Afraid To Lose Her. Syndi Powell

       CHAPTER ONE

      SHERRITA LOPEZ TOOK a sip of lukewarm coffee from the cardboard cup and glanced around the group of about a dozen federal agents that had gathered in a parking lot of the building that housed the Drug Enforcement Agency. They all looked similar in navy jackets with “DEA” or “ATF” written in gold on the back. They even seemed to have the same haircut. She pulled her long brown hair over one shoulder and wished she fit in better. Maybe she shouldn’t have worn her usual work outfit: navy suit jacket, white blouse and navy pants.

      Her partner from Border Patrol had promised he’d meet her there, but she’d seen no sign of Desmond Jackson. A woman in a navy nylon jacket walked up to her and nodded at the cup of coffee. “That any good?”

      Sherri shrugged. “It’s caffeine at least.” She looked the woman over. “You with the DEA?”

      “I’m Darla.” The woman nodded and leaned against a parked van. “It’s amazing, you know. I don’t have many women in my office, but they put our agencies together and I automatically gravitate toward you. It’s nice to see a feminine face among all these hard masculine ones. Like calling to like, I guess.”

      “It’s hard being one of the few. I understand that well enough.” She took another draw of her coffee. “Do you know what the scoop is with this raid? Details have been sketchy.”

      “Gang bringing drugs over from Canada, which is why I guess they brought you Border Patrol agents in.” She glanced around. “I just wish we’d stop standing around and actually do something. But hurry up and wait seems to be the agenda for the day.”

      “They’re probably waiting for someone. Or something.”

      At that, she spotted the bald head of her tall partner moving through the other agents. He stood head and shoulders above most as he wound his way around toward her. His light brown skin bathed in the early sunlight. Sherri waved Dez over and glanced at her watch. He shrugged and passed her a cup of real coffee from their favorite diner. “Had to make a stop. I know you wouldn’t be able to handle the action without real coffee.”

      She took the cup and smiled. “Bless you.”

      He nodded at the female Drug Enforcement agent. “You hear anything about when we’re going in?”

      Sherri shook her head. “Soon, I guess.”

      The woman crossed her arms over her chest. “Like I said, it’s the agency policy. Hurry up and wait.” She held a hand out to Sherri. “Nice meeting you. How about after this we go out for lunch or something? I’d love to hear about your experience. Maybe compare notes.”

      Sherri shook her hand. “I’d like that. Good luck out there.”

      Darla nodded and walked away. Dez turned back to her. “New friend?”

      “Maybe. She was happy to see another woman among all the testosterone.” She finished her first coffee and searched the lot for a garbage can and walked to it and tossed it in. Turning, she took a sip of the coffee that Dez had brought her and sighed. “I hate this waiting around. Just give us our orders and let’s do this thing.” She turned to her partner and eyed his jeans paired with a white button-down shirt. “A little casual for you.”

      He looked down at his outfit. “It’s a raid on a Saturday, not dinner with the president. Listen. I told the guy in charge that we’d take point, if that’s okay with you.”

      Absolutely it was. She had jumped at the chance to volunteer in order to coordinate efforts along with Dez. She wanted to be in the middle of it. To be responsible for taking down one of the gangs bringing drugs over. This was, after all, why she’d joined Border Patrol: to guard her country from outside harm. “Sounds good to me.”

      One of the agents stood up in the bed of a truck and cupped his hands around his mouth to magnify the sound. Conversations stopped, and focus sharpened to the agent in charge. “Orders are being sent around now along with earpieces so we can communicate during the raid. Thank you to Agents Lopez and Jackson from Border Patrol, who will be taking point at the warehouse.” He gave a nod toward them. “We’ll be entering on my count. Intel says that they aren’t armed and have no idea we’re coming. I’d like to keep that element of surprise. Questions?”

      A murmur rose, but there were no questions. A short guy wearing a bulletproof vest thrust earpieces and a receiver at them. “You’re in the van.”

      Dez smirked as the man walked off, still handing out equipment. “He’s got the body armor on, but how much you want to bet that he won’t be entering the warehouse?”

      Sherri adjusted the stiff vest she wore herself. She might be brave, but she wasn’t stupid. As much as Dez sneered, he wore one, too. Department-issue bulletproof vest that could take a few shots, depending on the ammunition. Not that it would completely protect them if things went sideways. She glanced around the parking lot and saw several agents getting into the van. “You ready for this?”

      Dez gave a short nod. “I’ve been waiting since six this morning to see some action.”

      “And you chose to leave the military why?”

      “There’s a difference, and you well know it.” He steered her toward the van and let her get in first before following her inside. “Doesn’t mean I don’t miss it at times.”

      The drive to the riverside warehouse took about ten minutes, and they parked the vehicles in the parking lot next door to their target. Without a word, Sherri walked to the warehouse, gun in hand, scanning the docks and surrounding areas for any gang members. Empty. She reached the door that was the point of entry for the raid and stood against the wall, waiting for the signal to enter. Dez squatted behind her and leaned in close enough that she could feel his breath on her ear. “Call me crazy, but I got a bad feeling about this.”

      She turned and watched as one of the DEA agents counted down from five with his fingers. After he held up one finger, he waved Sherri and Dez to enter the warehouse. Sherri kicked at the door and shouted, “Federal agents! Get down! Get down!”

      Chaos erupted in the warehouse. Tables overturned; guns were drawn. The noise level rose as more agents screamed out orders, and the drug dealers shouted back. Sherri wasn’t certain who fired their guns first, but a barrage of bullets started to fill the air in their direction. She crouched down behind a wooden pallet and looked over at Dez, who shook his head. He pointed to his chest then to the right. Then to her and the floor.

      There was no way she was going to sit still while the action happened around her. She shook her head, pointed to her chest and then to the right. Dez rolled his eyes and nodded. He pointed to himself then to her, meaning he’d follow her.

      Sherri crawled to the right then stopped as she saw two shoes on the other side of the table she crouched behind. She wasn’t sure if they belonged to someone on their team or to one of the drug runners, but she wasn’t going to wait to find out. She pointed them out to Dez then held up her gun. She stood and held her gun out in front of her. “Federal agent. Put your hands up!”

      The guy turned to face her, shooting his gun in her direction as he did so. It felt like everything was in slow motion after that. She fired her weapon twice as she fell to the floor, knocked over by the weight of Dez. She felt the back of her head smack on the concrete floor, and she moaned.

      Dez looked down at her, his body lying on top of hers. “Are you okay? Did he get you?”

      She squirmed under the weight of him. The sensation of his body against hers felt odd, yet familiar and intimate in the middle of a gunfight. She tucked that thought away to analyze later. “Why did you knock me down? I had him.”

      “More like he had you.” Dez poked his head up then frowned down at her. “Stay down or you’ll get us both killed.”

      She rolled to her belly and used her arms to push herself off the floor. “Intelligence