Chapter 10 #2
“I can’t get on base by myself because my military ID was confiscated when my husband was court-martialed.
So I need you to get me on. You’ll show your ID at the gate, and I’ll give them the fake driver’s license I’ve obtained.
It’ll go nice and smooth when you vouch for me.
If you do that, you’ll be home free. So be a good girl and don’t do anything stupid,” Carlin said in a hard tone.
“I won’t hesitate to set this fucking bomb off.
I’ll kill as many people as I can in the process. ”
Jane looked in the rearview mirror and saw Storm’s car behind her. She couldn’t think of any way to warn him about what was happening and who was sitting next to her without setting Carlin off. “What about Simon?” she asked.
“What about him?” Carlin asked.
“What’s he going to think about all this?”
“Once he hears what I’ve done, the lengths I’ve gone to in order to avenge him, he’ll be proud of me.
We’ll leave this fucking state, get new jobs somewhere else, and live happily ever after.
He just needs to put this behind him. And making sure Creasy isn’t around to make anyone else’s life miserable is just the way to do it. ”
Jane swallowed hard in disbelief. Did the woman really think she could deliver a bomb, kill a rear admiral, sneak off base, and live happily ever after? That her man would approve of such a thing and snap out of the funk he was in?
And what about her? Had she even thought about what a loose end Jane would be?
Carlin was sitting there telling her all her plans. She had to know Jane would go to the authorities as soon as she got out of the car.
Knowing she was in deep shit, and it was likely Carlin had some other plan for her, Jane did her best to stay calm. She couldn’t panic. Had to think about what to do and be ready to get the hell out of this car at a moment’s notice.
Jane thought about causing a car wreck, but that might set off the bomb in Carlin’s lap. The last thing she wanted was to involve anyone else in this woman’s evil plan. She didn’t want to be responsible for someone losing their life.
“Why me?” Jane asked softly.
Carlin shrugged. “When I saw you on TV, I actually felt bad that you were caught in the middle of my revenge plan. You’re just a lowly mailman. I tracked you down, thinking I’d apologize somehow…but then I saw you with him.”
“Who? Creasy?” Jane asked, confused.
“No. His friend. I don’t know his name, nor do I care.
I followed you, realized you were fucking him.
But I knew you drove separately to work.
It was easy enough to hide out by your car and surprise you.
Since you’re sleeping with the enemy, there’s no reason for me to feel sorry for you,” Carlin said matter-of-factly.
Jane’s head spun. “Storm isn’t the enemy,” she blurted, hating to hear anyone talk bad about him.
“He is!” Carlin insisted. “He hangs out with Creasy. Probably has kicked out his share of decent, hard-working sailors too. They’re all assholes—and if you’re sleeping with him, you’re a bitch.
So it doesn’t matter if you die. In fact, since you know all about what I’m going to do, it’s inevitable. ”
Carlin talked about killing her so nonchalantly, so easily, that Jane was shocked. And it was hard to surprise her after everything that had happened with her marriage, her daughter’s troubled teenage years, and after working on the military base for so long.
“Don’t try to be a hero,” Carlin told her, pressing the knife she hadn’t taken away from her side a bit harder into her flesh.
Jane inhaled sharply as the tip of the blade sliced through her shirt and nicked her skin.
“I’m not. I won’t,” she said immediately, doing her best to pull her body away from the knife.
But her small Camry didn’t have that much room between the passenger’s and driver’s seats.
It was a detail she loved when Storm was in the car with her. She definitely didn’t like it now.
They drove toward the base in silence, and when they began to get close, Jane’s heart rate accelerated, and she could feel adrenaline coursing through her veins.
The best time to get away was when she had to stop at the gate.
When the naval officer asked for her ID.
She definitely didn’t want him to get hurt, but she didn’t want Creasy to die either. Or herself.
“Be cool,” Carlin warned as they approached the gate to the base. “Don’t do anything stupid, or kablooey! You’ll never fuck that asshole you’re with again.”
A drop of sweat fell down the side of Jane’s face, and she knew Carlin wasn’t kidding. She was insane, obviously, and if she was willing to die in order to get revenge on Rear Admiral Creasy, she wouldn’t have any problem taking down anyone who stood in her way.
