The world seemed to slow down, everything stopping in an instant. This was when he had to make the decision. He took in both men. Bobby’s eyes went wide, his shock obvious. But Donny didn’t hesitate. He pointed his gun and fired.

Fire licked across Armie’s shoulder, but he stayed on his feet and took a shot of his own. He was a professional. He didn’t miss. Donny’s body jumped as the bullet entered his chest. He let go of his pistol and slipped toward the concrete, his eyes going dead before he ever hit the ground.

Bobby stared down at his brother’s body, his face going pale.

“Drop your weapon.” His shoulder was on fire, but he couldn’t care about that now. He needed to get Bobby Petrie under control so he could get Lila out of that damn building.

“You killed my brother.” Bobby’s eyes came up. “You killed him.”

Bobby turned and ran back into the clinic.

The instant Bobby moved, Armie shot again, but he was already inside.

He cursed inwardly. “Come on out, Petrie. There’s no getting away at this point.”

His left shoulder screamed in pain, but he kept his weapon up as he followed Bobby. The back of the clinic wasn’t bad. Smoke was just starting to billow through, but up ahead he could see the plumes of black and gray starting to rush around. How long had the fire been going? How much smoke had she already inhaled?

He reached over and flipped on the lights. At least they were working. Bobby was nowhere to be seen. He searched his memory, trying to count the number of rooms the clinic contained. He was in the back where they stored supplies. Up ahead there was a break room to the left, Lila’s office ahead of it. To the right were two exam rooms. He wanted nothing more than to rush past all of them to get to the reception area.

Please let her be alive. He couldn’t have lost his chance with her. He would give up his own life if only she got out of this. His daughter would be safe with Lila. She wouldn’t let Noelle down.

“Sheriff.” Roxie stepped up next to him. She had her sidearm in place and took her cues from him. “How many are we dealing with?”

That was his deputy. Cool under pressure. “I think it’s just Bobby Petrie. He slipped in here before I could take him out.”

“You can’t say the same for his brother. Where’s Mabel and the doc?”

“I don’t know, but they must have disabled the sprinklers. This fire is going to move and fast. We need to get Bobby and find Lila and Mabel. I have no idea how much smoke they’ve already inhaled.”

They moved cautiously, clearing the room before moving to the hall.