She moved back in place before Clay shifted his attention back to her. She caught his glance and let her gaze drop first. Let him think he had her cowed and she wouldn’t fight back. They needed all the advantages they could get. If they were going to make a move, it had to be before Bad-Tempered Guard returned. Sierra didn’t want to test his commitment to killing all of them if anything went south on their operation.
The next time Clay glanced away, Sierra handed Brenda one of the rocks.
Clay looked back again, his eyes narrowing. He stared long and hard at Sierra.
“Kind of hard to keep an eye on two groups, don’t you think?” she asked.
He glared at her. “I have it covered.”
“Would it be easier if we moved up to the others?”
“I’ll tell you what would be easier.” His lip pulled back in an ugly snarl. “You keeping your mouth shut.”
Sierra held up a hand. “Hey, I don’t want to get shot any more than anyone else. If that means making it easier on you, so be it.”
Clay chewed on her words for a moment and then nodded. “You four women, move up here.”
Sierra hustled the women up to where the men sat at the top of the theater, grabbing another one of the big rocks from the display on the stage along the way, careful not to let Clay see what she was carrying by moving close to the other women.
Once they were with the men, Sierra slipped one of the rocks into Ranger Jared’s hand. Then with the other one gripped firmly, she edged her way over to Clay. “I’ve been thinking.”
Clay glared at her. “I don’t care what you think. You lied to me.”
“That’s what I was thinking about. I guess I was mad and wanted to get back at you for all the nasty, mean and horrible things you’ve done to me in the past.”
“Where are you going with this? Because it’s not convincing me I shouldn’t shoot you.”
“I don’t want to die today. If it means leaving with you. I guess it’s the only choice I have.”
“Sorry, you had your chance. Now you’re just one of the hostages.” He jerked his head toward the others. “Get back with everyone else.”
Sierra ignored his order and moved closer. If they wanted to get out of there, they had seconds to do it before Bad-Tempered Guard returned. “Clay, remember when we were kids and slipped beneath the bleachers to make out?”
“Where are you going with this, Sierra?” He pointed the barrel of the AR-15 rifle at her chest. “Get back with the others before I have to shoot you.”
Sierra touched the tip of the barrel and pushed it gently to the side. “Don’t you wish we could be that young and carefree again with our whole lives ahead and nothing to stop us?” She inched closer.
“There’s no going back. You never loved me. I knew that the day we married.”
She must have known it, too, but she shook her head. “We had it good for a while. We can do it again. If we try.” Finally close enough to press her body against his, she wrapped one of her arms around his neck and leaned her breasts against his chest. Inside, she wanted to vomit. But on the outside, she hid her revulsion, thinking about the others in the room whose lives depended on her convincing Clay she still loved him and they had a chance at a life together. Which they didn’t. No way in hell.
“Let’s you and me get out of here. We’ll start over.” She kissed his chin and trailed her lips to his. “Let’s leave now.”
He crushed his mouth down on hers and dragged her body hard against his with his free hand.
Sierra raised her arm as if she would wrap it around his neck with the other. That was when she slammed the big rock to his temple, hitting him at the corner of his brow. Blood ran out of the gash into his eye.
Clay yelled and shoved her away, clamping a hand over the gash.
Before Clay could raise his weapon to fire, Sierra shoved the heel of her palm upward, catching Clay’s nose, breaking it with a sickening crunch.
Since he was still standing and in the way of her freedom, Sierra kneed him in the groin. When he bent double, she slammed his head against her knee. “That’s for all the times you hit me and I didn’t know how to defend myself.”
He fell to the floor. Out cold.
Sierra turned to the others. “Hurry! Let’s get out of here.” She headed to the other door at the top of the theater. The one opposite from the one Bad-Tempered Guard had gone through, and hopefully farther away from the men in the lobby.
Sierra was first to the door. She pushed it open enough to see into the lobby. Men in ski masks were shouting. She couldn’t tell if they were shouting at each other or someone else. Sierra didn’t care.
