Page 17 of Last Chance Christmas

The door slammed open like it had bounced back on its hinges.

She stepped around Izan, both of them still holding each other, and looked at the empty doorway. Sosa had made a run for it—with a gun. Armed and dangerous, and now on the loose.

“I need to go after him. Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Go.”

“Meet the officers who show up. Tell them what happened.” She ran out of the kitchen door and looked both ways, seeing Sosa jump the fence by Izan’s oak tree.

She raced after him, tearing across the yard as fast as she could while a clap of thunder rumbled across the gray early-morning sky. The clouds were thick enough they threatened to dim the whole day, not just breakfast. But she’d much rather chase a suspect in the cool than the heat of summer—so hot it seemed like everything was about to catch fire. She didn’t know how those firefighters withstood running into a burning building every shift.

Olivia holstered her gun, grabbed a tree branch, and hoisted herself up so she could swing her legs over the fence. Thankfully the top edge was flat, not jagged, and she rested there a second just to make sure she wasn’t about to get shot.

Sosa was halfway down the street behind Izan’s cul-de-sac.

She pushed off the tree and made it over the fence. Not entirely graceful, but she landed on two feet and drew her gun again. “Stop! Police!”

Sosa kept running.

She chased after him, her intention focused on this one man. A guy who could have ended Izan’s life just moments ago. Thank God he hadn’t.

It felt like she’d been about to lose everything.

She wanted to ugly cry with relief now that Izan was fine. Even though Alonzo was loose still. He could hurt someone else. Take somebody’s loved one, the person who was their whole world. She shouldn’t be so relieved Izan was all right.

Olivia turned the next corner so fast she didn’t realize what she’d done before it was too late.

Alonzo waited by the fence, and he was on her quicker than she knew what was happening. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her, slamming her against the fence.

He grabbed her head and slammed that against the fence as well.

The double hit brought the ground up way too fast.

Everything went black.

Eight

Izan rushed out his front door just as a patrol car pulled in. Two officers climbed out, guys he didn’t work with much. He strode toward them. “Alonzo Sosa was here. Olivia chased after him.”

Izan put a hand on his chest, trying to still his racing heart. Should he have said Officer Tazwell? Maybe she didn’t want everyone in the department to know they were friends. He’d been so surprised at finding Sosa in his house that now everything was upside down and he needed a second.

She’d gone after Sosa.

He turned back to the house. One of the officers said, “Which way did they go?”

“Through the back. They climbed the fence. It’ll dump you out on the street behind.” And he didn’t want to be here when she was out there, running down a dangerous man with Izan’s gun.

Yeah, he was gonna have to explain that.

Izan started walking down the sidewalk. He could go around, get to the street behind.

“Hold up, buddy.”

Izan said, “It’s Collins.”

“Eastside Firehouse, right?”

He nodded. “Olivia is a friend of mine.”