Page 103 of Missing Justice

Chapter Nineteen

Dottie, you double-crossing…

Bam-bam!Taylor fired in quick succession.

Matt, always quick on his feet, spun, dodging Dottie’s bullet. He almost succeeded, but theoofhe let out told Taylor he hadn’t quite been fast enough.

He dropped to the floor at the same moment Taylor’s shot hit her mark. A loud squall went up from the baby as the echoes of the gunshots faded away. The wail continued, but Taylor focused on Dottie’s body reeling back. Her gun and body fell in a quick 1-2 succession. A blaze of red bloomed square in her chest.

Taylor’s gut had warned not to trust the bitch.

Score one for my gut.

“Matt? You okay?” Taylor kept her gun trained on Dottie as she kicked her weapon away, then she checked on the baby to confirm she was okay. The baby didn’t have a mark on her. Taylor dug out her cell to dial 911 and glanced over her shoulder. “Matt?”

He didn’t move, but she heard a soft groan.

Oh no.

The baby kept screaming, her little face bright red. Dottie was bleeding profusely from her chest. Matt wasn’t moving.

Dammit. Taylor recited the info to the 911 operator, and prayed the ambulance wasn’t going to be too late.

For Dottie or Matt.

“Hey, hey…shh,” she soothed the baby, running her hands over the little girl’s arms and legs reassuring herself that she wasn’t hurt. Nothing seemed amiss, so she scooted the carrier closer to Matt and knelt beside him.

He was on his side, eyes closed, blood spreading in a pool on the floor near his shoulder. Gently, Taylor shifted him onto his back and saw the torn shirt and sizable hole between his clavicle and shoulder bone.

“I’ll live,” he said between gritted teeth.

“Of course, you will, Mad Dog.” She almost laughed from sheer relief. She’d finally found someone to trust with her heart. No way she could stand to lose him now. “You’re way too stubborn to die on me.”

His blue eyes were cloudy with pain. “How’s the kid?”

“Can’t you tell?” Taylor practically had to yell over the baby’s screams. “She’s fine. Ambulance is on the way.”

Matt cocked his chin down to eye his busted up shoulder. “And Dottie?”

Taylor had a hard time working up empathy for the woman. “I probably should administer first aid to her, see if I can slow that bleeding.”

Pushing himself up with his good hand, he glanced over at Dottie’s limp form. “Center mass. Nice shot.”

His skin was the color of ashes. Taylor’s heart did a little squeeze. “Looks like you could use some first aid, yourself. You’re bleeding pretty good. Lay down and I’ll find something to stall it.”

“Nah.” He waved her off, getting to his feet. “Take the baby. I’ll put some pressure on Dottie’s wound.”

This man. What an amazing human being. “She shot you and you’re worried about saving her life?” Taylor shook her head as she holstered her gun and reached for the crying baby. “The sisters are definitely lucky to have you.”

“And what about you, Agent Sinclair?”

He was grinning as he pulled a sweatshirt off a dining room chair and wadded it up, but his eyes darted away from hers.

Was it the pain straining his voice, his face?No. Taylor’s pulse did a skip. It was…fear. Fear of rejection.

Taylor tucked the baby into her arms and bounced it gently. The little girl continued to cry but not at decibels that made Taylor’s ears bleed. “Hell, yes,” she said over the noise. “I couldn’t have handled this without you.”

The forced grin faded and Taylor knew that wasn’t the right answer. Her gut twinged. God, she sucked at this shit.