Shielding You (Baytown Boys Book 13) Read online

  Shooting him a glare, she moved to the side, allowing Margaret to follow Thomas and Luke out of the room. Gary was standing in the doorway, creating a log-jam of people.

  She was trapped in the room with the EMTs settling Thomas onto the gurney just outside the doorway. Margaret was clucking over him, and her heart squeezed at the thought that Thomas was dying. He looked up at Margaret and said, “Don’t be upset. I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna be seeing my precious wife soon. Been a long life… wasted a lot of years.” His voice became low as his body was racked with coughing, and Hannah turned away slightly, her heart hurting as she witnessed the true affection between the old man and the jail nurse that had cared for him off and on over the years.

  “Damn fool decided to start his first day here by mouthing off to someone,” Gary said, interrupting her thoughts. Noting Gary’s attention was on her instead of the prisoner, she glanced toward Luke as he stepped past the guard, walking back into the clinic.

  Luke’s gaze fell onto John’s still-bleeding injury and he said, “Wait here. Margaret will be right back.” He walked to the cabinets on the other side of the room and pulled out the suture prep kit from one of the upper locked cabinets. Opening the kit, he laid the items out on the counter that Margaret would need… forceps, scalpel blades, needle holder, and scissors.

  “I heard a rumor, Chief Freeman,” Gary said, his eyes on her instead of toward John, stepping into the room instead of waiting. “I heard it was you and Chief Hunt caught this one in the middle of the night.”

  Looking toward John, she noted his dark eyes pinned on her. Just like last night, his expression was blank. Refusing to discuss police matters with the guard, she opened her mouth to snap at him when their attention darted back to the door as Margaret called goodbye to Thomas and the sound of the EMT gurney rolling down the hall met their ears.

  In a flash, John rushed past Gary, snatching one of the small scalpels from the table. With a quick slash, he caught Gary on the neck, blood immediately splattering out as Gary went down on his knees. Gary squeaked in surprise before crying out in pain, his hand clapping over his bleeding injury.

  Luke whirled around, his arms jerking out to grab John, but he wasn’t quick enough. John, still standing behind Gary, grabbed the officer by the back of the shirt and pressed the scalpel against his neck. “All it takes, man, is for me to stick this right here, and he’s dead.”

  Hands up and her palms forward, Hannah moved to get John’s attention. “This isn’t the way you want this to go, John.” Her heart was pounding, but she kept her voice steady.

  His lips curved ever so slightly on the corners before falling into a sneer. “Jail isn’t holding me.”

  “Right now, all you’ve got is possession with intent to sell. You’re already racking up other charges the longer we stand here. Let Officer Perkins go and—”

  “Shut up, bitch. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Luke remained quiet, his hands up as well, and he didn’t move a muscle. She had no idea if he was terrified or simply in complete control. Margaret appeared at the door, crying out as soon as her sharp gaze viewed the scene. Jumping back into the hall, she hit the alarm.

  Looking down at Gary, whose eyes were wide as he clutched his bloody neck, she said, “John, assault is bad enough. Murder means you’ll never get out.”

  His lips curved again as he said, “Oh, I’ll get out. And if you step a little closer, this guy is gonna bleed out on the floor right in front of you.”

  “Ma’am,” said Luke.

  She wanted to keep her eyes on John, but Luke drew her attention. His face was almost as unreadable as John’s, but he offered a minuscule shake of his head.

  “Please, please, help me,” Gary cried, his voice weak as his hands dropped in front of him.

  “If I come over closer, will you let the officer go and allow the medic to get him to safety?” she asked.

  “Hell, I’ve been here a few hours, and I can already tell you this guy’s a sniveling shit,” John said, inclining his head toward Gary. Shrugging, with the knife still pressed to Gary’s neck, he said, “All I need is one hostage. And a pretty little police chief is probably the best thing I could hope for.”

  Stepping slowly around Gary, she closed the distance between her and John, and he shoved Gary toward Luke. The blade shifted almost instantaneously between Gary and her. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he pushed, ordering, “Sit.”

