—
Hannah de-shifted, grateful to be out of the blue. Thirty-two minutes of her life had passed on the highway. Her right arm throbbed from all the vigilant gun-pointing.
Ross and Carter remained bound on their knees behind the tall rocks. They bathed Hannah in murderous glares as she reactivated her transmitter. She could hear David in her earpiece, trading curt words with a smartly accented woman.
“What did I miss?” she asked Mia.
“There’s one agent left in the back of the truck. They’re trying to get him out.”
“What do you mean ‘get him out’?”
“He could be aiming a gun at the door. We don’t know.”
“He is,” said Carter. “It’s standard procedure. But I hope your blondie boyfriend tries to get in anyway. He’ll look nicer without a head.”
Mia spun around, red-faced. “Shut up!”
“Please, honey. You’re about as scary as a teddy bear. Now your friend here, the one with the bouncers, she’s got crazy written all over her.”
Hannah shot him a dark and defiant grin, then turned her back on him.
“Yeah, that’s right, girl. Pretend you’re not scared. Just wait till I get out of here. I’ll show you a time.”
Ross bumped Carter’s shoulder, shaking his head with caution. Be quiet.
Mia followed Hannah to the road and watched the standoff at the truck. They both flinched when David fired a bullet at the ground.
“Jesus. I really hope he’s acting.”
“Maybe you should go over there,” Mia said. “See if you can help.”
“I don’t want to leave you alone with these guys.”
“They’re handcuffed. I’ll be fine.”
Hannah was never more enamored of Mia. She placed Rebel’s gun in her hand, then breathed a quick whisper through her hair. “Don’t let that asshole get to you. He’s just feeling emasculated. The best way to piss him off is to treat him like he doesn’t matter.”
Still high from David’s ferocious act of devotion, Mia fought a wild grin. It was the strangest time to realize what an invaluable asset she had in Hannah. The actress could serve as her sisterly guide to the opposite gender. She might even help her navigate the tricky maze of David.
“Go. Be careful.”
“Thanks. You too. Call me if they give you trouble.”
Hannah sped toward the truck. Mia looked down at the heavy weapon in her grip. Her father had taken her to the shooting range dozens of times, but she’d never fired anything this large before. Her finger was barely long enough to reach the trigger.
Behind her, Ross carefully wriggled his hands. The girl was inexperienced in shackles and had left too much room in the right loop. He’d worked it over the base of his thumb. He was nearly free.
—
Owen’s nervous footsteps echoed through the trailer. He’d only joined DP-9 for the ghost drills, and had little interest in handling criminals in their solid form. His pistol dangled in his hand so loosely that Amanda feared he’d kill someone just by dropping it.
“You have nothing to worry about,” Theo promised him. “If these are my friends, they won’t hurt you.”
The agent continued to pace and mumble. “That may be a factual statement, but the momentary scream we heard a minute ago would suggest that at the very least, they’re willing to hurt Howard. Had it been Carter or Ross, I would consider the mitigating circumstances, as many people wish to hurt them. But the fact remains that Howard’s a nice person. I’m a nice person. And your friends seem comfortable inflicting pain on nice people.”
Melissa’s voice crackled on the radio. “Owen, do you read? Can you hear me?”
He raised the device. “Yes. I hear you. I also hear strain.”
“We’ve been subdued by Theo and Amanda’s companions, but no one’s been harmed. Zack and David are here right now and . . . Oh. Hannah just arrived rather suddenly.”
Amanda closed her eyes, wincing tears. She never thought she’d see her sister again. Now Hannah was just a few yards away, risking her life, sealing her fate as a national public enemy.
“They’re demanding you come out peacefully,” Melissa told Owen. “I’m ordering you to disregard. Keep your gun at the door. Fire at anyone who—”
David chucked the radio and pressed the gun to Melissa’s forehead.
Hannah grabbed his shoulder. “David, no!”
“Put it away,” Zack growled at him. “Enough already.”
“She’s stalling us until backup arrives! Why can’t you see that?”
“I see it. Just like she sees you won’t really kill her. You’re the one wasting time.”
On the contrary, Melissa felt quite convinced that David’s threat was genuine. She watched the boy carefully as he turned to Zack.
“The man in the truck has a positional advantage. We’re out of ‘nice’ options. We’re out of reasons to be nice.”
“That’s not true,” said Melissa. “You haven’t harmed us yet. It’s not too late to—”