He propelled forward, missed the bottom step and rolled over the concrete. She spun and slammed her hand into the manual crank. The doors crashed closed as he launched for them, the seal catching his fingers.
His hand recoiled, and a red tide washed over his face. “Charlee.” A restrained growl. He slammed his palm against the door, tried to pry it open. “Salvador! The key!”
Shit, shit, shit. The electric door mechanism could be unlocked from the outside, but what about that time Rio locked out Laz when they were arguing over a video game? He’d engaged a manual override somewhere…she fumbled over the crank, up and down the handle. There. She flipped the lever and turned toward the door, hands shaking.
Two bullet holes splintered the outside surface of the glass. Frightening images infiltrated her mind of her friends in a gun fight while she slept in oblivion on the bus.
The Craig worked the key until Roy shoved him away and tried it himself. “Charlee, open the door.” His low, cool tone vibrated with an edge of agitation.
His persistence guaranteed he’d find a way in. She raced down the aisle, through the drape, and scrambled over her bunk. Nathan had given her a new phone at the start of the tour. She’d never used it, wasn’t sure if it would be charged. She dug through the pocket beside the plate of outlets and device ports. Following a white cord from the dock to the pocket, she found the phone still plugged in.
A gale of air escaped her lungs as she swiped through the contact list. Nathan. Tony. Jay. She tapped his name and held it to her ear.
The call connected, and Jay’s deep timbre barked through the phone. “Who is this?”
“It’s me.” Her heart leapt to her throat. “I don’t have much time.”
A rustle whispered over the line. “You’re on speaker. Where are you?” His breath was heavy with exertion, panic.
“On the bus inside a hangar. A private airport, maybe. An hour from where he took me.” If Roy hadn’t lied about those details.
“Are there any signs, anything indicating the location?” Nathan asked.
Gun shots fired outside the bus, the echo rattling her bones.
“Was that gun fire?” Jay’s voice thrummed with fury. “Where’s Roy?”
She crept to the rear lounge, bent low to the ground, phone clutched to her ear. “I locked him outside the bus. Will the lock hold?”
“The key can’t override it,” Tony said. “But he can find a way in with a few tools and a little time.”
Peering over the nearest window, she scanned the interior of the hangar. “No signs on the walls. Doors are closed. No windows. Just the bus, the plane, and…four guards.” The sight of Colson among them curled her nails into her palm. “If this doesn’t work out, Roy said Italy was the destination.”
“We’re working on it.” Tony sighed. “There are five airports within a hundred mile radius of our location. We don’t know which direction Colson went after he passed the nearest town. The cops…”
“Were paid off.” Wouldn’t be Roy’s game unless he’d cheated, lied, and corrupted. She flinched as bullets plinked off both sides of the bus. “Would the tail number on the plane help?”
“It’s doubtful he registered it.” Tony’s soft tone mimicked her doubt. “Read it off.”
“November Charlie 276 Alpha. NC276A. Are there guns or anything on the bus that I might be able to use?”
“No, and you will not engage him,” Jay said. “Hide in the hatch. There’s a crank inside the compartment to close it. Don’t try to leave the bus. Wait there until we arrive. We’re coming.” His command lost its intensity toward the end, drifting into thready, pleading territory.
“Jay, take me off of speaker.” She moved to the aisle, past the bunks, and rummaged through the cabinet beneath the sink, pulling out a fire extinguisher, lighter fluid, and grill lighter. Lucky for her, the guys liked to grill out.
“Just me on the line. Are you in the compartment yet?”
The report of multiple guns popped around her. Splintered dots multiplied on the windows and windshield. None of them pierced all the way through.
“Aim high, you piece of shit,” Roy screamed from somewhere near the door. “I’ll kill you myself if you hit her.”
“Listen to me,” she breathed into the phone. “I know how to beat him.” Her memories hurled her back to the night Roy choked her, the look in his eyes when he realized he was killing her. Would you survive my death? Her heart pounded with resolve. “I need that steel core of yours, now more than ever. Don’t give up, Jay. Do you hear me? If you do, he wins.”
“What are you talking about?” His voice was thick and strained. “I will never give up. We’re on our way. Tony’s weeding through the law enforcement. We’ll get them to every airport. Did you find the hatch crank?”