Looking in the rearview mirror once more, she saw that Storm had pulled up so close to her as she inched forward in the short line at the gate she couldn’t even see his headlights.
Did that mean he knew something was wrong? That he had a plan?
Jane hoped with all her heart that was the case, even as she also hoped he was oblivious. The latter would mean he was safe. The former could get them all killed…
But it might just save them too.
Shit.
“IDs please,” the junior-grade lieutenant said as Jane pulled up in front of the small guardhouse.
She turned to look at Carlin. She had a bright smile on her face and the knife she’d held to Jane’s side was nowhere to be seen.
But that damn box in her lap seemed to be even bigger than it had been earlier.
That wasn’t the case, of course, but Jane couldn’t help but sense the danger lurking inside it.
She slowly reached for her purse to pull out her ID and saw Carlin give her an impatient look. Jane wanted to say something to the young officer. To give him some clue as to the danger they were all in, but she also didn’t want to risk his life…or her own.
She grabbed the ID that allowed her access to the base and took the fake ID Carlin handed to her as well. She handed both to the officer, opening her eyes really wide, hoping against hope he’d get the hint.
Without hesitation, the man turned away from her and took the IDs into the guardhouse, as was protocol. Jane knew he’d scan them both, then if nothing seemed awry, he’d hand them back, and they’d be on their way.
Time ticked by extremely slowly. Every second seemed like an eternity.
Jane glanced around without turning her head, and to her, it seemed as if there were more people hanging around the gate to the base than normal.
The sky was just beginning to lighten with the rise of the sun, and she could see naval police personnel around almost every corner.
It made her feel hopeful, but scared shitless at the same time.
More people meant more casualties if something went wrong.
After a moment, the young officer turned to her. “There’s an issue with your ID, Ms. Hamilton. If you can please step out of the car.”
For just a second, Jane’s hopes rose. She undid her seat belt and reached for the handle of her door. She had just opened it a bit when Carlin moved.
The knife was pressed against her skin again, but this time it was at her throat.
“Step back,” Carlin ordered the lieutenant. “She’s not going anywhere. You’re going to open the damn gate and let us through, otherwise I’ll gut her like a pig and set off this bomb in my lap. You have ten fucking seconds to get it done. Starting now.”
The officer’s eyes opened wide, but his eyes flicked to something behind Carlin. Without moving her head, Jane saw three naval police officers, their pistols pointed right at Carlin, out of the corner of her eye.
“Put the knife down, now!” one of them shouted.
Within seconds, the car was surrounded by more police officers than Jane had seen in one place since she’d started working on the base.
She hadn’t been around the parking lot when Phantom and his girlfriend had been attacked, but she imagined it probably looked a lot like the area around her car right now.
“Get back!” Carlin shouted a little desperately. “I’ve got a bomb and I’ll fucking set it off! I will! Don’t mess with me!”
“Just relax,” one of the police officers said. “We’ll figure this out, and no one will get hurt.”
“But I want people to get hurt,” Carlin screamed. “Just like my husband and I were! Get Rear Admiral Creasy here. Right now!”
Jane shook violently in her seat. The car was surrounded by shore patrol—SPs—or masters-at-arms…whatever the naval police were called. She couldn’t remember if they were SPs when they were on a ship and masters-at-arms when they were on base, or vice versa, or both.
She did know her mind was going in a million different directions, and she forced herself to concentrate. It didn’t matter what they were called. Police were police, and she prayed they’d figure out a way to get everyone out of this in one piece. Literally.
Jane sat as still as she could, hoping against hope Carlin would somehow forget about her sitting there, what with all the commotion going on around them…when she felt something brush against her left hand.
When she’d opened her door, and after Carlin had shoved the knife into her neck, Jane had let her hand dangle limply against her side.
But now someone was holding it. Tightly.
She couldn’t look down to confirm who it was, but she’d recognize the feel of the callused fingers anywhere. In her panic, she’d forgotten Storm was even behind her. But he’d obviously gotten out of his car and was now at her side. She prayed Carlin couldn’t see him.
Having him there terrified her—but it also made her more determined than ever to do what she could to make sure this ended without her, or Storm, in tiny bits all over the asphalt.