Free Endless Flames (Surviving Ashes, Book Four) by Kennedy Layne Page A

According to the radio reports, the casualties in the Midwest were beyond imaginable and those left behind were preparing for the worst. People were scavenging for whatever supplies they could find and then barricading themselves inside their homes. Berke was beginning to think along those same lines, because the sight before him didn’t give him many options.
    “Maxie, get in the back with Jacob,” Berke ordered with a steel tone, both of them having seen what lay ahead. It was something out of a warzone—and Berke should know, considering he’d done two combat tours in Afghanistan—with men wearing black masks over their faces and shooting their weapons into the air as they tried to control those around them. They were stopping vehicles and confiscating what supplies they could, most likely killing those individuals who didn’t comply. There was a body lying on the side of the road with a woman crying nearby. She had her hands in the air to mimic surrender, but the tension in her shoulders told him she was ready to make a break for it. Berke made a quick but decisive decision as the road in front of them was all but impassable and there was a vehicle currently inches from his bumper. “Do not, under any circumstances, leave that boy’s side.”
    Berke glanced in the rearview mirror, not wanting to take his eyes off of the scene in front of him, but needing to see if the person behind them could provide some assistance. The seventy-year-old woman was more of a target than anything else, leaving him with another decision to make.
    “Berke?” Maxie whispered, wincing when a couple rounds were shot into the air in another attempt to subdue those vehicles that were already at a standstill. She was up on her knees and ready to climb over the console when he rested his hand over hers, which had instinctively gone for her weapon. She resisted for maybe three seconds before giving in and climbing over the console to be seated next to Jacob. “There are only three of them. Look at the body lying on the side of the road. We need to take the offensive and eliminate the threat.”
    “Yes,” Berke agreed, keeping his voice low as he pressed the button to roll down his window. He noticed something that Maxie couldn’t from her position in the back. “The one in the white shirt is nervous. He’s staying to the side while the other two clean house. He most likely feels like he’s doing this out of necessity. He is going to hesitate.”
    “And the leader in blue?” Maxie’s inquiry pulled Berke’s attention to the one who could make or break this situation. Berke never liked to make a call on how missions ended, but he’d calculated the odds of everyone making it out of this alive…and they weren’t good. “He’s already got eyes on you.”
    “White will come up to the passenger side and that’s the one I need you to concentrate on,” Berke directed as he rolled the passenger side window down. “I’ll handle the one in blue. There are rabbit ears in the console. I took them from the range. Put them on Jacob.”
    Maxie didn’t have to be told the reasoning behind his command. She’d been in law enforcement long enough to know how this was going to play out. Berke could see the older woman behind them panicking and trying to turn around, which only drew the attention of those she was trying to avoid. He reached below his seat and slowly drew out a Sig Sauer Model 1911 Emperor Scorpion .45 ACP.
    “Don’t hesitate for a second, Maxie.” Berke hadn’t been in such a situation since he’d been with his team in Afghanistan. Sweat broke out on his brow, but not in apprehension. Instead, he was concerned that Jacob would get caught in the crossfire. “Draw your service weapon and rest it gently on the shoulder of the passenger seat, hidden from view behind the headrest. Pull the trigger as soon as your target is centered on the open window.”
    Berke hadn’t said the last word before the man in blue started to