Within the Shadows by J.D MCG (knowledgeable books to read .txt) 📕

and echoing throughout the streets. Sarah sat beside her, holding on to the passenger handle for dear life. Ethan was being thrown about in the back seats wanting to puke from being travel sick.

'Any chance you could slow down?' Sarah freaked out.

'Why? What's the problem?' Ally glanced at her surprised, taking her eyes off the road momentarily.

'I just don't think I'm ready to die yet,' she replied with sheer panic as Ally manoeuvred her way through the traffic.

'We're almost there. Just hold on a bit longer.'

Minutes later they arrived at The Russells, pulling up on the busy street full of police cars and vans. News reporters had beaten them here and already getting the low down on the situation, interviewing neighbours and trying their best to get a statement from the police.

Ally rushed over to where the ranking officer on scene was prepping a scenario to rescue Jacob.

'What's going on? Have you had any contact with the perp yet?' she threw her questions at him.

'DI Miller, I presume?' He held out his hand for her to shake.

'Yes,' she grabbed his hand.

'We haven't seen or heard from anyone inside the house. The lady from across the street called it in after she heard shouting coming from the house. She took a peep through the window and saw DS Wright tied to a chair and that's when she called it in.'

'Do we even know if Mr Roberts is inside?'

'We have no confirmation on that yet,' he answered.

Sarah and Ethan finally caught up to her and she filled them in. This seemed like it was becoming a regular thing in their team. They had seen two hostage situations in the last twenty-four hours. Everyone's emotions were on high alert.

Moments later, Brian turned up alongside Barnes. Ally was shocked and couldn't believe Barnes was standing in front of her after everything he'd been through.

'Boss, what are you doing here? You should be resting,' she looked concerned.

'One of ours is in danger. I can't sit back and leave everyone else to it. Besides, I owe it to his father,' he replied, showing her his compassion towards his team.

'How's Vanessa doing?' asked Sarah.

'She's doing fine. The doctors think she'll recover. The bullet didn't hit any major arteries or organs so she'll be just fine.'

'What about your daughters?' Ally fired another question of concern at him.

'They're with Vanessa's mother. So, what's going on?'

Ally informed him of what was happening. He sat down on the curb and placed his head in his hands.

'Are you alright, boss?' Brian asked with concern for his friend.

'Yeah, it's just been a long couple of days. Do we know how long this guy's had Jacob?'

'I spoke to him last night. He was trying to get me to come with him, but I told him we'd do it this morning. He agreed and that was that. I didn't think he’d come here alone,' Ethan informed the team.

'It's okay,' Sarah comforted him, placing her hand on his shoulder after seeing the tear in his eye. 'He's gonna be fine.'

Ethan nodded in response. Then the team noticed the armed police unit sneaking towards the house, ready to burst through the front door. They broke the front door down with one push of the metal ram and entered while yelling out their presence inside the house.

Barnes and the others could hear each officer shout clear as they entered each room, and within minutes Jacob was being carried out by two officers under each of his arms.

Ally ran straight up to him, placed both her arms around his neck and squeezed tight. His embrace comforted her as much as it did him. They held each other tight, forgetting about the crowd which surrounded them. Ally had shown her true feelings to more than just Jacob, but she didn't care. She had fallen for him in such a short amount of time.

'I'm glad you're okay,' she whispered in his ear.

Sarah and Ethan joined them, each giving him a hug once Ally removed herself off him. Brian then followed before Jacob laid his eyes on Barnes, who smiled at him from down the path before he approached.

'Oh my god, Barnes,' he greeted him, surprised to see Barnes stood in front of him. 'How'd you get away? You look like shit,' he joked.

'You don't look too good yourself, son,' Barnes replied the compliment and laughed back at him.

The pair of them laughed before they gave one another a hug. It had been a difficult few days for the pair of them, but it was all over.

Paramedics rushed over to Jacob and checked him over inside the ambulance. He smiled, staring at his team and thinking how happy he was to see them all together. He could finally take a sigh of relief after all the panic and trauma they'd experienced after the last month.

Ally strutted over to the ambulance and lent against the frame, while Jacob remained seated on the steps.

'So, how are you feeling?' she asked him.

'Better now I've seen you,' he smiled.

'Such the charmer, aren't you?' She replied with a smile. 'Look, Jacob. I know you're not looking for a relationship right now, but I want to get it off my chest. I have feelings for you and I can't just ignore them. What I'm trying to say is, when you're ready, I'll be waiting.'

'Look, Ally...'

'It's fine, Jacob. You don't have to say anything.' She smiled at him again before walking away from the ambulance and back to the rest of the team.

Barnes noticed Jacob sat on his own and went to speak to him, knowing they had loads of catching up to do.

'So, are you going to tell me what happened here?' Barnes questioned him, arms folded with a stern look upon his face.

'Are you