Twenty minutes later, Dani rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans yet again. She couldn’t relax. Her blood was roaring in her ears. Her breathing was getting shallow.
“Take deep breaths. Be calm. You’re going to hyperventilate and pass out.”
Mitch’s voice in her earbud was meant to be reassuring, but it wasn’t. She wasn’t sure anything would ever be okay again. She’d finally gotten through to the nurse’s station at the hospital just as they were getting out of the car here at Stanley Park. The nurse had said to come quick. They’d been trying to reach Dani, but the calls wouldn’t go through. Carly was dying. There wasn’t much time.
Dani was numb. “What?” Dani asked.
Mitch’s voice snapped with irritation. “I said you need to pay attention. We need to be ready.”
“Right.” She nodded, but Mitch and Logan couldn’t see her that closely, so it was wasted on them. She needed to focus. The call had come in at exactly 6:00 p.m., just like they said it would. The meet was set for Stanley Park on some foot path at 7:00 p.m. They’d had very little time to prepare.
At least they knew Gage was on the way this time. They’d insisted on speaking to him, if only for a second. She’d collapsed on the sofa at the sound of his voice. He’d said Dottie was okay as well. Dani managed to find a small bit of solace in that. She’d been so worried that once they had Gage, they would decide they didn’t need Dottie.
All these years, she’d always seen herself as strong and capable. Being alone had never been an issue, and yet only a few days with this man, and she was lost without him.
“No.” She corrected that thought. Not lost. She’d be fine on her own. He just…mattered to her. She would be lost without Carly, though. Carly. Tears stung her eyelids.
“What did you say?” Logan asked.
“What? Who? Me?” She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud. “Nothing. Just talking to myself.” She swallowed hard.
Great. They were going to think she’d lost her mind. She shrugged, shifting her backpack. The wind blew hard, and she stumbled a step. Stupid tree roots.
The storm hadn’t broken yet, but it wasn’t far off. The locals said gray skies were typical in Vancouver, but these clouds were dark purple and pregnant with rain. Lightning looked like it could be a distinct possibility. She needed to be out of here before that happened. She needed to be out of here as quickly as possible.
“Come on,” she mumbled.
Logan’s voice cut through the wind. “They’re here.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Gage looked up and saw Dani whirl in his direction. His gut knotted. He didn’t want her here, not that he had a choice, but he knew the hell she must be going through. She would be blaming herself for all of this.
The world spun a bit, and he stumbled over the roots on the path. Dottie tried to help him, but her hands were tied. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. He knew he didn’t look so good.
All that time on the ship without eating and drinking much, plus his time in captivity, had made him very dehydrated. He knew the signs. The dizziness, the dry mouth, the orange-colored urine. He was in trouble. At least they’d switched to having his hands tied in front of him. Less strain on his back and shoulder this way. He needed to save every bit of strength he had.
He tried to focus. Work the problem. The rain came harder now, not that he was feeling many drops. The foliage was blocking most of the water. He licked his lips, hoping to pull in whatever moisture he could. He needed to figure out what plan his brothers had made so he could help them.
He had to be ready for anything because, knowing them, anything was possible. He glanced over at Dottie. He needed her to be ready, too, but he had no way to convey that to her. Janet had never let them speak to one another. Dottie caught his gaze and winked. He would have laughed if he could’ve. This old gal was up for anything, and he loved her for it.
Ponytail and the other gunman, whose name Gage had learned was Andy, came to a stop quite a distance from Dani. Gage stumbled again and shivered. His phlegmy, hacking cough shook his body. He was pretty sure he had a fever.
He licked his lips again and ran his eyes over Dani. She didn’t look good either. She was scared, but beyond that, there was something else. The spark was gone from her eyes. There was fear there instead and…sadness. She looked incredibly sad. Worry consumed him. Focus. He could worry about Dani’s feelings later.
He looked around. Where were his brothers? They had to be in the trees, but the forest was too dense to see them. That was a good thing, but they had to know that Andy and Ponytail knew they were there as well.
