Prologue

      WAS THAT…a frog?

      Max Mitchell tried to clear his vision, but the pain and blood made it impossible. But the frog—if that’s what the green blur on the ceiling was—seemed to sway and scream in time with his charging heartbeat.

      He was dying, his blood pumping out of his body beneath a flying, screaming frog.

       Is this shock?

      His brain sent the message to his nerves to lift his hand so he could wipe the blood from his face.

       Come on, hand, lift. Here we go.

      But it didn’t work. The nerves didn’t respond.

      He spit out the blood that pooled, coppery and hot in his mouth, and groaned from the effort.

      The screaming, he realized when his ears suddenly popped, wasn’t from the frog. It was from the baby in the crib under the frog. The frog mobile, blood spattered and cockeyed.

      Nell picked up the baby and the screaming stopped.

      Relief rattled through his body, slowing his heart rate.

      Or it could be loss of blood. Either way Nell had lived and he was so tired.

      “Mitchell!”

      Someone called his name and he made the effort to turn his head, but agony screamed through his neck and the black edges of the world closed in.

      “Mitchell, can you hear me?”

      The frog was replaced by the bearded face of his partner.

       Good—Nell, the baby and Anders are still alive.

      “You’ve got a bullet in the groin and it looks like another one creased your neck and cheek.” Anders was putting a good face on it, trying to smile, but Max could feel his partner using both hands and all his weight to stanch the blood pouring out of Max’s body.

      “Hurts.”

      Anders laughed. “I should think.”

      “Groin?”

      “It’s bad, lots of blood. But you’ll live to love another day.”

      “Where—” The blood made it difficult to talk, but he spit out more and tried again. “Where’s Tom?”

      “Tom?”

      “The dad. Adult male.”

      Anders glanced briefly behind him, where blue shapes and the screaming and the frog all lingered just out of Max’s focus.

      “The wife is hurt, but not bad. The infant is fine, but we were too late for the dad. The first bullet was right through the chest. He died instantly.”

      Justice, Max thought, is too damn complicated.

      Medics approached, pushing Anders out of the way. But Anders wasn’t a man easily pushed and he hovered over a medic’s shoulder.

      Max was glad. He didn’t want to die alone.

      “The teenager?” Max asked as the medics lifted him onto the stretcher. Hot shards of pain, like glass, like blowtorches and firebombs, blazed up his body from his leg. He screamed, warm blood spilling into his mouth and he choked.

      “Jesus, guys. Careful,” Anders barked, and the medics ran to get Max out of the nursery room that had turned into a bloodbath.

      “The teenager?” he cried, pushing against the black edges that lingered and taunted him with sweet relief.

      “You got him,” Anders said, pride and regret in his voice. “He’s dead.”

      Max had done his job. He let go and the world went dark.