CHAPTER 15
Laney struggled against the arms that held her. She slammed her heel into the man’s instep.
He let out a grunt but didn’t release her. “Damn it. Stop struggling. I’m not here to hurt you. I’m here to help. And we don’t have time for this. He’ll be out here any second.”
It wasn’t his words that stopped her struggles, but his tone. He sounded exasperated
“I need you to follow me if we’re going to get away from him, okay?”
She nodded and he released her. He latched onto her hand and ran for the neighbor’s yard. He led her though a break in the wall into the alley behind the school. He barreled through an old metal door at the back of the school, pulling her in behind him.
They were in a hallway that smelled of old sweat. Must be near the gym, she thought.
The man pulled her down a long hall on the right that ended in a set of double doors. A couple of kids Laney could have sworn were only twelve were making out like it was the end of the world. They didn’t even glance up as they rushed past.
The man didn’t hesitate, just kept moving forward, his grip on her hand never loosening. Whoever the hell he was, he seemed to know where he was going.
He crashed through a set of double doors and they spilled out onto the gym floor. Laney pitched forward, but the man grabbed her and kept her upright. “Let’s go.”
She glanced back through the door before it closed. The hall remained empty, but she could have sworn she heard the outside door bang open. “I think he’s coming.”
The man nodded and picked up his pace, barreling through the gym class. Teenagers scattered, although a few threw basketballs at them as they passed. And Laney heard more than one “asshole” tossed in their direction.
They barged through the doors on the opposite side of the gym. The man grabbed a grey sweatshirt lying on top of a book bag and shoved it at her. “Throw that on.”
She tugged it over her shirt, trying to keep pace with him. “Isn’t he just going to see us when we leave? We can’t put these kids in danger.”
He looked down at her and smiled. She was struck by how handsome he was. Dark brown hair framed a strong face. Wrinkles at the corners of his brown eyes showed he spent lots of time outdoors, and his nose was slightly crooked, as if it had been broken a few times. Her heart began to beat a little faster. Damn. He was masculine with a capital M.
Without breaking stride, he reached out and pulled down the fire alarm as they passed. “He’ll have to find us first.”
The fire alarm wailed through the halls, small strobe lights flashed on the walls. Students poured into the hallway. The teenagers jostled each other, grinning, obviously enjoying the break in the routine.
Teachers tried to keep order, reminding the students to stay with their class. But it was organized chaos. Laney and her new friend were swept along with the human tide towards the exit.
The man clamped onto her hand, keeping her close. “Put up your hood,” he ordered as he pulled a ball cap out of his back pocket and put it on.
Laney yanked the hood into place, peering around, expecting Paul the Terminator to arrive at any moment.
She gaped at the number of students already in the parking lot. It was a mob. “Holy cow. How many students are in this place?”
“Nine hundred and seventy-eight.”
Laney’s eyes darted towards him. “Is that a guess?”
He shook his head as he weaved them through the crowd. “I like knowing all variables when I go on a mission. This was one of three possible escape routes.”
“Mission? I’m a mission?”
He stopped and looked down at her. She noticed a dimple in his right cheek. “Yeah, Laney, you are.”
She caught herself staring at him and took a step back. He reached out to grab her before she backed into another student and pulled her back into him. Her skin seemed to tingle where he’d touched her. “Who are you?”
“My name’s Jake Rogan. I’m with the Chandler Group.”
She knew the Chandler Group. Hell, everybody knew of the Chandler Group. Laney pulled her gaze from the crowd and stared at Jake. “The Chandler Group? What do you do for them? And why on earth are you here?”
Established by Henry Chandler about fifteen years ago, the Chandler Group dabbled in everything: technological development, political affairs, archaeological expeditions. And then there was the Chandler Group Foundation, which helped fund everything from kids’ school trips to backyard start-ups to third-world loan programs.
“My official title is Projects Security Director. I handle all the off-site security measures for all Chandler projects. But it’s not technically Chandler who’s involved in this. It’s me.”
“You? How can I help you?”
