LITMIR.BIZ

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Next to preggers.”

      Skyler didn’t think Nicole really planned to shoot her, but as time passed, she’d become shaky and sweaty. Likely her drugs were wearing off. With the bank surrounded by law enforcement, she was desperate. Unstable. Skyler had best do as asked.

      “It’s not too late to surrender,” Skyler suggested as she started to rise. “I’ll make sure you get a fair hearing.”

      “Ha!” Nicole’s eyes flashed in anger. “I’m not going to jail. Not when we have you. We’ll head out the back just like L.A.”

      Skyler remembered hearing about L.A., where the hostages were killed in a shoot-out with the police. “That didn’t end so well.”

      “We came out just fine. Didn’t we, Bonnie?” Marty winked at Nicole.

      She nodded. “And we will again. It’s better than waiting here for your buddies to storm the bank.”

      “Okay.” Marty hefted the bag onto his shoulder. “Let’s do it.”

      Skyler needed to try one more time to stop them. “Don’t do this. Listen to me. If you surrender now, I can guarantee you won’t be shot, but in the alley I—”

      “Shut up!” Nicole screamed, her eyes wide as she charged at Skyler. “We know what we’re doing. I’ve had about enough of your double-talk. We don’t need your help. Just.” She raised her gun and poked the barrel into Skyler’s forehead, and she could almost smell Nicole’s desperation. “Shut.” She moved closer. “Up.”

      She’d lost control. Skyler shot a quick look at Marty, hoping for his help in calming Nicole.

      A gunshot split the quiet. The window shattered. Glass exploded through the air.

      The gun jerked from Skyler’s head. She turned her gaze back to Nicole, but heard a loud thump even before she saw Nicole lying on the floor, a fatal gunshot wound to her head. Brady.

      “No!” Marty screamed. “Nicole!” He dropped the bag and raced to Nicole. He checked her pulse though there was no way she could’ve survived.

      Jake must’ve thought Nicole planned to kill her and given Brady the order to take the shot. It was an order he rarely gave, and one that haunted him every time.

      “This is your fault.” Marty glared at Skyler. “You did this. You killed her. If you hadn’t made that call...” His eyes were wild now. Crazy and panicked. Breathing hard, his gaze darted around the space. He jumped to his feet, grabbed Skyler’s hair and dragged them both out of sniper range.

      At the teller window, he released her and snatched her phone from the counter. “Let’s see what your buddy Jake thinks about this.”

      As he fumbled with her phone, Skyler checked on the hostages. Red and perspiring, Faith fanned her face. The others seemed too stunned to move. At least they were spared seeing Nicole’s body.

      “Big mistake. Big, big mistake,” Marty yelled into the phone. “You have three minutes to clear the alley of cops. You got it? Or I start killing the hostages one by one.”

      Sharp gasps and sobs came from the group.

      “C’mon, Marty—talk to me,” Jake said calmly over the phone’s speaker. “We can work this out.”

      “It’s too late for working anything out. In three—no, make that two minutes and forty-five seconds—I’m heading out the back door with your girl, Brennan. I want all barricades removed. If I see an officer or even smell one of you anywhere near the alley, she will die instantly. You got that? Instantly.” He hung up before Jake could pass the phone to Archer to begin negotiations as protocol dictated.

      Marty looked at Faith. “Get the bag.”

      “I c-can’t. Please. My baby.”

      “Now!” he screamed.

      “You can do it, Faith,” Skyler encouraged.

      Sobbing, Faith struggled to her feet and picked up the bag. Skyler wanted to offer to take it, but Marty had clearly reached the end of his rope. Any word from her might set him off. If they were in sniper range and she was in a position to signal Brady, she’d be tugging her ear, but Marty knew to stay back. He took the bag from Faith and harnessed it across his chest.

      “You first,” he said to Faith. “Get in front of me.”

      Faith complied, and Marty stepped behind Skyler. He shoved her toward Faith, but Skyler held her ground. If Marty got them outside, she feared they could be killed just like the hostages in the L.A. standoff.

      “Fine, stand there.” He jabbed the gun in the back of her head. “It’s no skin off my nose. I have plenty of other hostages to choose from. I’m more than happy to make you pay for Nicole’s death right here, right now. Or you can make yourself useful and buy a few hours before I pull the trigger. Your choice, but either way, Dep-u-tee, you’re going to die today.”

      * * *

      In the alley behind the bank, Logan could still hear the crack of the gunshot. Feel his stomach cramping as the blast reverberated through the air. He wanted to charge toward the threat to see if Skyler was okay. Instead, he’d moved into the shadows in case Bonnie or Clyde came out the back door as they’d done in L.A.

      Clearly, the officers stationed at the mouth of the alley didn’t possess this bit of intel. If they did, they’d insist on joining Logan. He wouldn’t volunteer it, either. Not when one of them might be the rookie who’d escalated the standoff. Logan couldn’t risk Skyler’s life. He was better off handling the takedown alone. If the robbers exited with Skyler or another hostage, Logan could save the hostage and arrest Bonnie and Clyde, thus securing his promotion. A win-win for everyone.

      The cops suddenly sprang into action, putting Logan on full alert. They shot a quick look down the alley then disappeared from view. It was odd that they’d taken off, but maybe the gunshot meant the standoff was over. Or they were moving to a more strategic location. Logan wasn’t going anywhere until he was certain Bonnie and Clyde weren’t walking out this door.

      He waited, gun at the ready, listening for any sound. With the usual traffic for this area cordoned off, it was eerily quiet. Time slowed to a trickle, the only sound the beat of Logan’s heart thrumming in his ears. As he was ready to step out and reevaluate, a wailing alarm sounded from the back door’s emergency exit bar.

      He expected legions of cops to race down the alley, but the only movement he saw was the door slowly swinging open. A pregnant woman stepped out, a hairy arm snug around her neck, a handgun to her head.

       Clyde? Had the sniper missed? What happened to Skyler?

      Holding his breath, Logan sighted his weapon.

      Hunched over, his head buried behind the pregnant woman for protection, Clyde exited next. A woman’s arms were wrapped around his waist from the back.

       Bonnie?

      The trio continued in an awkward dance until Logan could finally identify Skyler as the woman in the rear. Where is Bonnie? Would she be following them in a moment, flanked by other hostages, or had she been taken out by the sniper?

      Near the middle of the alley, the pregnant woman wobbled before dropping to her knees, keeling over in a faint. Clyde immediately pulled Skyler in front of him and put his back to the wall.

      Logan needed to unsettle him again before he could lift his gun against Skyler. “FBI! Freeze!”

      Clyde spun, dropped his arm from Skyler’s waist and aimed his weapon at Logan.

      “Drop it or I’ll shoot!” Logan shouted.

      “Logan?” Skyler cried out in surprise.

      Clyde cocked his weapon. Logan fired. Skyler karate-chopped Marty’s arm. His gun flew from his hand and skittered across the asphalt. His gasp of pain hunched him over,

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