Chapter 32
When a gray Honda Civic with the right plates cruised through the intersection, A.J.
’s heart stuttered in his chest. A part of him hadn’t believed they’d actually see it, or that any part of their half-assed plan would work, but there it was.
He caught the silhouette of a female figure in the passenger seat, and relief hit him like a tidal wave.
Josie was alive.
A.J. hadn’t let his thoughts linger for too long on the alternative, but that dark shadow of possibility had always been there, seeping through the cracks in his well-honed armor.
Cam waited for several cars to pass, then followed the Honda.
“Jake, we have a visual. Relay to the team that Josie and the tango are five minutes out,” Cam said.
“Roger that,” Jake replied.
“I think I’d better call Detective Morgan,” A.J. mumbled, sliding his cell phone out of his pocket.
Cam made a sound of reluctant agreement.
When A.J. had Morgan on the line, he got straight to the point.
“We found Kevin Murray’s accomplice. His name is Shane Davidson, and he has Josie.
They’re heading to the Bank of America branch on Washington Street.
We have reason to believe he is armed and will force Josie to make a substantial withdrawal. ”
“How the hell do you know all this?” Morgan sputtered. “Never mind. I don’t want to know. I'm going to activate SWAT and have a hostage negotiation team on standby just in case. Do not enter that premises.”
“Sorry, Detective. I can’t make that promise. My concealed carry permit is up to date, and if I see something illegal happening, or if I identify a person in danger, I’ll feel compelled to act,” A.J. said.
“God damn it! This isn’t fucking Afghanistan!” Morgan shouted.
A.J. pulled the phone away from his ear.
“You’re breaking up,” he said, and then disconnected the call.
Despite the circumstances, Cam barked out a laugh, and A.J. felt the corner of his mouth twitch. They drove by the bank, circled the block, and passed Spider’s Honda. Cam took the next available parking spot on the street.
“Maria’s inside the building and on coms,” Jake reported.
A.J. ditched his sling, unlocked the glove box, and retrieved Cam’s backup Glock. He checked it and shoved it into his waistband, then he pulled on a Red Sox baseball cap, also from the glovebox, and donned his sunglasses. Cam reached into the backseat and tossed A.J. a Kevlar vest.
“Thanks,” he said as he awkwardly shrugged into it.
“I know the answer to this question, but I have to ask. Are you up for this?”
“I’m fine.”
“If I go in, I’ll do exactly what I’d do if it was Lissa,” Cam said.
“I know, brother, but it’s gotta be me,” A.J. answered.
Cam sighed and nodded, then handed him a tiny earbud. A.J. popped it in and tested it.
“I’ll coordinate with Tank out here and with the cops when they arrive. We probably only have a couple of minutes before the cavalry storms in. Be careful,” Cam said.
A.J. stepped onto the sidewalk and adjusted his baseball hat.
He rolled out his injured shoulder, and even the small movement had it barking in protest. Thankfully, it wasn’t his dominant side.
While he was almost as competent using his left arm in the practice range, he always defaulted to his right when shit got real.
Thankfully, he wouldn’t have to think about that today.
He strode toward the bank building, keeping his pace slow and his posture relaxed, and turned the corner just in time to catch Spider and Josie walking into the lobby.
When he spotted Tank leaning against the brick building, fiddling with his phone and holding an iced coffee, he gave the man a subtle nod.
“The tango has entered the building.” Maria’s soft voice echoed in A.J.’s ear as if she stood beside him.
“Copy,” he answered.
His pulse ticked up a notch, but years of training and years of combat experience kept him laser focused on the task at hand. Get inside. Assess. Neutralize the threat.
***
Spider’s grip on Josie’s arm loosened slightly as he pushed her through the second set of double doors and led them into the lobby.
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “If you so much as twitch the wrong way, I will shoot you.”
His hand moved from her arm to the small of her back, a gesture that would have seemed innocuous, affectionate even, but his touch sent chills up Josie’s spine. Spider paused and surveyed the room. Josie did the same.
A woman who looked like she’d just come from the gym stood filling out a form in one corner of the bank.
Her dark ponytail bobbed slightly to some beat she must be listening to through her earbuds.
A few people waited in line for the tellers–an older gentleman with a cane, a mother holding the hand of a wiggling toddler.
Josie couldn’t see who might be working in the cubicles, but as Spider ushered her into the queue, the woman in the ponytail turned. Josie blinked. Maria.
