“Joel,” she said over Molly’s sniffles. “Molly and Troy don’t need to be here, do they? This is between us.”
Before Joel could acknowledge her, Troy shot out from behind her, yelling, “I’m not leaving you with this druggie!”
Joel was frantically pacing the room, trying to get a connection on his cell phone. He’d ignored Carly, but Troy’s outburst got his attention.
“Hey, you shut up! She doesn’t belong to you,” he shouted at Troy, waving the gun around as Carly pulled the boy back behind her. “I’ve loved her since she was a little girl. She’s my Darling Carly.”
Trying to process Joel’s words, Carly pushed out a breath as nausea rolled through her stomach. Joel stepped in front of her and her body froze. He lifted a hand to her face before pulling it back without touching her.
“I’m sorry I messed up your house,” he said, tears pooling in his eyes. “But you weren’t being very nice to me.” Anger quickly replaced the tears, almost as if he were a toddler in mid-tantrum. “You were a very bad girl with Devlin. But he’s not going to have you anymore.”
Carly flinched as he turned away, once again fixated on his cell phone. Troy shot forward, starting to say something, but Carly slapped a hand over his mouth, shaking her head. She pushed Troy back and, placing Molly’s hand in his, took a step toward Joel.
“Joel, what do you want?”
He spun around, his face confused, as if he’d totally lost focus. But then the tears returned and this time, he did touch her. Carly held her ground.
“I want to take care of you, Carly. To protect you like your mother didn’t. Veronica died and left you alone in the world. But I’m here and you’ll never be alone again. You’ll be safe with me.” Taking his hand from her face, he placed it over his heart, his face the picture of sincerity.
Had Carly not been so frightened, she might have laughed at the irony of the situation. Obviously, Joel had bought into the dramatic portrayal of her in that stupid movie about her mother. It was true; her mother’s death had left her with a constant need for security and stability in her life. But what he wasn’t seeing were the events that came after the movie credits rolled. Carly knew she was a strong woman who clearly could survive whatever life dealt her. She’d found her sister and become a part of a family. And she’d finally found her niche helping other kids survive the same type of trauma. If she was lucky, she might even find someone to share her life with. Someone who loved her back.
But she had to get them out of there first. Joel claimed to want to keep her safe, but looking into his crazed eyes, she really wasn’t feeling that way. She steeled her spine and gently caressed the arm he held the cell phone with.
“Who are you trying to call?”
“Keith,” Joel said. He stared at her hand where it made contact with his sleeve. “He’s our ride out of here.”
Carly willed her hand not to tremble on his arm. As much as she wanted to get him away from the kids, the idea of going off with two stoned maniacs scared the heck out of her. She needed to act fast.
“I have a car.” She willed her voice to sound convincing. It was the only option. “We don’t need Keith.” She stepped closer to Joel, forcing herself to look directly into his eyes. Biting the inside of her cheek to steady herself, she tried not to let his stare unnerve her. “We don’t need the kids. Leave them here. They’ll just slow us down.”
Thankfully, Troy and Molly remained quiet as Joel anxiously looked between them and Carly. “They’ll tell,” he said, sounding like a toddler again.
“No, they won’t,” she said in reassuring voice. She tried maintaining eye contact. If she could just keep him focused, she might be able to pull this off. “They’ll do what I say.” At least she knew Molly would. Troy was a bit of wild card. He clearly saw himself as Shane’s surrogate: her White Knight. Still, it was her only option.
“So let’s go.” She took a step toward the door, but Joel grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him.
“Tell them to stay,” he said, waving the forgotten gun in her face. “Or I’ll take care of them myself.”
Carly shuddered. “I won’t go with you if you hurt them, Joel.”
They stood like that for a few minutes. Finally, the expression on his face swung back to whipped puppy as he slid the gun into the waistband of his jeans.
Letting out the breath she was holding, Carly turned toward both kids. “Molly, Troy, you both need to stay here until the game ends. I mean it.”
Neither one said anything. Molly eventually nodded as she stepped closer to Troy. The look on Troy’s face was pure Devlin defiance.
