LITMIR.BIZ

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the group of hostages in front of her and tried to look tough and demanding. So far, she was confident that they wouldn’t do anything foolish—except for Daniel, that is. She could tell he was testing her. Maybe if their relationship hadn’t ended so badly he wouldn’t be challenging her, but now he knew her true identity, and she wasn’t sure what to expect. No matter what, she couldn’t blow her cover. Not here and now when she had come so far and given this operation a year of her life.

      “Let me get that phone for you,” Daniel suggested again. She swung back and stalked toward him. She doubted that the ringing phone was the police. This was a place of business after all, and phones probably rang constantly throughout the day. Still, the sound was eerily annoying, but not as annoying as the look of hurt in Daniel’s eyes that he was apparently unable to hide. His expression surprised her. Hadn’t they both said angry words to each other on that fateful day when they had ended their relationship? Pride made her push past the feelings that were starting to bubble in her chest.

      Maybe she had hurt him by not giving him an opportunity to explain after the big blowup. He never apologized, but she had basically vanished and never given him a chance to do so. She paused, reliving some of the argument in her mind. She was mature enough to realize that the fault had been hers, as well. Her disappearance had been swift after their relationship had collapsed, but her superiors had required an immediate response when they had offered her this assignment, and there had been no time to contact anyone. She had jumped at the opportunity to go undercover and further her career, but it had also been an excellent way to avoid the hurt and anger she had felt and evade any further confrontation. She had never thought of herself as a coward, but she had definitely wanted to avoid ever running into Daniel again. She glanced at him now and another wave of emotion swept over her. Why did he have to be here today? He was already pushing her buttons. Why wouldn’t he just sit down and stay out of her way?

      Terrell suddenly emerged from the back room, which instantly stopped her woolgathering and made her alert. His hands were empty except for the rifle, and he approached Bethany and leaned forward so only she could hear. “Jackson is having trouble with the safe. The manager couldn’t get his code to work, so Jackson is working on the wiring. He’s trying to override the system.”

      “We don’t have time for this,” she hissed. “The cops will be here in no time.”

      “Jackson wants to wait. He’s convinced he can open it if he’s just given a few more minutes.”

      “J.P. might die.”

      Terrell laughed. “I never liked him anyway, and I sure never thought you’d care with the way he treats you.”

      “I’ve never liked him either,” she whispered back. “But that doesn’t mean I want him to die.” She glanced around at the people lined against the counter, then at her watch. “We really need to get out of here. Forget the vault. Let’s get the cash out of the registers and bounce.” Fear swept down her spine. She wasn’t afraid of getting caught. Her FBI handler would deal with that if she were arrested. But the longer this robbery stretched out, the more probable it became that someone would get hurt.

      As if to accent the point, the phone started ringing again.

      Terrell motioned toward the phone. “Go ahead and answer it. I’ll keep an eye on these folks. If it’s the cops, we need to start the dialogue so they don’t raid the place.”

      She hesitated but finally slung her rifle over her back and walked over to where the phone was ringing on the desk. She picked it up. “What?”

      “This is Sergeant Michaels with the police department. Who am I talking to?”

      “You can call me Bonnie.” Bethany smiled, thinking of Bonnie and Clyde. “By the way, you get an A+ for response time. I must say, you got here quicker than we expected.”

      “We aim to serve,” he responded dryly. “Am I speaking to the one in charge?”

      “Not likely.”

      “Well, who would that be?”

      “He’s a bit busy right now. We’ll have to hold introductions later.”

      Sergeant Michaels paused, obviously taking notes. “Alright, Bonnie. Is anybody hurt in there?”

      “We’ve had a few mishaps.”

      “Do you want to let me send in some emergency techs to take care of them?”

      “No, Sergeant, I don’t think that would be a good idea. In case you haven’t noticed, we’ve strapped some C-4 on the doors. It would get a bit exciting if you tried to get in here.”

      There was another pause. “We don’t want anyone to get hurt here.”

      Bethany nodded, switching the phone from one ear to the other so she could keep a better eye on Terrell and the hostages. “We share that goal.” She lowered her voice. “My boss, however, isn’t as concerned about that as we are. I urge you not to try to breech the front or the back of the bank.” There. She’d warned them. Her handler should have already notified the local authorities of her role in the heist and of what they were facing, but there were no guarantees. She had notified her handler of the details and he, in turn, had passed on the details, such as the explosives at the doors, to the local teams. Still, she knew she was in a risky position, and there was always a possibility that things could go terribly wrong. Since banks were federally insured, the FBI always got called in when a robbery occurred, but that didn’t mean the communication between the various law enforcement agencies was decent or accurate.

      Sergeant Michaels cleared his throat. “Can you give your boss a message for me?”

      “Sure thing, Sergeant.”

      “Well, Bonnie, first let him know we’ve got control of the landlines coming out of the bank, so you can reach us by picking up any of the phones in the building. Anytime you or your boss want to talk, I’ll be available.”

      “Aren’t you the Southern gentleman?” She let a tad of sarcasm touch her voice. She was supposed to be a bank robber after all. Sergeant Michaels didn’t take the bait though, and when he spoke again, his voice was calm and controlled.

      “You should also know that we have this bank surrounded. You’re not going to be able to get out of there without my help.” He paused. “You believe that, don’t you, Bonnie? That I’m here to help you?”

      She laughed. “Sure. You’ll help me all the way to a prison cell.”

      Again, he didn’t react to her taunting. “I’m here to help make sure you don’t get killed. I don’t want any more bloodshed. Let’s end this peacefully. I want you to be able to see tomorrow.”

      “Sergeant, let me remind you that we have eighteen hostages in here. If you want them all to walk out of here, you’ll keep your distance. Otherwise, you’ll be picking up the pieces.”

      “Well, Bonnie, like I said, my goal today is to make sure no one gets hurt. What can I do for you to make sure we resolve this quickly and quietly?”

      “I’ll get back to you on that.” She hung up, not willing to drag out the conversation. She was sure they were recording her voice and doing a voice recognition test. Hopefully that would remind them that she was law enforcement and the snipers that would inevitably be put in place wouldn’t put a target on her.

      She glanced at her watch and noted the time. Jackson was taking way too long to get into that safe. They’d had a plan in place if the police showed up before they could escape, but it was dangerous. Now they had no choice but to start following it. She thought about J.P. lying on the floor and stole a glance in his direction. He was still grimacing and holding his side where he’d been shot, but he was moving around less. His face was also much paler, and she wondered if he was going into shock. She decided to check on him and went back over to his side. She bent and took a look under his bandages while Terrell checked in with Jackson at the vault. She kept a close eye on the hostages while she did so, but none of them seemed anxious to challenge her

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