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I had no trouble figuring out who the boss was on this job. The guy in black was probably Len’s lackey, possibly a relative he didn’t think highly of. What had gone wrong with their plan? If they had robbed the jewelry store, why hadn’t they taken off? What had stopped them? Was there a cop on the street when they came out?
It didn’t make sense to leave a robbery and move into a hostage situation. Sometimes they went hand in hand, but you sure as shit didn’t do a robbery and then change locations to take hostages if you could get away. It didn’t make sense.
Len was frustrated and trigger-happy. He’d already let loose one in the building. I did not doubt that if something happened in here, he’d pop off another shot. I just hoped that it didn’t hurt anyone when he did.
When Len had pointed the gun at my head, I’d almost laughed and said go ahead. I mean, it would be fucking ironic to make it through six tours overseas in war zones to die in a coffee shop picking up half a dozen foo-foo coffees. This wasn’t the first time I’d had a gun pointed at my head—probably wouldn’t be the last either—so I just rolled with it.
What I didn’t want to roll with was the asswipe aiming his loaded weapon at Maggie. Oh, fuck, no! That almost put me over the top. I wanted to get in his evil-looking grill and knock the shit out of him. I didn’t, though. I kept my cool until the lackey came toward her again, his voice tinged with excitement that I wasn’t sure was good or bad.
I felt her fear blast from her body as she tried to back away from him, and I wished I could have blocked her somehow. Even though she had her chin up and she was staring him down, I knew she was afraid. I knew Mags well. I might not have seen her in years, but that expression was one that I remembered all too well.
I had been nineteen and about to leave for overseas. I cared a lot for Maggie, and yeah, I loved her. I was two years older than her, and we’d been together since she was a freshman in high school. Even though I cared about her, I just couldn’t ask her to put her life on hold for me. I knew I wasn’t ready for a serious commitment like marriage, and neither was she.
I had been getting ready to head into a war zone and fight for freedom. Maggie was going to finish high school, go to football games, dances, hang out with friends, and take advantage of the freedom that we fought for.
The day I’d come to say goodbye, she had looked up at me with that same look. There was fear in her eyes for my safety, and anger for what I was doing. That was an image that had never faded in my memory.
There had also been something else in her eyes that day—love and pain—and I knew I hurt her. I hurt myself, too, but I knew it was the right thing to do. One day she would understand—or so I hoped. How long had it taken her to realize why I had broken it off?
The guy in the black jacket kept looking at Maggie, and she was squirming under his scrutiny. He approached her, and his words were a punch to the gut. “I know who you are!”
Ah, shit! Maggie pushed herself back as far as she could.
“You’re that lady that writes about romance! My girlfriend loves you; what’s your name? Something Valor, right?” What was he going to do? Use her status as a reporter to help him get something?
An amplified voice rang out through the café. “This is Sergeant Wilkins; we’d like to speak to the man in charge. We are going to call into the shop, so please answer the phone.”
Len and his accomplice looked at one another, and then the phone behind the counter started to ring. They both turned to stare at it, and man two turned to Len. “You gonna get it?”
“No,” he growled.
“Why not? We can demand a getaway car and leave.”
Len laughed at him. “You are so stupid. They aren’t going to let us go. They’d just as soon kill us.”
The guy looked surprised and then disappointed. “We can give ourselves up.”
“We are not going to give ourselves up, numbnuts,” Len hissed at him.
“Maybe you won’t, but you can’t tell me what I’m going to do.” He planted his feet firmly as he squared off to Len. “I’d rather go to jail than be stuck six feet under.”
“You keep that shit up, and that’s the only place you’re going to end up,” he snapped back at him. “Now, stop your yapping so I can think.” He turned and pointed the gun at one of the employees who was on the floor near the back. “Go pick that phone up and hang it back up.”
The kid blanched but got off the floor and went behind the counter. The phone stopped ringing, and it was so quiet in the room that you could hear the phone being hung back up. Len waved his gun toward the kid to sit back down.
I observed them from the corner of my eye, waiting patiently for a moment that I could step in and take control of Len’s weapon. I had a feeling that if I could subdue him, I could talk the other guy into giving himself up. I hoped that the cops were listening so that they were aware that we had one subject who was willing to turn himself in.
The phone started ringing again. “You!” He shouted at the kid again just after he got seated. “Stand by that phone, and every time it rings, you hang it up! Got it?” The kid rushed back to the phone, and a moment later, it stopped ringing.
I glanced around the café; a variety of people were scattered along the floor. An elderly man glared at the two men as he shifted on the ground, looking uncomfortable. A frazzled-looking woman was in the corner, her legs curled under her as she kept glancing at her watch. A couple held hands on the far wall, both wore wedding rings, but not matching. Were they merely lending support to the other or having an affair? Several businessmen were seated near the back, looking annoyed or bored. Some held coffee cups as if they had just received their orders.
What I wouldn’t do for a freaking cup of coffee right now; at least I hadn’t paid for all that coffee yet. After this, I was buying a damn coffeemaker, and I’d put it at my desk if I had to. Jake could kiss my ass.
The pregnant woman next to me winced and sucked in a breath. “You okay?” I asked softly.
Numbnuts was watching us; she nodded at me nervously.
“Hey, guys.” Len spun around as I spoke, pointing his gun toward me. “Whoa, no reason to point that gun at me. I just want to suggest that you have a little heart here and let this pregnant woman have a chair, along with the elderly gentleman over there. Neither of them are threats to you, but being kind to them might go a long way in your defense.”