  A chair on rollers was nearby, and she sat down. Luke was already bending to grab Gary when John said, “Not yet. Take that gauze and tie the lady up.” Luke hesitated, and John added, “Don’t fuck with me, man. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

  Luke reached out and snatched the roll of gauze off the counter. Unwinding several feet of the white cotton gauze, he stepped over Gary’s legs and moved to Hannah. Bending, he wrapped the makeshift rope around one wrist before bringing her other wrist close and began wrapping it as well. He continued tying her wrists together in front of her instead of pulling her arms to the back. Knowing this would make her hands more useful, she was sure John was going to stop him, but he said nothing.

  “No fuckin’ tricks. Tie her tight.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” Luke growled. “I was in the fuckin’ Navy. I know how to tie knots. I’m good at this… I know all kinds of knots.”

  She had no idea why Luke emphasized the word ‘knots’, but he gave a little tug on her wrists as he stood, then dug his fingers in slightly on her shoulder. Glancing around and up, his face was still blank, but his eyes were sending an obvious message. Praying she was interpreting it right, she hoped that the knots he tied would be something she could escape from.

  “Get out,” John said, keeping away from Luke but holding the scalpel at Hannah’s face.

  Bending, Luke grabbed Gary under his armpits and began to drag him toward the door.

  “No! Leave the fucker. I don’t care if he bleeds out.”

  Standing, Luke turned and looked at her before shifting his gaze to John. “You can hold me instead of her. We’ll walk out of here together.”

  Snorting, John shook his head. “How stupid do you think I am? The size you are? Fuck no.” Grinning, he added, “I’ve got just the hostage I need. Shut the fuckin’ door on your way out.”

  “This isn’t smart. You know that,” Luke added, but his eyes jumped back to Hannah as the blade moved closer to her face. With a grimace, Luke backed out of the doorway, pulling the door closed behind him.

  The finality of the click of the door joined with the sounds of a multitude of heavy footsteps barely heard over the beating of her heart, and she had no doubt what was happening outside the clinic. The jail would have gone into lockdown, all prisoners back into their cells. Guards with weapons would have been called to strategic points. Colt’s North Heron SWAT team would be in place. In fact, the State Police would be showing up as well. And on the other side of the door, just down the hall, was Dylan.

  Looking at John, the bloody weapon still in his hand, and Gary’s prone body on the floor, she sucked in a quick breath. There was one way this situation might end… in death. Whether or not it would be hers, she had no idea.

  26

  The instant the alarm sounded in the magistrate’s office, Dylan took to his feet, his first thought was to get to Hannah. He was not concerned about the jail. It was well-guarded, well-tended, and well-managed. Assuming a fight had possibly broken out in a common area, he knew the guards would soon squelch the problem. But the desire to see Hannah overrode everything else.

  “Dammit,” Marcus cursed under his breath, looking at his computer screen before standing quickly.

  “What is it?”

  “We have a system of alarms for various situations. That first sound was a general alarm, letting the guards know that there was a lockdown situation. The message that just came across my computer and phone is letting me know a hostage has been taken.”

  Hoping that Hannah was
safe in the clinic, hearing the word ‘hostage’ still sliced through him. “I’m going to head down to the clinic and make sure to meet up with Hannah.”

  Marcus held his gaze and said, “I don’t think that’s gonna work, Dylan. The area of concern is the clinic.”

  Dylan rushed into the hall, his gaze noting guards with weapons moving silently, taking up strategic positions. A few minutes later, Colt and Under Sheriff Frazier were stalking toward him, Margaret at their side talking rapidly.

  “After I handed the paperwork to the EMTs for Thomas, I turned to go back into the clinic. The prisoner that came in with Gary was behind him and must have slashed him in the neck considering the amount of blood that was coming out. Luke was slightly to the side and Hannah was in there as well.”

  Hearing that Hannah was inside the clinic with an armed prisoner felt like a gunshot to the gut. Colt’s gaze moved from Margaret over to Dylan then back again.

  “Could you tell what kind of weapon he had?” Colt asked, looking over Frazier’s shoulder at the tablet in his hand.