Jake was about to answer when his body went tense. He pulled Laney closer towards him.
A shudder ran through her. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
Jake threw his arm around her shoulder and started leading her slowly towards the parking lot. Pausing occasionally, he kept their movements unhurried. He stopped when they were hidden from the building by what looked like the basketball team. “Behind us. Three o’clock. He just walked out the doors.”
She knew she shouldn’t look. She should keep her back to him and not draw any attention to herself. But she simply couldn’t help herself. She glanced through the kids and saw Paul step into the crowd of students. His face had a few scabs and he now wore grey slacks with a sleek black jacket. His eyes searched the crowd, paying special attention to anyone with a hood or hat. Everything about him screamed danger.
Icy cold fear shot through her. She started to breathe heavily.
“Laney, calm down. We’re okay.”
She shook her head, looking around at the kids surrounding them, completely oblivious to the danger they were in. “He’s going to find us. I need to get out of here, Jake. I need to lead him away from these kids. I can’t put them in danger.
Laney looked around, no longer seeing any sign of her attacker. But she still felt as if his eyes were boring into her. “Jake, you don’t know what he can do. He’s not-”
Jake squeezed her hand. “I do know what he can do.”
She stared at him in shock. “What? You can't-”
He glanced down at her before continuing to scan the crowd. “I’ve met someone like him before.”
“When was that?”
A subtle grimace of pain crossed his face. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she would have missed it. “In Afghanistan, 2006. We got reports about a group that had grabbed some Red Cross workers.”
He paused. “The group was affiliated with a warlord whose nickname was the Devil. Our Afghan translator told us people were terrified of him, but we didn’t need a translator to see that. He was said to have the strength of ten men and a heart as black as night. It was said he couldn’t be killed.”
His eyes met hers. “We thought it was an exaggeration. When we went into the camp, we realized the Devil wasn’t a nickname. It was who he was.”
“What happened?”
“We found the hostages. We subdued their guards and were quietly getting them out. Then all hell broke loose. The Devil walked into the tent. He ordered us to stop. I swear, I nearly laughed. He was all of five feet tall and I'd be surprised if he weighed even a hundred pounds. He pulled out a machete. We ordered him to lower it. He smiled and then sprang at us.”
He looked away. “He took out four of my men in less than a minute. We opened fire. I don’t know how many times we hit the man, but he seemed to keep popping back up. We couldn’t kill him. I personally shot him four times in the head. Each one was a kill shot. He’d go down, but then spring right back up.”
Laney shivered. The description was too familiar. “How’d you get out?”
“I called in air support. I can’t believe I had to call in air support for one small man. I dotted him. Two Sidewinder missiles blew him into pieces. That’s what it took to kill him.”
Laney was quiet for a moment. She was pretty sure she wasn’t going to be able to rustle up any missiles, but at least it was a small ray of hope. “Well, that’s good to know.”
“What?”
“He can be killed.” She looked around at the kids milling about, clueless about the danger they were in. “But we can’t stay here. I can’t put these kids in danger.”
“Laney, look at me.”
She pulled her eyes from the crowd.
“I won’t let anything happen to you or these kids. Just trust me a little longer.”
She paused, staring up at him. His gaze was intense, honest, and she couldn’t help but believe him. She nodded. “Only a few minutes.”
He leaned down. “I promise. I’ll keep you safe.”
She felt a shiver at his words. “So is there more to this rescue?”
He gestured down the road. “Yes. And here it comes now.”
Laney looked over her shoulder and saw lights speeding towards them. Police cruisers wailed into the high school’s parking lot, followed by a fire truck. A YNN news van pulled in behind them, the camera operator leaping out of the van before it had fully stopped.
“I’m pretty sure your new friend doesn’t want any media attention. Taking out some cops in isolation is one thing. Tearing through a police force and groups of students on TV is something altogether different. We’re going to give it a few minutes and then head to my car. We’ll drive out with all the students.”
“You called them?”
He nodded. “As soon as I saw him heading for the safe house I called in a bomb threat to the station. Figured we might need some cover.”