPPED TO THE ground and found Mia curled up next to the dolly. “I’ve got you, honey.” She scooped her up, sprinted to the truck and set her on the floor. Just then, a loud boom sounded. A bullet whizzed past her head, finding purchase in a box. Skylar jolted. “Go go go.” She shoved Mia toward the front of the truck and leapt inside. Mia didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Skylar grabbed for the handle and yanked the bulkhead door down, latching it as more bullets hammered the metal.
She leapt over Mia, grabbed under her arms and towed her toward the front. She placed Mia’s hands on the pole that supported the divider between the front and the back and slid onto her seat. “Mia, hold on tight. And keep your head down.” The bullets stopped. Which probably meant Devlin was headed outside. “We’re gonna go fast.” She jammed the key in and turned it. The motor roared to life and she stomped on the gas.
Confirming her fears, Devlin rushed out the front door. A bullet burst through the window of the right side door, spraying glass everywhere. It whizzed past Skylar’s nose, exiting through the windshield as the truck careened into the street. Boxes shifted in back. More bullets came, pinging off metal. “Mia stay down! Watch out for the boxes.” At the corner, Skylar didn’t bother to stop, laying on the horn as she cut off a vehicle on Colfax. A cardboard avalanche sounded behind her, pushing Skylar to the brink of utter panic. “Mia, are you okay? I’m sorry. I had to get us off that street.” A horn blared behind them. Ignoring it, she pulled out her cell and dialed 911.
“911. Do you—”
“I just rescued a kidnapped child. I have her in my delivery truck. A man shot at us and may be in pursuit.”
Fingers clicked furiously on a keyboard. “What’s your location?” Skylar answered, her words clipped. The dispatcher got the particulars on Skylar and her truck. “I’ve got officers headed your way. I need you to stop at—”
“No way. I’m not stopping until I see cops with guns. I’m unarmed and I don’t know if he’s following.”
“I understand. Give me a description of the suspect.”
Skylar gave her that and his name.
“And you’re sure he has a gun?”
“I’ve got bullet holes all over my truck. Look, I can’t hold my phone. I’ll put it on speaker.” Skylar stuffed her phone in her breast pocket. “Mia? Are you okay?” No answer. Had she been injured? Shot? Skylar checked her side mirrors. Traffic was light and she was flying. No other vehicles appeared to be following. She quickly switched lanes in case Devlin was on her bumper. Nothing. Maybe Enrique had dealt with him. She suddenly worried about having dragged him into this mess. What if he were hurt?
A motorcycle approached on the left. Enrique gave a thumbs-up and moved in front of her. Skylar slowed, relieved he was safe, and followed him into a parking lot. Sirens blared and lights flashed a few blocks away. She gave the dispatcher her location and raced to the back, unable to breathe when she didn’t spot Mia. “Mia? Honey?” Relieved that she didn’t see any blood on the floor, Skylar carefully moved boxes aside. Had she made things worse for the poor girl? Everything was a jumbled mess. “Mia. We’re safe now. Where are you? Are you hurt?” A whimper came from the back on the left side. Skylar scrambled over a mass of boxes and found Mia curled up in the corner.
“Oh, baby. Are you hurt?” Skylar’s eyes pricked with tears. She scanned Mia for injuries, seeing none that weren’t there before. “Come here.” Mia let Skylar pick her up, loud sobs erupting from her small body.
“Skylar?” Enrique’s voice came through the broken window in the side door. “Do you want me to come in and help?”
“No. And tell the police to give me a few minutes. Mia’s not hurt.” On the outside.
“Okay.”
Mia gripped Skylar’s neck and buried her head in her shoulder. Skylar rocked slowly and Mia’s sobs ebbed to soft cries. “It’s okay, honey. You’re safe now.” Sirens whined to a stop. Skylar heard car doors slam outside, people talking, radio chatter. Several minutes went by.
Mia shuddered against her, the way one did after a hard cry. She pulled back, sniffed, sad green eyes looking up. “I—” She gulped. “I knew you would come.” Her head fell against Skylar’s shoulder.
Skylar melted. “You did?”
Mia nodded. Shuddered again.
Skylar leaned against the bulkhead door and rubbed Mia’s back. “Enrique?”
“Yeah?”
“We need a female officer. Even if we have to wait. And I need you to call my dad.”
“Okay. Hang on.”