  Margaret continued, “No, I couldn’t see anything. I know he came in with an injury to his hand, and perhaps Luke was getting ready for sutures—”

  “Those materials shouldn’t be within reach of a prisoner!” the Under Sheriff proclaimed as he pulled up the security live stream from the clinic camera.

  “I told Gary to wait outside until I could get back to the clinic. He wasn’t supposed to have brought the prisoner in!”

  “What happens next?” Dylan cut in, his words directed to Colt.

  Colt held Dylan’s gaze and replied “We wait. We gotta do this right and we gotta do this smart.” He clamped his hand on Dylan’s shoulder and squeezed. “We’re gonna get her out of there.”

  Colt and Frazier looked back at the tablet. Dylan was torn between wanting to look to see that Hannah was safe and terrified of what he’d see.

  Another man approached, a military cadence in his stride, and Dylan noted the silver hair cut high and tight, ramrod-straight back, and sharp eyes. Colt caught Dylan’s eyes and added, “This is what happens next.”

  Wondering who the newcomer was, Colt stepped forward and greeted him. “Martin, have you been briefed?”

  With a curt nod, the man acknowledged and said, “I got the preliminary as I drove over. A prisoner in the clinic has injured a guard and taken hostages. I understand one of them is a local police chief.”

  Colt turned to the others. “This is Martin Toombs. He worked for the FBI as a hostage negotiator and retired to the Eastern Shore. Both North Heron and Acawmacke counties keep him on retainer. I called him immediately, and he happened to be near here.”

  “Who else do we have?” Martin asked, his words clipped.

  Frazier said, “The prisoner is John Ortega—”

  “Fuckin’ hell,” Dylan cursed, his knees nearly buckling at that news. “Christ, he just got here less than twenty-four hours ago. What the fuck happened?”

  Martin’s eyes jerked toward him, and he cocked his head slightly. “You have information?”

  “Chief Hunt of Seaside.” He identified himself, hearing the shakiness of his voice but unable to steady it. “My office arrested him in the middle of the night for transporting drugs from the Seaside Harbor. He was caught in the act.”

  Frazier added, “One of my guards reported seeing John and another man talking in the yard, and the next thing the guards knew, John was bleeding on the arm.”

  Before they had a chance to speak more, movement at the clinic door caught everyone’s attention. Noting the activity on the security camera, they left Margaret behind and moved closer. Luke was bent, backing out of the clinic door as though dragging something heavy. Then, suddenly, he stopped and stood, speaking to those inside the clinic. Dylan watched as the medic’s face hardened before he leaned forward and closed the door. Watching the security video at the same time, they could see it was the guard’s body that Luke had been attempting to drag.

  Luke turned and approached the huddle in charge. “He won’t let me get Gary out of there.”

  “What the hell happened?” Frazier asked.

  Luke grimaced. “Goddamn Gary Perkins is what happened. He was supposed to wait in the hall, monitoring the prisoner. I was getting the suture kit ready for Margaret when she got back in. Gary was also supposed to keep his fuckin’ eyes on the prisoner, away from everyone, but he was too busy blocking Chief Freeman’s exit and trying to get her attention.” Wiping the sweat off his brow, Luke continued, “He… the prisoner must’ve had this planned, although he couldn’t have known exactly how it was going to go down. Gary played right into his hand.”

  “What does he want?” Frazier asked.

  “All he said was he wanted out, and Hannah was going to be his way to make that happen.”

  Dylan’s blood ran cold as he turned to Martin. “Tell them that I’ll go in as his hostage. Switch me out with Hannah.”

  Martin’s narrow-eyed gaze bored straight through Dylan, but he ignored it, not caring what the other man thought about him.

  “Is there something I should know?” Martin asked. “Something I’m missing?”

  Dylan turned toward the older man and held his gaze. “Chief Freeman—Hannah—is my girlfriend.”

