LITMIR.BIZ

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keep it closed.”

      Daniel watched as the bodybuilder slung his rifle behind him and went to the front door and undid some wires, apparently disarming the bomb temporarily so the doors could be opened. Then he released the cables that were holding the door shut and opened one of them. A man dressed as an emergency tech pushed in a yellow stretcher on wheels, noticed the man lying on the floor and rushed to his side, but Bethany frisked him before she let him get close to the wounded man, and she searched the bags he brought in, presumably for any weapons or other suspicious devices. Meanwhile, the bodybuilder robber stayed near the front door and pulled his gun back around to the front and held it ready, his eyes following the EMT’s every movement.

      When the EMT approached him, J.P. started thrashing his arms around, trying to keep the EMT away from him. Bethany pointed her weapon at Daniel and motioned toward the fallen man. “Hey, hero. Help him get that man on the stretcher. Now.”

      Daniel nodded and moved quickly to help the EMT, glad that Bethany had allowed him to help. He glanced at the rest of the hostages as he did so, but although a few were watching the scene unfold, most were turned away and trying to stay as uninvolved as possible. It was probably wise of them not to challenge the robbers like he had, but doing nothing went against his basic ideals, and he knew Bethany was a cop, which gave him the advantage. He was also driven to help resolve this problem and was grateful to play even a small part in the resolution. He grabbed and secured the injured man’s hands and helped lift him to the stretcher, being careful of the man’s wound as he did so. Then he continued holding the man steady as the EMT strapped him to the gurney. Once the injured man couldn’t pull away or fight any longer, the EMT checked his wound and re-bandaged it, then started an IV.

      “Is he going to live?” Bethany asked.

      “Looks like it,” the EMT answered. “You called us just in time. He’s lost a lot of blood and is in shock, but the hospital is close. I think he’ll make it.”

      Bethany nodded, but kept her gun trained on the tech even as he spoke to her. She even kept it on him as he turned and pushed the gurney back out through the front door. Once he was gone, the bodybuilder lost no time in rewiring the door and securing the door handles with the cables.

      “Why don’t you let the women go?” Daniel asked quietly. “You’ll still have plenty of hostages...”

      Bethany swung around and pointed her weapon right at Daniel’s chest. “Shut up.” She motioned toward the line of hostages. “Sit back down and keep quiet.”

      He put up his hands again but didn’t obey. “Look, you just did something decent. Don’t stop now. Let the women go. You’ll still have all of the men...”

      The bodybuilder advanced quicker than Daniel had expected and loomed above him, his weapon once again pulled back like a club. “She told you to sit down and shut up. I’ve had enough of you and your mouth. Do you hear me? Do as she says, buddy, or I’ll make you comply. Got it?”

      Daniel backed down and sat on the floor again, but he kept his eyes on Bethany. She had done the right thing by getting the injured man to safety, but how far was she going to take this robbery? She could put an end to it right now if she wanted to, and with his help, they could arrest the bodybuilder and catch the robbers in the vault unprepared and unaware. What was holding her back? Was she actually going to see this robbery through to the end? A chill went through him as he considered the possibilities. What was their endgame? What was the bigger picture that the bodybuilder had alluded to earlier? He didn’t want to blow her cover, but he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt either. As long as the robbers were in the bank, more violence could erupt at any moment.

      * * *

      Bethany’s teeth chattered and she realized they had turned off the heat in the building and the temperature was slowly dropping. She’d given up her hoodie to make bandages for J.P., and the T-shirt she was wearing did little to stave off the cold. They were going straight down the law enforcement playbook. Step one was make them uncomfortable by cutting off the heat. Step two was keep the communication lines open while SWAT got into place in case a tactical operation was required. She was sure they already had snipers in place, looking for a clear shot if the negotiator couldn’t talk them out of the building.

      She glanced around the bank’s interior and noticed all of the Christmas decorations for the first time. Wreaths were placed under each teller station, and candles with pine cones and ribbon decorated some of the counters. She had been so wrapped up in this robbery that she hadn’t given much thought to the season. Christmas had always been her favorite holiday—that is, until she and Daniel had broken up last year just a few days before the special day had arrived. She stole a look in his direction. He was still as attractive as ever, with dark hair in a short military cut and piercing blue eyes. His features were clearly defined, and he had a strong jaw and firm chin. He took good care of himself, and his athletic build showed it. She wondered if he still ran five miles every morning the way he had back when they were together. He had been on a serious health kick back then and played basketball with his squad on a regular basis. If she had to guess, she’d bet he had probably thrown himself into his exercise routines with gusto after their breakup. That had always been his way of dealing with stress or problems in his life as long as she’d known him.

      She turned, trying to push the memories away. Their relationship was over and had been for over a year. She didn’t need to be wallowing in the past; she needed to be looking forward. She wished he wasn’t here now, forcing these memories to come flooding back in the middle of this operation. Once this undercover assignment was over, she would have her pick of assignments. Maybe it would be better if she moved out of state and started over someplace where there was no possibility of ever running into him again. Yes, that was a good plan. She’d heard Florida was nice this time of year. Or maybe South Carolina near the beach...

      The phone rang again, bringing her out of her reverie. Terrell nodded at her, tacitly giving her permission to answer it. She slung her rifle to her back and walked over to the phone, then picked up the receiver.

      “Hello,” she answered.

      “Your man is doing well,” Sergeant Michaels stated.

      “Good to know,” Bethany answered.

      “Can your boss come to the phone now?”

      Bethany looked toward the back of the bank, but there had been no news from the vault. She assumed the rest of the robbers were still working on opening it. “Nope.”

      “Well, I need to get the rest of those hostages out of there before someone else gets hurt. What can I do to help move this along?”

      “Sit tight and wait,” she replied caustically. “We’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”

      Sergeant Michaels seemed undaunted. “You have eighteen hostages. What would it take to get you to release ten of them?” Bethany’s gut tightened. She wanted the people out of danger, but she worried about moving forward with the negotiations without Jackson’s approval. He was already going to be upset that J.P. was gone. He might get even angrier if she went in the back to talk to him and interrupted his work while he was trying to open the vault. Jackson was usually a benevolent leader, but he was sometimes hard to read, and she never knew what was going to set him off. When he did get angry, his actions were often unexpected and violent. This robbery had already gone down a road they hadn’t expected. She suddenly found herself in an uncomfortable position but didn’t know quite how to get out of it.

      Lost in thought, Bethany didn’t answer, so Sergeant Michaels pushed forward. “Look, Bonnie. You probably realize we have an entry team ready to roll. We also have snipers in place, but we don’t want to use force. We want this to end peacefully. Tell me what I need to do to make that happen.”

      Bethany was stuck. She knew that if she didn’t give Sergeant Michaels something, it was going to push law enforcement into acting sooner than they wanted them to, and Jackson apparently needed more time to work on the vault. Michaels was also right about one thing. If the robbers and the police did have a confrontation, more violence was going to erupt. “Alright. We

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