Free Hiding From Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 2) by Olivia Jaymes Page A

to steal West’s Xbox.
    Life was strange.
    *     *     *
    With all that was going on in West’s life the last thing he needed right now was to fend off a burglar. Probably some young kid or maybe a junkie looking to score a DVD player, iPhone, or a Playstation that would bring a quick buck. He should be lying in bed next to Gigi catching up on his sleep but instead he was climbing out of his bedroom window and walking as silently as possible on his roof.
    Dropping to his knees, he slowly crawled close to the edge that hung over the side of the house. Coming from the ground below, he could hear a few whispers and the sound of someone shaking the window frame.
    West craned his neck and was able to make out two figures in the shadows. Not the best odds but then he’d been in much worse. If the guys were amateurs they’d run the minute he identified himself.
    Easing the .38 from his shoulder holster he pointed the barrel down at the dark outlines before shouting. “Police! Drop any weapons and lie on the ground.”
    Normally that command – out of the blue and in the middle of the night – was enough to get a perp to piss himself before he went belly first into the grass shouting he was innocent and it was all a set up. Or he called for his lawyer.
    It didn’t matter which to West. The guy could tell it to the judge at arraignment the next morning.
    This time neither of the figures did any of those things. West barely had time to scoot back and duck his head as one raised his arm in West’s direction. There was a flash of light from a gun barrel piercing the darkness and then he felt the whistle of a bullet fly past his ear. Flattening his body to the rough shingles, he heard three more shots ring out in his general direction but none as close as the first.
    What the fuck?
    An urgent unintelligible whisper and then the thud of footsteps in the grass as the men ran, probably toward a getaway vehicle. West swung down from the roof, landing with a jolt on the air conditioning unit before jumping to the ground. Glad he kept himself in excellent shape he broke into a sprint, the men not far in front of him.
    “This is the police! Stop!” he bellowed again but he already knew they weren’t going to stop fleeing the scene. If they had the audacity to shoot at a police officer they weren’t going to suddenly throw down their weapons and surrender like good little citizens. The sound of sirens in the distance indicated however that backup would be there momentarily and West could get this situation under control. This was a residential neighborhood and West didn’t want any of his neighbors to get hurt.
    Especially not the woman who was hopefully following his exact instructions.
    One of the men looked over his shoulder and wildly fired two more rounds, one hitting a window in West’s house and the other flying off into the air. These assholes were going to hurt an innocent bystander at this rate and already lights were coming on in windows down the street, one by one. Soon people would be streaming out of their houses and into the line of fire, drawn by the sound of shots.
    Stay where you are, babe. Just stay there.
    West raised his gun but one of the men dashed into the darkened street as the police backup careened into the neighborhood, sirens blaring and lights flashing. Whether the perp was temporarily blinded or simply not paying attention West didn’t know, but the man bolted straight into the path of the oncoming vehicle. There was a squeal of tires and the sickening sound of metal on bone. West’s stomach twisted in his gut and he winced at the splash of red on the black and white cruiser.
    Bodies streamed from the homes along the street and West lost sight of the other man until he heard the roar of an engine and a vehicle barreling out of the neighborhood. He couldn’t make out the license plate but he could tell it was a dark Ford Escape, possibly navy blue or black. Pulling his phone out of his