I love you, Carly mouthed over her shoulder as Joel hauled her out the door. She prayed they’d stay at least long enough for her to get Joel out of the stadium. Breathing a sigh of relief that Troy and Molly would be okay, she let Joel push her into the elevator. She’d only have a few minutes ride to formulate a new plan.
* * *
“Surveillance video has them in a service elevator at portal G nearly ten minutes ago,” Donovan said as they raced through the crowded stadium. Their progress was hampered by the fans milling about on the mezzanine grabbing a bite to eat and a beer before heading for their seats. “It could have stopped on one of three possible floors. We’ll have to do a floor-by-floor search,” he said.
Shane jostled his way between two oversized Giants fans, causing one to spill his beer. “Hey,” the guy bellowed, but Shane pressed on. He had to find Tompkins and stop him before he did something to Carly. Or Troy. Christ, the creep had a gun on the two most important people in his life. If he wasn’t so frantic, he might have taken a moment to realize the enormity of that thought. Shane actually had people in his life. Two, in fact. Two people he cared about more than anything. Well, technically he didn’t have Carly in his life, but he’d remedy that as soon as he killed Tompkins.
“Over here!” C.J. yelled from a few yards ahead. Donovan followed on his heels as they turned right into a shallow hallway. Four security guards followed.
“We’ll take the lowermost floor,” Donovan ordered the guards. “You four split up on the other two floors. Search every space. He could have them anywhere.”
The elevator doors sprung open and Molly charged out. Tears streaming down her face, she threw herself into her brother’s arms. “Oh, C.J.!” she cried.
“Molly! Are you all right?” C.J. asked as he got down on his knee to hug her. She nodded into his shoulder.
Shane checked the elevator for any signs of Carly or Troy. “Molly, where are they?” he asked. His relief at finding Molly quickly evaporated. Dread settled like a rock on his heart.
With another gulping sob, Molly lifted her head. “She told us to stay there. But Troy said we had to go after them. I didn’t want to go, but I didn’t want to stay there alone.”
“Stay where?” C.J. asked.
“Go after them where?” Shane asked at the same time.
“Whoa,” Donovan said, crouching down on his haunches. “Molly, baby, start at the beginning, okay?”
Shane didn’t want to start at the beginning. He wanted to get to the end where Carly and Troy were safe in his arms. He plowed his fingers through his hair as he listened to Molly.
“We were walking on the concourse. Troy wanted nachos.” She sounded annoyed, as if Troy’s nachos had led to this. “And then Joel was there and he was pulling us into the elevator. He was really mad we were with Aunt Carly.” Molly gulped another sob. “He had a gun.” This came out in a whisper.
“Told ya,” C.J. said.
The idiot did have a gun. Shane squeezed his head in frustration. They needed to find Tompkins. Now.
“Then what happened, Molly?” Donovan prodded.
“He said Aunt Carly was his. Not Shane’s.” She tossed an accusing look at him. Shane’s chest felt like it was going to explode. “Aunt Carly ta
lked him into leaving us there. She told us to stay, but Troy wouldn’t. He said he had to save Aunt Carly.” It was hard to make out what she was saying now because she was crying so hard. The pounding in Shane’s head joined the pounding in his chest. Leaning down to look at Molly, he dreaded her answer to his question.
“Where’s Troy now?” He had to push the words around the lump in his throat.
Molly’s lips trembled as she tried to form the words. “He went after Joel.”
Shane couldn’t ask another question because all the breath had left his body.
“Do you know where they went, Molly?” Donovan asked, his voice annoyingly calm.
“To Aunt Carly’s car.”
Both Donovan and Shane shot to their feet.
“VIP parking,” Donovan barked to the waiting security guards. “Where is it?”
“Portal B. It’ll be faster if we cut through the concession loading dock,” one answered as they moved as a unit into a jog.
Shane didn’t wait for them. He took off at a sprint.
