Emma's step faltered as she heard a crack pierce the air, and then a moment later the windshield of Steve's truck splintered into a thousand pieces. Grabbing Gracie, she pulled them in between two cars and covered Grace's small body with her own. It took everything she had not to call out for Steve, but if the gunshot came from her stalker, she did not want to draw any attention to them.
"Steve?" Kono asked as she belly-crawled her way to the rear of the truck.
"You okay?" Steve replied as he held his weapon in both hand. A trail of blood trickled down the left side of his face.
"I'm fine, are you okay?" she asked while drawing her own weapon out of her bag.
"Yeah, just a piece of glass got me. Did you see Emma and Grace?" Steve asked.
"No," Kono whispered.
"Cover me," Steve said as he began moving towards the car next to his truck. After checking to make sure there wasn't anyone visible, Steve made his way past three cars before he saw a bright pink pair of sandals. Coming around the side of the vehicle, Steve saw Emma with Grace tucked tightly against her body. Sending a prayer of thanks upward, Steve crawled his way towards them.
Amidst the screams of the people scattered along the beach, Emma had not heard anyone approach. When she felt a hand land on her arm, she jerked violently. Looking up, her tear-filled eyes met those of the man she loved. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, Grace broke the silence.
"Steve, you're bleeding," she whispered.
"I know, sweetie, but I'm okay," he assured the little girl. Emma's nursing skills took over as she assessed the wound with her eyes. It looked like it would need stitches.
"Baby, are you okay?" Steve asked as he smoothed a hand down the side of her face. Afraid of bursting into tears, Emma jerked her head in response. At the moment the sound of sirens coming closer echoed throughout the parking lot.
After several minutes of searching, the police could not find anyone with a gun. Steve was sitting at the back of an ambulance while the EMT cleaned his cut. Grace was wrapped in Danny's arms while he talked to Kono and Chin. Emma was giving her statement to a uniformed officer.
"Excuse me, ma'am," a man said as he approached Emma and the officer. "I'm with the crime scene unit, could you show me where you were when you heard the gunshot?"
"Sure," Emma replied as she followed the man to the sidewalk. With her back to the man, she walked forward until she stopped in front of the car she and Grace had been standing in front of when the gunshot had rang out. "Right here."
"I know," the man replied. Before Emma could turn around she felt the prick of blade against her back. "Don't move, baby. We're going for a walk. If you scream, I kill one of them."
"Why are you doing this?" Emma whispered without moving.
"Because you belong to me. Now move," he ordered. Emma hesitated only briefly before he pulled a gun from behind his back and pointed it towards Steve. Unfortunately, none of the guys were looking in her direction. Emma began to move forward. She kept moving until they reached a black pick up truck at the end of the parking lot.
"Get in," the man ordered as he opened the passenger side door. Emma complied when she felt the blade of the knife dig further into her skin. While he made his way to the driver's side door, Emma shot a text to Steve and Danny. Black truck, back of the parking lot.
As her kidnapper put the truck in reverse and moved out of the parking space, Emma made sure to memorize his facial features. Blond hair, green eyes, tan complexion. As she studied his face, a spark of recognition hit her. She knew this man! He was one of the police officers who had responded to her emergency call in Virginia.
"Dammit!" the man swore while slamming on the brakes. Emma's gaze swung around to the front of the vehicle. There stood Steve, Danny, Chin, and Kono with weapons drawn. "You little bitch! Get out!"
Emma didn't hesitate to throw open the door and run to Steve, who carefully pushed her behind him.
"Step out of the vehicle, now!" Danny shouted as he walked closer to the driver's side. Before he could get any closer, the truck sped backwards and across the back of the parking lot. Two police cruisers immediately followed the truck while Danny and Chin ran towards the Camaro.
"We'll find him," Danny promised before he dove into the car and sped away in pursuit. Steve whipped around and pulled Emma into his arms.
"Are you okay? Jesus, Emma, why didn't you scream or something?" Steve reprimanded as his arms tightened around her.
"He had a gun and he said he would kill you or one of the team. I couldn't take that chance, especially with Grace here," Emma said as she looked around Steve to see Grace wrapped in Kono's arms.
"Okay," Steve whispered before he meshed their mouths together in a kiss full of desperation.