  Before Martin had a chance to respond, Luke turned to Dylan and shook his head. “I tried that. I don’t think he’ll go for it.” The men stared at Luke as he shrugged. “I’m sorry, Chief Hunt… John figures he’s got a small female in there that he can control. He’s not going to trade her for one of us.” Luke nodded toward the screen in Frazier’s hand and added, “He’s made one mistake. He had me tie Hannah’s wrists together, but they’re tied in front, not in back. Also, I was in the Navy… the knot I tied her with looks difficult, but she’ll be able to get out of it. I wasn’t able to tell her that, but I tried to get her to understand what I’d done.”

  “The biggest mistake he’s made is underestimating Hannah,” Colt said, his words clipped.

  As Dylan struggled to think of Hannah trapped with John, he barely heard Colt’s words.

  “Okay, let’s get this started,” Martin said, reaching out and taking the phone that was provided, making sure he was on speaker. Dylan blinked, refocused, and listened as the phone rang three times before it was picked up.

  “Hello? This is Chief Hannah Freeman.”

  At the sound of her voice, Dylan fought to keep his knees from buckling. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, wanting to remember every word she’d ever said to him.

  “Chief Freeman, this is Martin Toombs. I’m a hostage negotiator.”

  “Call me Hannah, please.”

  “Okay, Hannah. Can you tell me if we are on speaker?”

  Dylan’s eyes flew open as he looked at Martin. The man who’d appeared so businesslike and gruff was speaking in a tone that was soft and comforting. The kind of voice he imagined a benevolent grandfather would use. His breath drew into his lungs a little easier with the feeling that Martin’s professionalism would help.

  “Yes, John can hear you as well,” Hannah said.

  “Okay, that’s good, Hannah. Does he want to talk now, or does John want you to keep talking to me?”

  That question brought about muffled words in the background and with an eye on the tablet screen, Dylan watched as Hannah twisted around to speak to John. Turning back, she said. “Right now, he just wants me to talk to you.”

  “No problem. You and I can talk, and I know John can hear me. Is there anyone else in the clinic with you, Hannah?”

  “It’s just me and John and Officer Perkins… he’s injured… he and John.”

  “How badly, Hannah?”

  Martin constantly used Hannah’s name in a calm voice, and Dylan recognized the negotiator’s attempt to humanize the situation, wanting John to see his prisoner as a real person.

  “John has a cut on his arm. It doesn’t look bad, but I’m sure he needs stitches. Gary has a cut on his neck and
is bleeding quite a bit.”

  “John? With you being injured, I’d like to get help in there for you. We could have the medic come back in and take care of your injury and see to Gary.”

  Muffled voices were heard again. “He says he doesn’t want anyone else to come in.”

  “Okay. John, we need to talk about how this is going to go down. Things have gotten out of control, and we need to come to a resolution.”

  “The only resolution I want is to get out of here. I want a car and safe passage out of this fuckin’ jail,” John bit out.

  “I hear what you’re saying John, but you know that’s not going to happen.”

  “It is if I got this policewoman with me. She’ll be with me to ensure I get out of here.”

  “John, again, that’s not going to happen, so let’s figure out a different way to get some help for you.”

  Dylan glared at Martin, furious that he was backing John into a corner. Opening his mouth to protest, he clamped it shut when a large hand landed on his shoulder. Looking around at Colt shaking his head, he transferred his glare to his friend.

  Colt leaned in and whispered, “Let him do his job. He’s a master negotiator and knows what he’s doing. It’s important that John trust him, and you can’t earn trust by obvious lying. Martin isn’t going to promise things that John knows can’t happen.”

  Determined to stay close, Dylan kept his eye on the screen, not willing to lose one second of seeing and hearing Hannah. He tried to lock his knees to keep his legs from shaking, but the quivers inside his body would not be stilled.

  “Okay, John, let’s talk about Gary. We want to mitigate the circumstances as much as possible, but that’s going to be very difficult if a guard bleeds to death right in front of you and you haven’t shown any mercy.”

  “You think I give a fuck about him? I was hoping just to be able to get in here with the female nurse. This guy made it easy.”

  “Yes, I can see that. But right now, Gary’s not in charge of you, and you’ve got nothing to fear from him unless you let him die on the floor. If you do that, you’ve lost all bargaining chips.”