Page 8 of Target Acquired

“Yeah.” She sucked in a breath and took a quick physical inventory. “I think so. Yeah.”

She sat up, noting the throbbing in her left hip. She grimaced. She’d have a bruise there soon, but she was alive. Barely.

COLE STEPPED UP TO HER, his gaze locking on hers, relief catching his breath in his lungs at seeing her in one piece. “You’re okay.”

She pushed strands of hair from her face and shuddered. “I am. You get the plate?”

“No. I didn’t.” He’d been too busy trying to make sure Kenzie got out of the way. “But we’ll get it off the hospital security footage. That guy needs a lesson on how to drive in a parking lot.”

“How to drive period,” Greene muttered.

Otis nudged her and she scratched his ears while her eyes stayed on Cole’s. He cleared his throat, finally got his pulse under control, and ran a hand down his cheek. “All right, everyone, back to headquarters. We’ll deal with him later.” Like personally.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled into the headquarters parking lot and unloaded.

Kenzie headed for the locker room and Buzz stepped up to Cole. “She did good today.”

“Yeah. She did.” He eyed the man’s frown. “But?”

Buzz sighed. “This ain’t a TV show, man, where everyone has to be PC with character roles and representation. I do understand that times are different now, and I don’t have a problem with women following their calling or even being on SWAT, but on the flip side, this is real stuff and her presence is causing division for the team. We’re just not the same since she joined.” He held up a hand and Cole tightened his lips against the words ready to spill. “Don’t get me wrong. I admire the heck out of her. She’s worked hard. Harder than some of us have ever worked. She’s had to. But . . . some of the guys aren’t happy she’s here and it’s causing issues.”

“I know.”

Buzz’s eyes never left Cole’s and the man nodded. Slowly. “Yeah, I reckon you do.” He shifted. “Truth is, we’re torn. Butler’s been with us for a couple of years now, and we feel like we need to be loyal to him even if we don’t necessarily agree with him.”

“I get it. Give her time to win him over.”

“It’s been almost six months.”

“Five and change.” Okay, so that was almost six months. “But unless she volunteers to leave, she’s here for the duration and the guys are just going to have to accept it.”

Kenzie stepped out of the locker room, dressed in black jeans, a white T-shirt, and running shoes. Her straight dark hair hung slightly below her shoulders. Her brown eyes were shadowed, but her face glowed with the shine of health and a good scrub.

She slung a backpack over her left shoulder and headed for the exit. Butler walked into the area from the kitchen, saw Kenzie, rolled his eyes, and did a one-eighty to head back into the room.

Cole curled his fingers into fists before he realized what he was doing. “Thought he had a personal errand to run,” he muttered.

“Guess it was a quick one,” Buzz said with a raised brow aimed at Cole’s fists, then walked away.

Cole bit back a groan. “Hey, Kenzie, wait.”

She stopped at the door and turned. “Yeah?”

“Looks like we have the same days off this week. Want some company on the run tomorrow?”

She blinked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. He wanted to squirm, but more than that, he wanted to know where those words came from and how they managed to exit his mouth. He’d been doing his best to keep his distance from Kenzie, to maintain a professional relationship only, and now he’d just jumped feet first into awkward—and definitely stepped over the professional line. But . . . he had a slight sketch of a plan running around in his head and this was part of it.

“Um . . . sure,” she said. “I guess.”

Well, that was enthusiastic. “I just thought . . .” He needed to shut his mouth before he shoved his foot all the way down. “Aw, dang, Kenzie, I’ll be straight with you. I keep thinking my being so professional and . . . cool . . . in front of the guys is causing them to do the same. Maybe if we start hanging out some, the other guys will follow suit.”

She chewed her bottom lip like she did occasionally when she was deep in thought—or confused. Then she gave a small shrug. “If it’ll help the team, then sure. Meet me at my house around eight o’clock?”

“See you then.”

She studied him a tad longer, then turned and slipped out the door.

Cole dropped his chin to his chest and closed his eyes, wishing he could reverse time and have a do-over of the last ten minutes.