Free The Omega Team: Assisting Aimee by Susan Stoker Page A

to her. She didn’t move, but opened her eyes into slits, taking that first step into dealing with the aftermath of what had happened.
    She couldn’t distinguish much because of her position on the floor, but she saw several pairs of boots standing near them, and heard lots of talking all at once. The wooden planks of the gym floor surrounding her were splattered with red paint…no, not paint.
    Feeling vulnerable, and finally realizing the delayed need to protect herself, she whipped her head around to look for Bill.
    He was lying behind her, on his back, arms outstretched, gun still clasped in his hand. His eyes were open and staring up at the rafters. There was a small red stain slowly spreading on his shirt, and a larger puddle oozing out from under him.
    Aimee didn’t even flinch. She’d never wished death on anyone, no matter how bad they were, but at that moment she was more than happy that it was Bill lying on the floor dead, rather than her or Tony or any of the children.
    “I got you, Aimee.” Tony repeated the words and Aimee felt them soak into her soul. She knew she’d never forget this moment, or his words. They were just what she needed to calm her, to make her able to deal with the situation.
    “The kids, we have to get them out,” she stated resolutely, trying to stand up.
    Tony moved out of her way enough to let her stand, but he was right there next to her, his arms still around her, holding her tightly when she stood upright.
    “They’re in the lockers, right?” a voice to their left asked.
    Aimee turned her head, not willing to pull herself out of Tony’s arms yet. She saw a tall man, obviously military, even though he was in jeans and a black T-shirt. He had the kind of conceited, “I can take care of everything” look about him. His arms were covered in tattoos and he had blue eyes.
    “Yeah, it was the only place we could think of to hide them,” she answered affirmatively.
    “I had nothing to do with that decision,” Tony told the soldier. “It was all Aimee.”
    For a second she thought Tony was throwing her under the proverbial bus with his words, but realized almost at the same time, that he was giving her credit for the decision, rather than having the man standing next to them think it was his doing.
    “Good job, ma’am. How many kids?”
    “Thirty-six,” Aimee answered. She knew she should probably go and help keep the students calm, but she didn’t have it in her at the moment. Realizing something, she blurted out, “Take them through one of the locker-rooms so they don’t have to see him.” She motioned toward Bill’s bleeding body. “They’ve been through enough.”
    “Of course.” With that, the man jogged around the obstacle course equipment Aimee had set up what seemed like years ago.
    “You okay?” Tony asked in a low voice next to her.
    Aimee looked up at him for the first time since the bullets had started flying. Surprised to see such a tender, concerned look on his face, she could only nod.
    “God, you were awesome. I’m probably not supposed to say that, but it’s true.” Tony looked around for a moment, then his eyes came back to hers. “We don’t have a lot of time before the cops descend, but in a nutshell, Jones is Special Forces, or former Special Forces or something. I knew by something he said that there’d be others nearby just waiting for the perfect time to act. I didn’t know if you’d understand me or not, but since you hadn’t taken your eyes off of me the entire time, I’d hoped.”
    “I saw,” Aimee said simply.
    Tony nodded. “It wasn’t the best plan, but it was all we had. I knew if we could give the guys a shot at Bill, they’d take it. Hell, they’d probably take it even if you hadn’t moved, but I didn’t want to take that chance.”
    “Thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For being here. For helping me with the kids. For being a voice of reason.” Aimee stroked his bloody arm. “Thank you for being the man you