“That’s far enough.”
The guy screamed as the crunching sound filled the night air.
“That had to—”
Joel’s words were cut off as the attacker made a lunging move. A gun appeared in his other hand and a roar of rage escaped him as he aimed for Connor’s stomach.
Ben slammed a bullet in the back of the attacker’s head before he could fire the shot. He fell in a boneless, dead fall, thudding against the wood.
Connor dropped down on the balls of his feet and felt for a pulse. He picked up the weapons as he shook his head. “He’s done.”
Ben refused to feel sorry about that. He went off plan, but Connor’s death wasn’t on the menu, either.
Connor stood up and glanced over at Ben. “Thanks for that.”
“You guys made that sort of gunfire run-around thing look easy.” Jocelyn offered the comment as she started across the yard. She still held the gun. Instead of shaking on her feet, she walked tall and the tremble in her voice stayed at a minimum.
In that moment, Ben knew she’d ignored his order. She’d been outside and watched it all. She wasn’t the type to hide. Not anymore.
That she walked into danger frustrated him, but he admired her spirit. Other people in her position, including many of the tough guys he worked with at NCIS, would be asking for protective custody and riding the danger out in a hotel somewhere. Not her.
Still, the urge to pack her off did kick strong. “You okay?”
She looked at all three Corcoran men but not at the guys on the ground. “I had the safe part of the job. Just stood over there with my fingers ready to dial 9-1-1.”
Connor put his hands on his hips. “I hate when people come to the house. You’re just begging to be shot when you step on my property without an invitation.”
“Obviously,” she said. “So, now what?”
“We clear these two out.” Velcro ripped as Connor grabbed his phone out of a pocket in his vest.
“How exactly?” Her question sounded more confused than anything.
Ben couldn’t blame her. Until he threw in with Corcoran, he’d never known a private group who could “handle” this sort of thing. People broke in, you called the police.
Not Connor. He had government and police contacts, and depended on those to clean up a lot of messes. To preserve Corcoran’s anonymity and ability to do the job, Connor kept the name out of reports and the paper. In exchange for letting other law-enforcement agencies get the credit, Corcoran stayed undercover.
“We know people,” he said.
Jocelyn smiled at that. “You mean Detective Willoughby?”
His smile slipped at the mention of the new guy Connor didn’t have under control. “Not if I can help it.”
“I guess that means it’s time for me to finally throw up as I’ve been promising, then go to sleep with a gun under my pillow.” She shot Ben a side-glance as she mentioned that last part.
He hated to postpone whatever she had in mind, but he knew Connor would want to move. You did not crash his house and expect him to wait to respond. “Connor plans for us to leave in the next ten minutes.”
“Exactly,” Connor said. “We call Kent and demand a meeting. I want us back in that bank right now. No more waiting, because the bad guys sure aren’t.”
“But they aren’t winning,” Ben pointed out because he wanted to put a lid on the anxiety welling inside him. “You know, to the extent that means anything.”
“If I have to break through that wall on the bank’s second story, we’re seeing what’s behind there. I’m tired of the lying and games.”
Joel pocketed two more weapons from those scattered on the ground. “I can stay here with Jocelyn. Guard her or maybe take her over to Davis and Pax for safekeeping, then circle around to give you backup.”
“We all go.” Connor glanced around. “And we need these bodies moved before a nosy neighbor decides to go for a walk and calls in the cavalry.”
The words sent a shock of denial through Ben. Connor was the boss, but still... “All of us are going to the bank?”
Jocelyn nodded. “Except for the part where I’ve lost all feeling in my legs, I agree with that plan.”
“You do?” Connor must have found it funny because her response eased some of the strain over his eyes.
“If the bad guys are storming the house, I’m not going to be here to welcome them. I would much rather be wherever you guys are.” She frowned at Joel. “And what are you thinking? I am not leading attackers to a pregnant woman’s front door, so forget about the Davis angle.”
On one level—the professional, commonsense one—Ben knew that was the right answer. That didn’t mean he liked it. His brain and body were definitely not working together on this plan “We’ll see.”