In Her Sights by Robin Perini Page A

Jasmine. “Is it scary at bedtime?”
    Jasmine blanched. The sniper was gone. A vulnerable woman had replaced her. She tried to smile at Joy. “Sometimes.”
    “I get scared too,” his daughter said, leaning in to Jasmine. “I don’t like the dark,” Joy whispered.
    “Me either.” Jasmine’s hand shook; her eyes turned haunted. “I…uh…have to go now.”
    “Wait.” Joy lifted her chin and stuck out both hands, cradling the well-worn orange and white fish. “You can have Hero. He’ll keep you safe.”
    Then Luke saw something he’d never seen before. Jasmine’s eyes glistened and she bit her lip.
    “I can’t take Hero. He belongs to you.”
    That stubborn Montgomery glint shone in his daughter’s eyes. “It’s okay. I have Daddy and Gamma and Uncle Gabe and Uncle Caleb and Uncle Seth and Uncle Nick. And I even have Uncle Zach. He’s the Dark Avenger,” she whispered. “He flies and catches bad guys.”
    Helplessly, Jazz glanced at Luke. “What should I—?”
    “Take good care of him. He needs lotsa hugs every day.” Joy shoved Hero into Jasmine’s arms. With a small hiccup Joy ran past Luke and into her grandmother’s arms.
    Jazz stared at the stuffed toy. “I…uh…don’t know what to say.” Her voice had gone hoarse. “Th-thank you, Joy.”
    A thunder of footsteps echoing down the hall nearly drowned Jazz’s words. Gabe’s teammates filled the opening of the waiting room.
    Sarge stood framed in the doorway and studied the situation before stepping inside. He strode across the room and nodded his head in greeting. “Mrs. Montgomery.”
    She stroked the blond hair of the child resting in her lap. “Sergeant Carder. Thank you for coming.”
    “How’s Gabe doing?”
    The rest of the team moved forward and shed curious glances at Jasmine.
    “He’s still in surgery. It’ll be a while,” said Luke.
    As the team shifted to offer their best wishes to his family, Luke watched Jasmine draw away from them. No one came toward her. Couldn’t they see what they were doing to her? Each second they were in this room ignoring her devastated her even more. As it was, she retreated inwardly, inch by inch, before his eyes.
    She dug into her pocket, obviously going for a Life Saver. He hated seeing her like this. If it weren’t for his mother and daughter, he’d knock a few of these idiots into doing the right thing. As it was, he’d have to be covert.
    He pulled Paretti aside. “What the hell does your team think it’s doing, treating Jasmine like the enemy?”
    Paretti grimaced. “We tried. She distanced herself. As usual.”
    “Well, try harder. You all should be supporting her. Gabe told me you wouldn’t fight for her. I didn’t believe him until now. Guess I’ll be the one standing by her since her teammates are too cowardly.”
    “Step back, Luke. You don’t get it. There are a few jerks on the team, but most of them wanted to give her a chance. Have given her more than one. She pushed us away. Makes it hard to watch her back.”
    “Still—”
    “Her shot was over a foot wide with no possibility of deflection,” Paretti snapped. “The whole operation cratered. Gabe assumed the target was down. Instead he caught the bastard’s knife.”
    Luke stared at Jasmine, who’d turned her back to the team and still sat alone, almost shrinking into the chair. Snipers could miss a target. It was unusual, but not unprecedented. A foot wide, though? He’d never heard of a shot that far off in all his years overseas.
    And Jasmine being off that much. He didn’t buy it. The only other option made his stomach knot. Sabotage. He’d been inside the SWAT den. The weapons were locked up, access limited to members of the sheriff’s office. Proof of corruption, perhaps? Jasmine and Gabe might both be victims of the cancer spreading through the ranks.
    “She doesn’t miss. Ever.” Luke spoke the words loudly enough that a couple of SWAT team members turned their heads.
    “She missed