She pointed to a potted plant in the hallway away from the theater. Turning to Brenda, she said, “Make it to the plant first. Watch them. When they aren’t looking, head for the exit at the end of the hallway.”
The men were so busy yelling at each other, they weren’t watching the theater.
Sierra touched Brenda’s shoulder. “Go. I’ll send the others. Help them get out.”
Brenda nodded and ran for the potted plant.
Her breath caught in her throat, Sierra held it until her friend made it to the plant and then the end of the hallway and out the door.
She pointed to the vice president. “You’re next, sir.”
He shook his head. “Ladies first. Get them safe.” He urged one of the mothers forward.
She shrank back, shaking her head. “I can’t.”
“Then come with me.” The other mother grabbed her hand and dragged her through the door and down the hallway.
Once the two mothers were gone, the vice president touched her shoulder. “You’re next.”
She stood fast. “I’m last out. Go, Mr. Vice President. You’re the big fish they have to negotiate with. If they don’t have you, they don’t have their bargaining chip.”
“I insist,” the vice president said. “Please, don’t hesitate. The sooner you’re out, the sooner the rest of us will go.”
Grady Morris erupted from the floor. “Out. I need out.” He ran to the door and out into the hallway without looking first.
A shout sounded behind Sierra. Bad-Tempered Guard ran into the theater from the other door. “Damn it! What the hell’s going on?”
“Go!” Sierra shoved Ranger Jared toward the door.
Jared ran down the hallway, not bothering to hide behind the potted plant.
The vice president refused to budge when Sierra tried to push him through the door. Instead, he stepped between her and Bad-Tempered Guard, blocking any bullets that might be aimed her way. “Go.” He shoved her out the door and turned toward Bad-Tempered Guard. “Don’t shoot!”
Sierra had two choices: run or be shot.
She ran.
Footsteps sounded behind her, and gunfire echoed off the high ceilings.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot,” a voice shouted.
Sierra wasn’t stopping. She was halfway to the outside door. She couldn’t slow her momentum, even if she’d wanted to.
Another shot was fired.
Pain blasted through her calf and sent her falling flat on her face. Her head hit the floor, rattling her brain, making her vision blur.
More shouts sounded in the lobby. Men scurried, more shots were fired.
Sierra pushed to her knees and tried to stand, but pain ripped up her leg and made her fall back to the ground.
An arm reached around her and pulled her off the floor and locked her against a tense body. Her captor spun with her, facing the melee, and shouted, “Try anything, and I’ll kill her!”
Pain knifed through her leg, pushing fuzzy gray fog around her vision, but Sierra refused to pass out. Her vision cleared just enough to realize the men in ski masks lay littered across the lobby floor. Law enforcement personnel poured into the building, weapons drawn, ready to shoot anything that moved. In the middle of them stood a tall, dark, auburn-haired marine with wide hazel eyes.
T-Rex. And he looked scared.
Chapter Fifteen
T-Rex froze. A tall man in a dark ski mask held Sierra clamped to his side with one arm. In the opposite hand, he held a grenade.
“I’ve pulled the pin. If you shoot me, I’ll release the handle. Sure, you’ll kill me, but the woman dies, too.”
T-Rex stepped forward, dropped his weapon to the ground and held up his hands. “Don’t hurt her. She’s done nothing to you.”
“Yeah, well, she’s going to get me out of here.” The man waved the grenade. “If this goes off now, it will kill me, her and half of the people in this building. Do you want that?”
“No.” Garner stepped up beside T-Rex. “No one will hurt you. What do you want?”
“I want that helicopter out there.”
“You’ve got it.” Garner turned to Caveman. “Get outside and clear a path to the chopper. Now!”
Caveman grabbed several deputies and ran out the door. Through the windows, T-Rex could see them clearing all personnel out of the path between the visitors center and the helicopter.
“I’ll need escorts to make sure no one takes a shot at me and the woman,” the captor said. “Consider it more collateral to ensure I make it to the chopper without dropping this baby.”
“You’ve got it,” Garner said. “I’ll escort you myself.”