No Woman Left Behind Read Online Free PDF

pushed my fear aside. I had to focus.
    The man paused and then, hearing the soft noises from the closet, headed toward it.
    I clenched my fist around the paperweight. It seemed pathetically small now in comparison to a gun, but I wasn’t going to stand by and watch him shoot my family. The man stood to the side of the closet door, reached forward and put his hand on the door handle.
    I spent a precious two seconds calculating the weight of the paperweight, the speed at which I would throw it, and the distance before leaping up and hurling it directly at his head.
    I missed. By a mile. So much for two-second calculations under extreme duress.
    The paperweight crashed into the closet door and fell harmlessly to the floor. I was
so
not going to be hired by the National Baseball League any time soon.
    The intruder turned to shoot at me. Thankfully, two things happened to disturb his aim: first, I was already in mid-jump over the chair toward the desk, and second, my dad flung open the closet door at that exact moment, hitting the arm holding the gun. The bullet hit the ceiling as I landed hard on the other side of the chair, rolling quickly to my feet. My dad and Sasha were already struggling with the intruder. Grunts filled the room as I jumped into the fray, fists swinging. I had no idea where the gun had gone or whether the intruder still had it.
    “Hey, hey. Stop. Stop it.”
    The voice was familiar. We all froze. My dad and Sasha immediately slid off him. My mom took a step out of the closet.
    The intruder sat up, rubbing his jaw. “What the hell is going on here?”
    I sat back on my heels, staring at him in disbelief.
    It was my brother Beau.

Chapter Five
    “Beau?” I couldn’t believe my eyes.
    Beau is the middle child, sandwiched between our brother Rock and me. I stared at him. “What are
you
doing here?”
    “I was on my way over to visit Mom and Dad when I heard a call on my car scanner that shots were fired at this address. I hightailed my ass those last two blocks with my heart in my throat. I came in through the side door with my key. I heard voices in the study, so that’s where I started.”
    Before I could say anything, two shadowy figures appeared in the doorway. “Police. Everyone on the floor with your hands locked behind your heads. Now.”
    We all complied instantly. The policeman had pulled out a flashlight was pointing it at us. My dad started talking.
    “My name is Winston Carmichael. I’m an attorney. This is my home. The individuals in this room are my wife, children and house staff. Someone was shooting at us.”
    More police entered the room, waving flashlights around and making me dizzy. “The house is clear.”
    My brother lifted his head from the floor. “I’m Detective Beau Carmichael with the city-wide robbery unit at the BPD. My service weapon is on the floor next to the chair. It’s been discharged. My badge is in my pocket.”
    A policeman discovered Beau’s gun in front of one of the bookshelves. He slipped on a pair of rubber gloves and bagged the weapon.
    “I understand, Detective. But you know I have to cuff you until we can get this sorted this out. Is everyone okay?”
    “I think so,” Beau answered. “Lexi, are you good?”
    “
Good
is a relative term. But thankfully I’m uninjured.”
    My mom, dad and Sasha confirmed they were all fine.
    “Okay, everyone be calm and cooperate,” Beau instructed. “This will be over shortly.”
    I felt cool plastic slide around my wrists and then one of the policemen helped me stand up. Another policeman assisted Beau to his feet and then wrestled his detective badge out of his pocket. He handed it to the first officer who had entered the room.
    “It’s legit.”
    I was scared to ask, but I had to.
    “Did you find anyone else in the house?” My voice wavered.
    “Not yet. Why? Is there someone missing?”
    “Yes, my boyfriend. He was here with us, but he went after the intruder. The last time I saw him, he was headed into