Page 94 of Tito

There was only room for two men in the doorway. Cash was undoubtedly a better shot than I was, therefore, I gave no opposition to his demand. I quickly moved to the side, allowing him to step into place.

Baker and Cash simultaneously gave a nod.

Incapable of seeing into the other room, I pressed my finger to the side of my Bluetooth device. “On three,” I whispered into the mouthpiece, knowing Goose and Ally could also hear my faint voice. “One…Two…”

I drew a breath and held it. The thought of proceeding made me feel ill, but I had no choice. When I looked last, Goose’s right hand was twitching—a signal that he was seconds from attempting to draw his weapon.

I couldn’t let Goose take that chance. “Three.”

Gunfire shattered the silence. One after another, the deafening blasts seemed to come from everywhere. After three dozen shots were fired, the room fell eerily silent.

The ringing in my ears was brain-numbing.

I stepped into the opening and peered into the other room. The two bullet-riddled officers stumbled to maintain their footing.

The first officer took several awkward steps away from Goose. He came to a stop with his back propped against the wall, just beside the exit door. His glassy eyes were slowly coming to terms with what had happened.

Still clutching the gun in his right hand, his arm dangled loosely at his side. He locked eyes with me and sucked a choppy breath. The crisp navy-colored uniform he wore now glistened dark crimson with blood.

He was a few heartbeats away from death, and it appeared that he knew it.

The second officer crumbled into a distorted pile at Goose’s feet. His rifle clanked across the floor and came to a rest beside Ally.

The air was thick with the coppery smell of death. Through the chaos, cordite, and sheer confusion, it was impossible to tell if the officers had fired their weapons.

“Is anyone hit!?” I shouted.

I realized as I spoke that my ears were ringing so loudly that I could barely hear my own voice.

Gun in hand, Cash boldly sauntered toward the first officer. “I’m good.”

The sound of his voice was muffled and dull.

“Same,” Ally responded, her voice equally as indiscernible.

“I’m good,” Goose said.

I stared in disbelief at the carnage while tugging against my earlobes. In seconds, events unraveled that would forever alter our futures.

Cash pointed his pistol at the dying officer’s chest. Exhausted from his last efforts to remain with the living, he slumped to the floor. His pistol clattered across the tile, coming to a stop between them.

In a sitting position against the wall, the officer held my gaze. Filled with regret, I watched as he drew his last uneven breath.

Cash holstered his weapon. He turned and reached for one of the steel boxes.

“Leave it!” Baker demanded.

Cash paused. His face contorted. He faced Baker. “What the—”

“Don’t take anything,” Baker barked. He glanced around the room. “Get this place policed of every hair, flake of skin, piece of fiber, shell casing, and whatever else might tie us to this robbery. Get everything. If we’re caught with one coin or piece of jewelry from this botched up mess, we’ll get the death penalty.”

Baker was right. Death by lethal injection for everyone in the room would be the sentence if one person was caught and convicted for killing either of the law two enforcement officers.

My eyes drifted to the first officer. Slumped against the wall like he was taking a rest from a long day at work, his eyes remained open. I wanted to fix everything—put it back the way it was—but there was nothing I could do.

Everything I wanted. All that I had hoped for. My life’s aspirations. My dreams with Reggie. Our adventure. The thought of it all evaporating encompassed me, paralyzing me from doing anything but staring into the eyes of the dead man who sat before me.

“Echo One to Echo Six,” I heard Baker say into the two-way radio.

Reno’s response came quick. “Echo Six. Go ahead.”

“We’re code black, Echo Six,” Baker said in a shaking voice. “We need a clear path home.”

“Roger that,” Reno replied. “Everything’s in place. It’s your call, Echo one.”

Baker cleared his throat. “Blow this place to Kingdom fucking Come.”