* * *
It was a good thing Carly’s body was numb. Otherwise, she’d be unable to endure the last few minutes with Joel. The corridor leading to the loading dock was crowded with food vendors preparing for the game, forcing them to hide in a secluded cubby behind a narrow wall. They had a clear view of their escape route out to the VIP parking, but Joel was too preoccupied with feeling his way around Carly’s body to make the next move. Apparently, he took her capitulation back in the storeroom to mean she was willing to be with him in every way. The touch of Joel’s tongue in her ear coupled with the stench of stale beer seeped into concrete should have made her faint.
Fortunately, she remained upright because she needed to move this along. The farther she got him away from Molly and Troy, the safer they would be. Maybe they’d already gotten help. Part of her wanted them to stay put, while another part hoped they’d found someone to rescue her.
Shane, perhaps. He’d been her rescuer before and she wished he were here now. But he was probably already suited up for the game. Carly stepped away from Joel’s roving hands, causing him to stagger a bit.
Concession workers were still moving about, but there were fewer of them than before. A still-stoned Joel seemed oblivious and needed a little prodding. Her plan was to get him to her car where she could try to make a run for it. It wasn’t great, but it was all she had.
“Joel,” she said. “We need to get to my car before somebody sees us, remember?”
Almost as if she’d changed the channel on a television, Joel’s demeanor shifted back to belligerence. He quickly looked around. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”
He grabbed her elbow and they walked arm in arm into the hallway, the gun pressed to her side under her jacket. If anyone looked closely enough, they’d see it, but she wasn’t that lucky. Everyone in the busy hallway was like an ant, minding their own business, gathering food to take elsewhere.
Ten yards from the doorway, the hall was deserted. They were sidestepping a pallet of shrink-wrapped hot dog buns when Joel’s phone rang. He couldn’t hold the gun, answer his phone, and maintain the grip he had on her arm. Shoving her against the wall, he released her and answered the phone.
That’s when Carly spied Troy following behind them. He stood behind a six-foot-tall rack of CO2 canisters. He put his finger to his lips. Oh, God! What if Joel saw him? And where was Molly?
Stay back, she mouthed to him, hoping Joel was too preoccupied with his phone to see. There was no time to wait until the parking lot. Carly had to run now and lead him away from Troy. She couldn’t risk Joel hurting him. With both hands she shoved Joel away just as he answered the phone. He tripped slightly over his feet, allowing Carly to slip under the arm holding the gun. She took five strides before tripping, face first, onto the pallet of hot dog buns.
“Bitch!” Joel dropped the phone as Carly flipped on her back, struggling to get up. Joel knocked over the rack of CO2 canisters, sending them careening to the floor near where Troy stood. Carly looked for Troy, but she couldn’t see past an angry Joel bearing down on her.
The door behind him opened, and a man with a gun stood silhouetted in the doorway. Carly didn’t have time to pray for him to be one of the good guys. Things were moving in slow motion again. Joel’s gun was leveled at her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Donovan holding a gun trained on Joel.
“Don’t even think about it, Tompkins!” he growled.
“You won’t take her away from me!” Joel shouted as Carly tried to burrow deeper amongst the buns. She started to call out to Donovan that Troy was nearby when . . . Ooof!
Dead weight landed on Carly, knocking her breath out, just as a gunshot rang out.
Carly tried to suck in a breath, but a man was lying across her, pressing her deeper into her cushion of buns. A very big man. One that smelled and felt achingly familiar.
Shane! The gunshot! Oh please, don’t let him be shot. Or dead! She tried to gather air into her lungs as her hands traveled over Shane’s body feeling for holes or blood or anything. Her right hand landed on his heart. It was beating. Strong and fast. Thank God!
Donovan yelled “Clear!” and Shane began to move. He pushed himself up on his hands, locking his elbows and staring down at her.
“Are you all right?” they both asked at the same time.
Carly bit her lip and nodded as his eyes roamed her body, checking for damage. He sank down onto his elbows. With one finger, he gently traced her chin. “Did Tompkins do this?” She must have a bruise where Joel had pressed the gun barrel there earlier.
“It doesn’t hurt,” she whispered. Her eyes stung from holding back tears.
