Snapped Read Free Page B

counted on the vigilante element. This town was full of gun owners.
    Allison’s heart thudded as she wrestled with what to do. She’d spent most of her career busting petty thieves and drug addicts. But what she did today mattered. A lot. And she didn’t know if she was ready for it.
    She made a snap decision. If they couldn’t take out the shooter, maybe they could at least distract him and buy everyone some time.
    Her gaze moved to the library. “You got a good look?”
    “Just waiting for my shot.”
    Allison set the gun case on the ground and popped the latches. Inside was a Remington 700, like the one she’d been trained on, only newer.
    She glanced over her shoulder at the boy. “What’s your name?”
    “Bo McCoy.”
    “I take it you’ve been hunting, Bo?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “That’s good.” She unhooked the binoculars from around her neck and shoved them at him. “I need you to be my spotter.”
    Their footsteps sounded like rolling thunder as they pounded through the tunnel. In contrast to the fierce heat outside, the air beneath the campus was cool and damp. Fluorescent light fixtures dotted the walls, but visibility was poor and Jonah had to pay attention to keep from bumping his head on the low-hanging pipes.
    A campus security guard led the way through the maze. As Jonah jogged through the bowels of the university, he sorted through what little information he had and tried to come up with a plan. First and foremost, he needed intel. He desperately hoped his team’s eyes were in place by the time the entry group reached the library.
    They rounded a corner and the guard trotted over to an elevator bank.
    “Hold up. We need info.” Jonah glanced around and knew he’d never get a good signal down here.
    “Up,” Ric said, and headed for the door to a stairwell. They took the steps two at a time. At the top, a sign on the closed door said MAIN LEVEL , and Ric and Jonah exchanged looks.
    “Cover me,” Jonah said, then took the lead as they went in low, guns drawn, using the rhythm they’d developedthrough years of working together. He swept his gaze left, right, front, back. Jonah had braced himself for blood and carnage, but all he saw was a vacated library.
    The place was eerily silent—no hushed voices, no clacking keyboards, no scrape of chairs on the white marble floor. Books lay open. Laptops and backpacks sat abandoned. Jonah stood still for a moment, trying to think over the ringing in his ears—the faint buzzing noise that had started during that very first phone call.
    You’re it, Macon
.
    He hustled to the window and did some quick recon. The library sat on high ground. Even from this first-floor vantage point, the campus was spread out before him like a picnic. The surreal part was the stillness. Not a flutter of movement as everyone remained hidden behind whatever cover they’d managed to find. The six people sprawled across the lawn were either dead or pretending to be, and Jonah’s gut tightened with fury at the sight.
    He radioed his lieutenant on the secure frequency they’d established.
    “Macon here. We’re in the library, ground level. What you got?”
    “He’s still on the roof. Sean spotted him.”
    “He get a shot off?”
    “Missed. Doyle got hold of a rifle. She’s trying to get a bead on him, too, but he’s keeping out of sight.”
    “How many gunmen?”
    “By all accounts, one, but that’s unconfirmed.”
    Jonah ran his hand over his face and it came away wet. Jesus, he was soaked.
    Ric nudged him and handed over some binoculars.“Bronze statue,” he whispered, nodding his head toward the window.
    Jonah jerked the binoculars to his face and scoured the scene. One of the bodies on the quad shifted, and Jonah’s pulse jumped. Kid was alive, though how much longer he could stay that way was anybody’s guess. He swept his gaze south down the grass until he spied the bronze statue where the 911 caller had been. She was still there. Heeled sandals,