Page 33 of Protected By West (San Antonio S.W.A.T. #1)

WEST

When he got the news of the car chase his first thought was that it was going to go past the credit union.

He waited for news that they'd block the car they were chasing and stop them before anyone got hurt.

The deputies had a couple of cars with the grapple device in the front bumper, but there was nothing in the radio traffic that said they had one of those cars in the area.

Fox came into West's office with a furrowed brow. "Did you hear about the-"

"Chase?"

Fox nodded.

"Yeah. It's near the-"

They both went silent as the radio told them the last thing that West wanted to hear.

"... the car is wedged in the front door of the Military City Credit Union..."

"... it looks like someone is getting out through the windshield..."

"... getting word from inside the building. The staff is mostly safe in the break room and the member service manager's office..."

Weston dropped his chin down toward his chest. He'd heard the word 'mostly.' That was a qualifying word he hated.

"... got one of the managers on the phone. Everyone is safe in the rooms with reinforced doors except-"

"NO." Weston felt his whole heart go still.

"... manager Tracy Fagan and Estes Cooper."

Weston felt his skin go cold.

Estes? What was she doing at the credit union?

"... the security camera feed is coming through our system, shared by the member services manager. There's one man in the lobby with a gun and it looks like another is coming out of the car through the windshield and-"

West already had his hat in hand and was reaching for his keys when his desk phone beeped with an incoming message.

"West, we're heading for the van."

West looked at Fox and nodded. They'd both heard Duval's businesslike tone.

They were running a moment later, listening through their radios.

This time, West didn't leave his cell phone behind.

He hoped that he could get a message through to Tracy.

Or a message from her.

By the time he reached the warehouse space, Weston saw everyone waiting for him. From head to toe they were all dressed in their full SWAT gear, their helmets in their hands.

West was pulling on his vest over his uniform shirt. "What are you waiting for? Saddle up!"

Everyone piled in with West stepping up into the back.

He saw the concerned looks from his team, but he didn't have much to say.

Duval got off of the bench seat he was using and slipped into the front of the van.

West sat down in the open space and continued putting his uniform on.

To keep anyone from asking him questions, he kept his gaze on the floor in front of his feet. "What do we know?"

His team knew what was expected of them and started to fill in what they'd gathered in the way of information.

When they'd done their information dump, Dally cleared his throat and lowered the phone he'd had at his ear.

"West. I just spoke to your mom. She said that Estes went to the credit union to meet Tracy today.

Estes had been going stir crazy waiting for the lunch this weekend and headed out.

She only told your mom when she got to the credit union, sending her a message before she got out of her car.

Duval turned around, looking back from the passenger seat up front.

"We'll have access to all of the internal security footage on our monitors here in the van and on the iPads.

We're only tapping into the feeds that we need.

The coverage on the security cameras in the main space of the credit union is good. Really good."

West nodded. He knew it was.

Tracy was damn good at her job.

Jack leaned forward. "The staff was ready for this. Not that anyone is really ready for something like this, but they got most of their staff into rooms they can secure. It'll make it easier for us to deal with the suspects and... Tracy and your sister."

She'd hesitated, likely because she hadn't known what to say.

Hostages.

Victims.

Neither word was appealing.

Jack was a straight shooter, so West knew that she'd pulled her punches on her word usage. Something he was grateful for.

"I think, if given the time, we could approach the building from blind spots and get the rest of the staff out through the windows."

West nodded. "I hope we can get in and out without having to extricate the rest of the staff. We'll be looking for the fastest way in and out to fix this."

"The windows..."

West turned to look at Blue, anticipating the next words out of his mouth.

"The windows are good. Meant to withstand bullets from anyone trying to rob the credit union, but that makes it difficult to use bullets to breach our way in."

"The front doors were already breached." Oxy piped up. "If we can find Blue and Myles somewhere with clear sight lines through the front doors, we can use that as a safety net."

West agreed, looking up at the team. "Do we have any information on who we're dealing with inside?"

Dally looked up from the iPad he was working on. "Career criminal. At least the man in the driver's seat. He's been matched to the DMV record for the car and license plate. I've got folks looking through dash cams and traffic cams for any clear view of the man in the passenger seat."