What would he do in their situation? He studied the setup and Dani. She must be wearing an ear bud. If it were him, he would be in the woods with guns. He and Mitch thought along the same lines; they’d had similar training.
If Gage could help line up the shot, then Mitch and Logan could take out Andy and Ponytail before they even started the negotiations about the software.
He glanced at the woods again. Were they in the right position? Probably not since Andy and Ponytail were still standing. There was a group of trees with branches overhanging the path. He would be to the left of that, if it were him, because there was a boulder to hide behind. If they were there, they didn’t have a clear shot. The branches were too thick and would block the view. Gage needed to get Andy and Ponytail to move ahead a couple feet.
He took a tentative step and tried to make it look like he was stumbling forward, but instead of moving with him, Ponytail and Andy just yanked him back.
Dottie looked at him. Gage tried to gesture with his head, but she wasn’t getting it. Then her eyes lit up. She moved a few steps forward before one of the thugs could grab her. Gage tried to move with her, but Andy grabbed his arm and held him back.
It suddenly hit Gage there was another problem. Phil. He was pretty sure Phil was lurking somewhere. That might put a crimp in the plan.
“Where is the software?” Andy yelled.
Negotiations had begun. And still no gunfire. His brothers didn’t have a clear shot.
Gage mumbled, “Fuck.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Her knees almost gave out. Gage was stumbling between the two men. Dottie looked like she was being half dragged along as well. The two gunmen from the pier. They had Gage’s hands zip-tied in front of him. Dottie was tied up the same way. Gage looked cold. His shirt was ripped, and his jeans were stained. His face was flushed, almost as if he had a fever. Dottie looked tired but otherwise okay.
She heard them ask about the software, but she couldn’t seem to get her lips to move. “I—” Her voice was a whisper. Her mouth was dry. She swallowed hard and tried again. “I have it.” She turned slightly so they could see the backpack.
“Give us the software,” the short, skinny guy yelled.
Dani shook her head. “You need to let them go first.”
Mitch said, “I can’t get a clear shot from where I am. Logan, what about you?”
“No. They need to move up closer to Dani. Otherwise, I’ll have to move to get a shot.”
There was some sound through the ear bud and then a loud whistle. Dani winced and rubbed her ear. She dropped her hand immediately, but it was too late.
“You can take out the earpiece. It doesn’t matter now anyway.” Ponytail gestured to her left with his chin. Logan and Mitch were being marched down from the tree line with their hands laced behind their heads. There were two more tattooed guys behind them, one with a Seattle Mariners baseball hat on. They had guns pointed at Mitch and Logan.
Fear made Dani’s stomach heave. Puking would not help, she reminded herself. The guy with the hat walked Mitch and Logan up close to the path and then made them stop. She could see them in her peripheral vision when she looked back at Gage.
Gage. He didn’t look good. She was pretty sure he was sick and most likely in pain.
“The software. Now,” Ponytail demanded.
Dani turne
d to look at Mitch and Logan. Mitch nodded. She shrugged off the backpack and let it slide to the ground. She squatted down and started unzipping her sack.
“Hey. Do that slowly.”
She looked up at Ponytail and nodded. She slowly unzipped the bag. She reached in and brought out her laptop while holding her other hand in the air. The last thing she wanted was to get shot. She stood up, holding the laptop.
Ponytail gestured to her to come. “Okay. Now walk over here and give it to me.”
“What about Gage and Dottie? You need to let them go first,” Dani yelled over the wind. They’d stayed about twenty yards apart on the path, and with the rising wind and rain, it was getting harder to hear them.
“Nah uh. That’s not how this is going to work. We’re going to test out the software, and if it works, then they can go.” He shoved Gage, who stumbled. The other gunman had to grab Gage’s arm to stop him from falling.
Dani looked at Mitch again, who nodded. She started over slowly. Her feet felt mired in fast drying cement. Her knees wanted to give out. She wiped the palm of her empty hand on her jeans.