“Christ, Carly,” he murmured as he sank into her, his warm lips taking her mouth in a fierce kiss. The kiss was aggressive and overbearing and not the least bit gentle, but she didn’t care. She reveled in the weight of his body, strong and hard, pressing hers into the soft bread. Running her fingers through his hair, she opened to him, letting her tongue slide against his, reacquainting her mouth with Shane’s. Oh, how she’d missed this. Missed him. She didn’t care if all he was offering was comfort. She soaked it up like dry soil soaks up rain after a drought. She wouldn’t think about him going home tomorrow, leaving her heart in pieces. Right now she just wanted to crawl inside him and bask in the safety that was Shane. And she was in the arms of the man she loved. There was no point in thinking about tomorrow. Better to enjoy the here and now. Molly was safe. Troy was . . . Troy!
Twenty-four
Kissing Carly wasn’t helping his already elevated heart rate, but Shane didn’t care. He’d almost lost her. He could still see Tompkins’s gun pointed at her head. Leaping between her and a bullet was exactly the dumb-ass thing Donovan thought he’d do, but Shane couldn’t regret it. Carly was safe and whole lying beneath him. Exactly where he wanted to keep her. Only not on a pallet of hot dog buns. With half of the stadium’s security force watching. Reluctantly, he pulled out of the kiss. Touching his forehead to hers, he waited until their breathing settled. Her hands moved from his hair to his jaw. He pressed a kiss into her palm.
Joel was whimpering in the background, crying about being shot in the leg. Hell, if Shane had been the one shooting, the guy wouldn’t be around to cry.
“What the hell do you think you were doing?” he asked finally. He knew right away it was a stupid time to bring it up. Her body tensed and her blue eyes, still bright with unshed tears, snapped to his face. “Donovan and I could have taken him. That was a stupid thing to do! He could have killed you!”
“Well, I’m not dead, am I?” she hissed as she shoved him off her. “And pardon me for not knowing Crockett and Tubbs were on the case!” Donovan snorted somewhere behind them. Slapping his hand away, she struggled to get off the slick pallet of shrink-wrapped rolls.
Shane hopped to his feet; he wasn�
�t letting her walk away again. She went to push past him. “Troy!” she called, and Shane’s heart went to his throat.
“Where is he?” she asked, shoving him aside.
Donovan snapped to attention along with the security guards milling about. Joel continued to cry from his spot on the floor, but Carly stepped over him.
“Troy was here?” Shane asked in disbelief.
She stepped over spent CO2 canisters lying on the ground. “Yes, he was behind this.”
“Got him,” Donovan said from behind the rack. Shane leaped over the overturned rack to find Troy buried under several of the heavy canisters. Donovan was checking his pulse as Carly knelt beside him, tears in her eyes.
“I didn’t see Molly with him,” she said.
“We already found her,” Donovan reassured her. “She’s fine.”
“EMTs are on their way,” someone said behind him.
Carly pushed Troy’s hair off his forehead. “He’s out cold,” she said.
“Looks like one of these bad boys hit him in the head,” Donovan said, gesturing at the canisters.
“Troy,” Shane said as he crouched beside him. Lifting one of his hands, he gave it a squeeze. “Hey, wake up, buddy. You did it. Carly’s here and she’s safe.” He looked over at the woman he knew he couldn’t live without while holding the hand of the boy he wouldn’t live without. There were tears in his eyes, but he really didn’t care who saw them.
“Sweetie, please, wake up. Shane needs you.” Carly’s whispered plea was nearly his undoing. Did she not know he needed them? Her and Troy.
The police and the EMTs arrived like the cavalry. Joel was howling now as they cuffed him to a gurney. Donovan waved one of them over to look at Troy.
“What have we got here?” the EMT asked just as Troy’s eyes fluttered open.
Carly let out her breath as she bent down to kiss his cheek.
“Hey there, bro. Glad you could join us,” Shane teased.
“Head hurts,” Troy breathed. Shane made room for the paramedic, shifting to stand behind Carly, resting his hands on her shoulders. Troy winced as his head was checked over.
Game On (AN OUT OF BOUNDS NOVEL) Page 28
