Commanded (Club Sin 6)

Garrett had been Sawyer’s spotter ever since Sawyer had joined the SWAT team. So many years of working together in dangerous situations had created a bond between the two men, though for the first time Sawyer realized that he’d never really made the effort to befriend Garrett. Yes, their partnership was strong. Yes, they spent the odd night together when the SWAT team when out for beers. But because of Sawyer’s lifestyle, he kept his team at a safe distance.

Club Sin isolated him.

Even so, they had all came out, ready to help Chloe.

Gratitude and respect overwhelmed Sawyer.

Just then the truck slowed and came to a halt. There was a shift in the atmosphere inside the truck, the adrenaline thicker than before. Sawyer’s heart thumped in his chest. He opened the back door, grabbed his shooting bag, and rushed out, his team hot on his heels.

In seconds, he was amid the trees surrounding the abandoned barn holding Chloe. He lowered his night vision goggles onto his eyes. The crunch of leaves and twigs beneath his boots filled his ears, along with the sound of his controlled breath. Soon he’d reach Chloe.

Through his headset Sawyer heard his captain’s voice say, “Take position.”

Sawyer responded, “Copy,” into the open mic by his mouth. He scanned the area and found a hill that would put him forty feet above the target. He and Garrett moved there, Garrett staying to Sawyer’s right.

Sawyer dropped the shooting bag to the ground and lowered himself onto his stomach, taking position. He slowed his breathing as he removed his goggles from his face as he pressed his eye against the night vision scope on his gun.

Double doors appeared to be the only way inside into the bar. He spotted a dim light showing through the one window. Sawyer briefly wondered why Travis had picked this place, but he dismissed the question. The woman inside was all that mattered.

His captain’s voice came through Sawyer’s ear bud. “Forty feet out.”

Sawyer exhaled a long breath. He longed to enter the barn with his team and get to Chloe first. He needed to touch her. Hold her. Care for her. But to rescue her, he needed to keep his team safe.

“Thirty feet.”

Movement and shadows rushed by the window right before the barn door flew open. One hand tightened around the stock of his gun, a finger of the other hand on the trigger. When he saw who it was, he said urgently into his mic, “Got eyes on the primary! She’s running from the barn.” In his T-shirt. Half naked.

Everything inside Sawyer screamed at him to run to her. Training made him stay put.

Stay calm.

Breathe.

Trust your team.

“Location?”

Garrett, standing somewhere nearby, said into his mic, “Two o’clock.”

“Moving there now,” the captain said. “Twenty feet out.”

Keeping his focus on Chloe, spotting the sheer terror on her face as she ran, Sawyer gripped his gun tight. His control splintered when another shadow appeared in the barn’s doorway. “Got eyes on Tango. He’s chasing the primary.”

Travis’s mouth widened, clearly yelling something at Chloe that Sawyer couldn’t hear.

Sawyer’s composure cracked as Chloe stumbled and fell to the ground. Her eyes huge with fear, she scrambled up and sprinted ahead. Little did she know she was running straight for Sawyer.

Yes. Come to me.

Seconds went by like years. With each of those seconds Travis was gaining on her.

“Tango is catching up to the primary.” Concern thickened Sawyer’s voice. “Your location?”

His captain’s labored breath sounded like static through the radio. “Ten feet.”

Chloe kept running, but Travis never slowed. Sawyer inhaled…and exhaled…His team wouldn’t get there in time. “Three feet.”

“Police. Get on the ground!”