Pryce saw Daniels take a left at the end of the alleyway, and he slowed, pressing himself against the building, breathing hard. His knee throbbed. He raised his weapon. He had no idea if Daniels was also armed. He cautiously looked around the side of the building and saw Daniels clambering up a ten-foot chain-link fence at the end of a smaller alley.

Lightning lit up the bruised sky above. Pryce walked briskly toward Daniels, the Beretta pointed at him in a two-handed grip. “Freeze!” he shouted. He blinked raindrops out of his eyes, kept two hands on the grip of the gun. “LAPD. Get down from that fence, and put your hands up.”

Daniels had one leg over the top of the fence. He looked at Pryce, then down at the other side of the fence, as though weighing up the options.

“Don’t even think about it, Daniels,” Pryce yelled. “I will shoot, and I won’t miss.”

Daniels paused a beat, then slid back down the fence and landed on his haunches, his back to Pryce. He straightened up and slowly raised his arms, showing he was unarmed.

“It’s cool, man,” he shouted, looking over his shoulder. “Just don’t shoot me.”

Pryce approached the suspect, still holding the gun in one hand, the other reaching to unclip the cuffs from his holster. Too late, he saw Daniels spin around in a rapid, fluid movement, leg outstretched. The heel connected with Pryce’s gun hand. The firearm was knocked from his grasp, and he saw it skid across the wet asphalt out of reach.

Daniels was on top of him all of a sudden, knocking Pryce to the ground. He felt a right hook glance across his jaw before catching the younger man with an uppercut to the gut. He heard Daniels take a sharp breath, but he was strong and quickly had Pryce pinned on his back against the sodden concrete, fist raised above him, ready to rain down more blows.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, asshole.”

Daniels froze, hand still in the air.

Pryce raised his head and saw Medina standing a few feet away, sheets of rain sliding off his leather jacket, his own Beretta pointed at Daniels’s head. Pryce shoved the man off him and held him down with his knee until he was able to secure the cuffs on him this time.

He turned to Medina. “Nice of you to finally show up, partner.”

Medina grinned. “You know me, Jase. Always like to make an entrance.”

33 JESSICA

33

JESSICA

Jessica ended the call.

Her hands were shaking as badly as a junkie in need of a fix. She felt sick with nerves and excitement.

She had family.

She wasn’t alone after all.