Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Maddie (Kindle Worlds Novella) (An Omega Team Crossover Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

last week at school had shaken her up and she was a little off kilter.
    “I’ll be fine,” she insisted, when Gretchen tried once more to get her to stay the night. “And I’ll call you the minute I get home.”
    She pressed the key fob to unlock her car sitting in the driveway and had just walked around to the driver’s side door when a car came barreling down the street and stopped at the foot of the driveway, blocking her in. A gray car. The passenger door opened and a man exited and jogged toward Maddie. She barely had a moment to register he was very tall, very big, and dressed all in black.
    “Gretchen!” she screamed, as he tried to grab her, and raced back toward the house. The front door was yanked open, and Maddie fell through it and into Gretchen’s arms.
    “Close it,” she cried. “Hurry.”
    Gretchen slammed the door and set her alarm, then tugged Maddie into the great room.
    Maddie drew in great gulps of air and gripped her hands together in an attempt to control her shaking.
    “Is that car still there?” She could barely speak over the hammering of her heart.
    Gretchen looked through the narrow window beside the door. “No, they’re gone. I think when they saw me it spooked them. Plus, you were faster at getting away from them than they expected.”
    “Come on,” Gretchen said. “Sit down.”
    Maddie collapsed onto the couch, pulse racing, her breath stuck in her throat.
    “I thought he was going to grab me,” she gasped.
    “Me, too. I’m calling the cops. They’ll have to believe you this time. God. Let me get you something hot. You’re shaking like a leaf.”
    Maddie took the hot tea and gripped it with both hands, huddling in the corner of the couch. She sipped the hot liquid while Gretchen made the call, and, by the time the police arrived, she had somewhat pulled herself together. But once again, despite everything, they weren’t much help.
    “I’m sorry, Miss Winslow.” Detective John Garber, who had taken the report on the break-in, actually did look unhappy. “I know you’re frightened, but what do we have? You didn’t recognize the man or get the license plate of the car. You don’t even know if he wanted anything more than to talk to you.”
    “So you’re, what, going to hang her out to dry?” Gretchen snapped.
    “Look.” He shifted his gaze from one to the other. “I’ll file the reports, but I can’t even guess at the number of gray sedans in this city. You didn’t see the man’s face. And, again, he could have just been planning to ask you a question.”
    “Oh, please.” Gretchen snorted. “That is so lame. If he wanted to ask her a question, he could have come up and rung the bell. We’re not stupid. He had to be waiting down the street for her. It’s probably the same car that’s been following her, that your guys told her was her imagination working overtime.”
    “I wish we could give you round-the-clock protection,” Garber said, “but we don’t have the manpower.”
    Garber repeated he’d file a report and told her she needed to be extra vigilant just in case. When they left, Gretchen slammed the door behind them with extra force.
    “I hope I never need them in a real emergency.” Disgust filled her.
    Maddie sat in one corner of the couch, still clutching the now empty mug.
    “What am I going to do? If I’m making something out of nothing, I’m going to feel like a fool. But if—”
    “This is not nothing. That man looked like he was about to grab you. And it’s no coincidence a gray car has been following you and a gray car blocked the end of my driveway. You need protection and someone who can get to the bottom of this. If the cops can’t help, we’ll get someone who can.”
    “Someone who?” Maddie tried to quell her feelings of anxiety. She made a decent living as a schoolteacher but she certainly didn’t have the kind of money that would allow her to hire someone.
    “Leave it to me. I’m calling my cousin.” Gretchen