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Then the ringing starts anew so I jump. Aubree jumps. Even Slade jumps.
“Go!” He motions with his gun toward the guard, so Aubree takes off at a run and skids down to her knees at Earl’s side. Instantly, she rolls him to his back and presses her palms to his wound.
Slade’s eyes come to mine. “Answer the phone.”
“O-okay.” My body shakes as adrenaline dumps into my veins, too much and too fast, leaving me dizzy and unable to do shit about my situation.
I’ve been in danger too many times to count. I’ve faced guns. I’ve killed men. I’ve stopped them from killing others.
Adrenaline and danger are not things I fear.
But Parker Slade’s nervousness makes him a wildcard and this entire situation unstable. His gun is a grenade, and his desperation is the pin that has already been pulled.
Slowly, while Aubree works on the guard, I step around them both and pick up the phone with shaking hands. The cord is long enough I can walk to the other side of the desk. So I do. It could look like I’m searching for comfort. A chair. It could even be habit that I come around the desk.
But the reality is, I need to find a way out of this bank. Alive. With Aubree and all the others… and if we’re lucky, with Parker Slade still breathing, too.
I lower into the manager’s chair and bring the phone to my ear. Then I meet my captor’s eyes and rasp, “Th-this is Minka Mayet.”
“Of fucking course it is!” Archer’s voice, booming in my ear, brings tears to my eyes. His rage makes me emotional. His explosion of worry brings me to my knees. “Oh god.” Instantly, rage turns to anguish, and anger turns to almost-hyperventilation. “Baby? You okay?”
“Yes.” I firm my voice and watch Slade. Make sure he doesn’t lose his nerve and shoot anyway. “Um… Detective.”
Slade twitches.
“We have a bit of a situation in here,” I say with forced calm. “Are you here to help us?”
“Not officially,” he rushes out. “I’m not here, and if the squad out front finds out I called, we’re in big trouble. But tell me what you see, Mayet. Who is it? Who’s been hit?”
“I… uh…” I pull the phone just half an inch from my ear. “It’s the police,” I tell Slade. “They want to know who you are and what you want.”
He considers for a beat. Terrified. Lost. He has no friggin’ clue what to do. He just knows he has a gun, hostages, and a daughter in need of lifesaving surgery.
“I’m Parker Slade,” he speaks loud enough for Archer to hear. “I have fifty-one hostages and the building secure, and if anyone so much as knocks on the door, Iwillkill one of these people.”
“Oh god!” the mom holding her kid cries out. “Oh, Jesus. Please save us.”
“I want money,” he continues. “One hundred thousand dollars. That’s it!” he shouts. But it turns to a sob as he reaches up to wipe his tears. “I don’t want a plane, or buses, or millions, or anything crazy. I just want my baby to get better. So fix it,” he snaps. “Fix this now. As soon as Suzanne is out of surgery and awake, I’ll let everyone go.” He brings his gun up and points it at me. “You tell him that. You tell him what I said.”
Nodding shakily, I bring the phone back to my ear. “D-did you get that?”
“Parker Slade,” Arch repeats robotically. “Sick kid. A hundred grand and surgery. Put me on speaker, Mayet.”
Surprised, I frown. “What?”
“Speaker. Now.”
“Why?”
“It’s a hundred grand!” he snarls. “He doesn’t need a whole fucking bank for that. I’ll spot him the money, get Nicole Cleary to operate, then I get my fucking wife back. Let me talk to him.”
“Archer,” I keep my voice down. Almost silent. “That’s not how this—”
“Speaker!”
I slam my eyes closed and sniffle back the tears that want to spring free. To swallow down my heart as it tries to jump out of my throat. My voice is hoarse from worry, and Aubree works frantically to keep the guard alive.
But she’s on the other side of this desk.She’sat risk if Slade starts shooting.