Myles stretched out his legs flexing his feet up and down. "I'd rather he stayed in the car. Maybe we can approach under the windows and yank him out. Take him out of the equation."

"He's getting out."Dally pointed at the screen of his iPad. “He might be doing himself more damage than anything else. The windshield is a minefield of broken glass. There's likely some jagged metal. He might end up bleeding out before we get in there."

West shook his head at that assessment.

Not because he didn't believe it but because it was bad news.

Fox spoke up from the driver's seat. "A dying man is a dangerous one. If he's angry, he might decide to go scorched earth. Looks like we're just a couple of minutes out. Someone keep an eye on the second man. If there's anything on him that looks like a weapon we need to know."

Jack spoke up next. "Does Tracy have a CC permit?"

West shook his head but answered out loud so everyone could hear it. "No. She can shoot but doesn't want to carry at work."

Inside he was waffling back and forth. Did he want Tracy to have a gun on her?

Yes and no.

Did he want her to be able to defend herself?

Absolutely.

But she'd told him that she didn't feel like carrying a gun. There were just too many opportunities for something to go wrong.

He'd understood her thoughts, but now, facing the very real possibility of her suffering an injury or worse, he kind of wished that he'd taken her out to the range and talked her into a concealed carry permit.

TRACY

She put herself in between the man and Estes. Weston's sister was still on the ground, but Tracy didn't dare turn around to look at her. Not yet. Turning her back on the man with the gun seemed to be the worst decision she could make.

The next worst?

Not picking Fox's brain for how to talk a man down from a potentially life-ending decision.

She had to hope that he didn't know that she was the head of the credit union.

She'd put good money on the fact that he wasn't a member.

He looked around the room, letting his gaze linger on the car for a moment before finishing his visual assessment with a hard look at her face. "So, this is some kind of bank, right?"

Now she wanted to kick his butt.

Mentally she rolled her sleeves up to her elbows and balled up her fists.

She just hoped that her face had a more... placid expression.

"Yes. We're a credit union."

The man smiled like he'd hit some kind of jackpot.

Wrong town, jerk , she grumbled in her head.

"You got one of those bags that the money comes in?"

"I do. I have one that we use for deposits."

He waved the gun toward the counter a couple of times, returning it to the original position, right at her chest, each time.

"Well? Go get me the cash in your drawer."

Breathe.

Breathe.

Don't pass out.

"I don't have a drawer."

She didn't wait for him to ask another question.

"I work in the office back there." She gestured over his shoulder, but he shook his head. "I'm not stupid, lady."

I beg to differ.

"Just give me the money and then I'll be asking for a car and you and I can take a drive together."

Heavy doors closed outside, and Tracy turned to look.

"Well, it looks like we're famous, baby."

Don't call me baby, asshat.

There were TV vans, but they were probably being kept across the street.

She had learned a few things from her time with Weston.

The driveway of the credit union was suddenly blocked with a big black van that looked almost like an RV with muscles.

Along the side of the van were four large letters under the words SAN ANTONIO.

S.W.A.T.

The stakes had just gone up.

Not only was her boyfriend on scene, but his whole team was there.

She just had to hold it together and keep Estes safe, too.

"I think," he adjusted his stance, widening his feet and puffing out his chest, "we're gonna be famous. Likely evening news. Into tomorrow if we give them a good enough show."

Show?

A show?

"My mom might see me on the news!"

WEST

West watched through the monitors as Duval held the riot shield in front of him with Dally following half a step behind, carrying a small bag in one hand and touching Duval's back with the other.

They moved as one through the parking lot and Weston rocked back on his heels as he watched his team approach the double doors at the front of the credit union.

The car was well and truly wedged into the door frame. It was likely going to keep the building closed for a week or so to repair the damage.

If that's all that happened, he would be grateful. Beyond grateful!

When Duval and Dally were within range, the duo stopped.

Fox leaned in and spoke into the microphone that was currently connected to the speakers outside the van.

"We're sending in a phone for communication."

The man inside had a gun on Tracy with his right hand and his left?