Big, fat raindrops started to fall faster. Her gaze locked with Gage’s. She could do this. For him, she would do this. His eyes were overly bright, but she could see encouragement in them, and something else.
“Stop right there.” Ponytail pointed to the ground. “Put the laptop down and step back.”
Dani did as she was instructed. She was only a few feet from Gage now. He was sick. He had a fever. She could see it clearly in his face as he blinked slowly several times.
Dottie looked exhausted and a little pale. She also had a bruise on her cheek, but other than that, she seemed fine. She was in better shape than Gage. The woman was amazing.
Ponytail pointed again. “Back up more.”
Dani did as instructed. This time when she glanced at Mitch and Logan, she realized that Ballcap had moved them in closer. They were slightly behind and to her left. Gage and his captors were directly in front of her. Trees surrounded the group. There was nowhere for her to run.
Her eyes locked with Logan’s for the briefest second. The plan had been for Mitch and Logan to shoot the guys before negotiations started. Plan B called for her to run like hell when the brothers distracted the men with the guns, but Gage was obviously sick, and Dottie didn’t look like she could run far. Plus, there was nowhere for her to go.
Dani took a deep breath as the rain started in earnest. Her hands shook. She took another breath, deep and slow like Gage had taught her. She could do Plan C. The one no one else knew about.
Ponytail stepped forward and grabbed her laptop. He put his gun away and balanced the laptop in his left hand and opened it with his right. The other gunman saw Dani looking and gestured with his gun. She couldn’t do anything because he would shoot. Not to mention the two men with guns behind her.
Ponytail tried to keep his body between the sky and the keyboard while he started typing away. He was surprisingly fast.
He whipped out his phone and hit a number while angling the lid a bit to keep water from the keyboard. He spoke briefly. He waited and watched the screen. He spoke on the phone again. He put the phone in his pocket and typed some more. He brought the phone back out and said something else.
“There’s no signal. We have to get out of the woods.” He gestured to the guy in the hat. “Phil, you lead and have those two between you and Andy. Then you.” He pointed at Dani.
She hesitated.
“Go!”
She turned and followed Andy. She glanced over her shoulder, hoping to see Gage or Dottie, but it was Ponytail.
The walk was short. Only a few minutes. The sound of the waves grew louder. They emerged from the trees and went down a slight hill to the car lane that lined the perimeter of the park. Dani looked in either direction, but it was empty.
Ponytail pushed her between the shoulder blades, encouraging her to move faster. They crossed the lane and ended up on the seawall. Dani was sure she was going to pass out. She immediately turned away from the water to face the trees.
They were in almost the exact position they had been in the forest. Gage and Dottie were in front of her flanked by Ponytail and Andy. Mitch and Logan were behind her off to her left with the other two gunmen slightly behind them. There was nowhere to run. And they were getting wetter by the minute.
Ponytail opened the laptop and put it on the seawall this time. He clicked away on the keys and brought the phone out of his pocket once more. No more than twenty seconds later, he raised a fist in the air. The software had worked. Ponytail hung up the phone and closed the laptop.
Dani felt no relief. She’d known it would work. That wasn’t the hard part. The hard part had been making the software disappear after they verified that it worked. Or at least appear to vanish.
She said, “You got what you wanted. Now let them go.”
Ponytail laughed. “Fat chance. Now we kill you all.” He raised his gun in her direction.
“You might want to open the laptop again,” Dani said in a voice that sounded so much calmer to her ears than she felt.
Ponytail frowned and hesitated, gun still raised. “Why? What did you do?”
Dani shrugged. “You’ll have to open the laptop to see.”
Ponytail turned and put the laptop back down on the wall. He opened it up and hit a few buttons. Then a few more. “Where is it?” he yelled.
“Not until you let them go. All of them.” Dani pointed first to Gage and Dottie and then to Gage’s two brothers. She needed to make sure they were all okay. Not just Gage, but all of them. They all had people to go back to, unlike her. After Carly, there was nobody.