When Maria nonchalantly got in line behind Josie and Spider, she gave a small shake of her head and pretended not to recognize Josie. Josie took the cue and faced forward.
Through his jacket pocket, Spider had the muzzle of his gun pressed painfully into Josie’s side. She stood rigid as she waited her turn. The mother and toddler finished first and made their way toward the door. As they exited, another person walked in.
Josie sucked in a sharp breath, trying to check her reaction.
Beneath a baseball hat and sunglasses, she recognized Adam as he strode into the lobby.
Nothing in his expression or demeanor indicated he was anything other than a customer.
Relief washed over Josie, so powerful it almost took her to her knees, but in the next moment, Spider shoved her toward the teller window.
With a quick look over her shoulder, she saw Adam standing at the table where Maria had been a few minutes earlier.
“How can I help you?” the teller asked, giving Josie a small, tight smile.
“I, um, need to make a rather large withdrawal. I hope that’s all right?” Josie stammered.
“How large?” the teller asked.
Josie cleared her throat and tried to smile back at the teller, but she thought it may have looked more like a grimace. “Twenty-five thousand. From my checking account.”
The teller nodded and glanced subtly to her right. Josie followed the woman’s gaze to find Maria standing at the window next to them. Had Maria warned the banking staff that something was happening? Again, Josie tried not to react.
Her mouth felt dry and dusty. She licked her lips and looked back at the teller. “My boyfriend and I are going to Las Vegas for a long weekend,” she said, aiming for credibility.
“Type in your account number and password into the keypad,” the teller instructed, nodding at the device attached to the counter.
Josie’s fingers trembled as she typed, but the teller nodded encouragingly. “I see you have the amount available, but you’ll need to excuse me for a moment. We don’t keep that much cash up front. I’ll be right back,” she said, and hurried off.
Josie noticed the other teller had disappeared as well. In fact, all the other customers were gone, and no one else had ventured inside after Adam. Without turning around, Josie knew Adam was behind her.
“Shane, you’re going to want to put that gun down,” Adam said.
His voice sounded calm but firm, and it was the best thing Josie had ever heard. Adam was alive, and he was here for her.
Spider spun around, dragging Josie with him. He pushed her in front of him, one arm banded around her chest and the other pressing the gun, which was out of his pocket, into her ribs.
Adam still wore the baseball hat but not the sunglasses. He caught Josie’s gaze, and his piercing blue eyes swept over her, assessing.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
Her whole body trembled, and fear had a vice grip on her vocal cords, but she nodded vigorously.
While Adam’s hands were up in a position of surrender, the look on his face was anything but conciliatory. Josie felt Spider stiffen next to her, and with her body pressed this close to his, she could smell his fear.
“Put the gun down and let her go,” Adam demanded.
“Why would I do that?” Spider snapped.
“Because I’ll kill you if you don’t.”
Adam said the words in such a matter-of-fact tone that Spider barked out a laugh. “Yeah, you and what army?”
“This one,” Maria said from behind them.
Spider jerked and backed them against the counter, with Josie still stuck tightly to him. Maria held her gun with a steady hand and a fierce look on her face, and in the time it took Spider to move, Adam had a gun out as well.
Josie’s heart raced and sweat trickled down her spine. She trusted Adam, knew he would do everything in his power to keep her safe, but the guns terrified her. One wrong move, even an accidental one, could be catastrophic.
Having spent so much time in close quarters with Spider, and having watched his behavior carefully, Josie wasn’t sure this stand-off was the right approach, but as she played through scenarios in her mind, she couldn’t come up with a plan that wouldn’t somehow end this way.
Adam had probably thought this through already, and Josie trusted Adam.
“Get out of here or I’ll kill her,” Spider snarled, but Josie could hear the hesitation in his voice.
“If you hurt her, we’ll shoot you before you can take another step,” Adam said. “But if you let her go, and put the gun down, we can make sure you get out of this alive and unharmed.”
“Yeah, then I’ll go back to jail, and I am not going back to jail,” Spider said.
The conviction in his voice alarmed Josie. She wanted to tell Adam to tread carefully, but she didn’t dare speak.
“I only care about Josie. If you let her go, I’ll let you walk right out that door,” Adam said.
“You’re lying,” Spider challenged.
“I’m not.”
But just as Adam spoke the words, the sound of sirens pierced the relative quiet of the lobby.
“Son of a bitch!” Spider shouted.
Josie felt Spider’s body go rigid, and then he shoved Josie so hard she heard the crack of her knees on the tile floor just before she heard the crack of the gunshots.