Ponytail waved his gun at her, but she didn’t flinch. It was funny how having nothing left to lose made her stronger than she’d ever been. Gage was already lost to her, and Carly was soon to be gone forever. What did it matter now if she made it out or not?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Dani shook her head. “I can bring it back, but only after you let them all go.” The wind picked up and the rain was almost coming in sideways.
What the hell was she doing? Gage glanced at his brothers. Logan looked alarmed, and Mitch shrugged slightly. This wasn’t part of the plan. Gage needed to think of something quick, but the fever was getting to him. His brain was foggy, and he couldn’t stop shivering. He needed to create a distraction, something his brothers would recognize and know to act on.
When Ponytail waved his gun around, Gage knew he was trying to decide what to do. Finally Ponytail reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell. He hit the call button.
Lightning lit up the sky, followed immediately by a clap of thunder so loud the whole seawall shook. Ponytail jumped and knocked the screen of Dani’s laptop. Almost as if the whole thing was happening in slow motion, Gage watched the laptop tilt and start to slide off the wall into the ocean.
Dani acted instinctively and dove for it. She closed her hands around it, but her momentum carried her too far forward. She was off balance. She was trying to regain solid footing, but she tripped over Ponytail’s foot.
Dani began to go headfirst over the wall into the water. He ran to catch her as a shot rang out. When Ponytail dropped to the ground in front of him, Gage jumped over him to reach Dani as she plunged toward the rocks and the water below.
Two more shots rang out as Gage’s hands closed around Dani’s right ankle. Her weight and momentum pulled him tight against the wall, but he dug his feet in and bent his knees to stop them both from going over.
There was crunch in his wrists and pain radiated down his left arm. He yelled in agony as he leaned over the wall. He could see Dani’s face. It was getting hit with spray from the waves.
She was paralyzed with fear. She wasn’t breathing, and he knew the blood was rushing to her head. She was going to pass out. She closed her eyes.
“Breathe!” he yelled. “Dammit, Dani! You have to take a fucking breath! Don’t you dare pass out!�
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Dani took a deep breath and then another. She opened her eyes, and her field of vision expanded. She was still hanging upside down above the waves, but she was awake and alert. She was holding the laptop with both hands.
She tilted her head and saw Gage holding one foot with both of his hands still zip tied together. She saw his mouth moving and realized he was speaking to her. “You need to try, honey.”
“Try what?” she asked. It was so hard to hear him over the storm. The lightning continued to flash, and the thunder made everything shake.
His eyes were wide, and his mouth was in a grimace. Panic. Panic and pain. That’s what was on his face. “You need to reach for me, hon. Curl up and reach for my hands. I can’t pull you up like this. I need you to grab on to me so I can haul you to safety.”
“Okay,” she said, but he couldn’t hear her, so she just nodded. Then she let go of the laptop with one hand and tried to swing up and grab his arm, but it was impossible. She needed two hands.
Gage understood the problem. “Just let go of the laptop.”
Dani blinked. The laptop had been her life for the last few months. It was like another limb for her. It was where she wrote her code. It offered her peace and solace. It was her lifeline to Carly. Carly, who had decorated it with Frozen stickers as a joke. Carly, whose smiling face lit up the screen. Carly, who was dying.
Dani’s throat closed over. She could feel Gage’s fingers slipping on her ankle. She looked up at him again, and their gazes locked. His eyes pleaded with her to drop the laptop. What did it matter now? She took a deep breath and let the laptop go. It fell into the angry, churning water and disappeared under the black waves.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Gage gritted his teeth. His arm was being pulled out of the socket. He was losing his grip on Dani’s ankle. “Dani, please, honey. Please swing up and grab my arm. I can’t hold you like this much longer.”
Hit and Run: A Thrilling Novel of Romantic Suspense (Callahan Security series Book 3) Page 22
