Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
They were trying to be stealthy, but Vander still heard them coming. Someone had shut off the blare of the fire alarm.
“Fuck.” Stomping noises echoed down the hall as the two men put out the fire he’d started in a small bin by the elevators.
“He can’t be far away,” the second voice murmured.
“Let’s find him.”
They moved into the hall. Vander stood at the far end of the table in a conference room. He moved, letting them see him.
“There!”
Gunfire ripped through the hallway, bullets slamming into the glass wall. It shattered in a rain of glass shards.
Vander ducked and moved to the far side of the table. He grabbed the can of air freshener and the lighter in his hands, his fingers tightening.
The men raced in. One sprayed the room with bullets, and they thumped into the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
“Where is he?”
The men broke apart, circling the table.
Vander waited as one man moved closer to him. That’s it. Just a little bit closer.
Boots came into view.
Vander rose, sprayed the air freshener at the man’s face, and ignited it.
Flames engulfed the man’s head. He made a garbled sound, tearing at his pig mask. The smell of burning hair and melting plastic filled the air. The mask melted onto the man’s skin.
Vander kicked him and Pig hit the wall, screaming and tearing at his face. More gunfire lit up the darkened room.
Dropping, Vander rolled under the conference table.
“Matt!” the other man yelled. “Matt, are you all right?”
Matt, aka Pig, was sobbing.
Vander crawled under the table and whipped his stolen rifle up to fire. Rabbit sprayed more bullets around the room and Vander scuttled backward. Fuck. The idiot was going to kill them all.
Before Vander could pull the trigger, Rabbit jumped onto the table with a thump.
“You’re dead, asshole. You hurt my cousin. I’m going to kill you!”
Bullets ripped through the table.
Hell. Vander scrambled backward. More bullets tore through the wood, hitting the floor. Splinters peppered his face.
He rolled sideways and leaped to his feet. In a lightning-fast move, he whipped his gun up to fire.
Rabbit kicked it out of his hand, and it flew into the wall. Then, Rabbit threw himself at Vander.
They slammed together, Rabbit’s rifle trapped between their bodies and pointing upward. The man fired, bullets slamming into the ceiling.
Vander shoved hard. The gun flew onto the table, slid on the slick surface, and disappeared over the other side.
Rabbit was fast. He landed a kick to Vander’s chest, and Vander knocked the man’s leg away.
Vander straightened. “No need for you to get hurt, too. Stand down.”
“Fuck you, asshole! Where are my other friends?”
“Around. Two are breathing, but they won’t be coming to help you.”
Rabbit made an enraged sound. He snatched up one of the chairs from the table and swung it. Vander jumped back.
The chair swung again, and Vander ducked.
It slammed into the window and glass shattered, wind whistling inside.
Shit. Vander backed up. The gunfire had clearly weakened the hardened glass.
“You can’t stop us,” Rabbit yelled.
“Yes, I can. You don’t get to threaten innocent people. You don’t get to steal what isn’t yours.”
Rabbit swung the chair again. Vander kicked it and it fell to the carpet, then he launched himself at the younger man.
They grappled, and he was surprisingly strong.
Vander took several elbows to the gut and chest. He heard his shirt rip and gritted his teeth. They whirled. The guy wasn’t giving up.
An elbow slammed into Vander’s face and he grunted. Dammit. He’d had enough. He tried to get Rabbit in a headlock.
The man shoved hard and they spun in an unwieldy circle. Vander felt the man fumbling, and realized he had a handgun tucked into his pants.
Shit. Vander turned sideways, just as the gun went off. A sharp sting sliced across his ribs. He rammed into the man, trapping the gun between them. The rabbit mask had fallen around the man’s neck. They spun again, ramming into the conference table, then into a chair, then, they hit the window.
Vander felt the glass give under their combined weight.
Fuck.
He shoved away from Rabbit.
The man staggered at the loss of Vander’s weight. He hit the window…dead center where the cracked glass was.
“No!” Vander lunged forward.
The man’s face twisted. He was still trying to aim the gun at Vander.
Then he crashed through the glass, falling out of the window with a scream.
Chest heaving, Vander watched his falling body disappear into the night.
Goddammit.
His side felt damp. He glanced down. His shirt was no longer pristine white, or wrinkle free. It was creased, stained, missing several buttons, and now had a blood-soaked tear from where the bullet had grazed him. He poked at the wound.
He wasn’t going to die any time soon. He had a feeling his wife would have something to say about it, though.
He glanced at the window again and blew out a breath.
No one else had to get hurt or die.
It was time to fucking end this.
He turned to leave. Oh, hell. Pig, aka Matt, and his burned face were gone.
Vander was cautious as he moved into the hall. There was no sign of the injured man. Maybe he’d rejoined his friends in the main room.
Vander reached the elevators and looked around. He’d taken one step when he heard a whisper of sound. He was already turning when a heavy weight hit him from behind. He crashed to the floor.
“You killed my cousin!” Matt slammed several blows into the back of Vander’s head with something heavy.
Biting back a curse, Vander heaved and they rolled. He shoved the fire extinguisher away, then got a few hits in. But Matt pulled out a hunting knife. He held it up and slammed it down.
With a fast jerk, Vander rolled to the side, the knife sinking into the carpet. He heaved his body again and Matt rolled off. Vander launched to his feet and spun.
Just as Matt rose and lifted a handgun.
His eyes were burned, his face looking like something from a horror movie, but he still aimed the gun right at Vander’s chest.
Vander froze. Time slowed. There wasn’t enough time for him to do anything.
Bang.
Vander jerked. There was no explosion of pain or blood, but he watched Matt’s mouth open in a soundless O. He toppled forward, and Vander jerked his gaze up.
His best friend was striding toward him, handgun outstretched.
Damn, only Saxon could make black cargo pants look stylish. The man always looked like he was about to attend a dinner party.
Behind Saxon, he saw the elevator doors were open.
Siv’s lithe form came into view as she rappelled down and unclipped from a rope.
A second later, Vander’s younger brother Rhys appeared.
When he saw Vander, a huge smile broke out on his face.
Then the big, muscular forms of Cam Morgan and Boone Hendrix followed.
They were all dressed in black and were carrying M4 assault rifles.
“Looks like we got here just in time.” Saxon held out a hand and Vander clasped it.
His friend pulled him in, and clapped his shoulder. Then Saxon’s gaze zeroed in on Vander’s bloody shirt.
“You okay?”
“Just a graze.”
Rhys appeared and pulled Vander in for a quick, one-armed hug. “I know you hate parties, but this is a hell of a way to get out of socializing.”
“Fuck you,” Vander murmured without any heat. He gave Siv, Cam, and Boone a chin lift. “Thanks for coming.”
His brother pulled a small earpiece from his pocket. Vander took it and slipped it into his ear.
“Nice to hear you’re still all in onc piece,” Ace’s voice came across the line. “Thought you would have blown up the building by now. John McClane would be disappointed.”
Vander snorted. “The night’s still young.”
“Sit rep?” Saxon asked.
“Five are down, including this one.” Vander nodded at Matt.
“Only five left.” Siv made a face. “So greedy, Vander.” She stepped forward and held out his favorite Glock.
He took it, checked it, and nodded. “You can have the last few, except for Wolf. He’s the lead asshole.”
“Hunt was in touch,” Saxon said. “Apparently, these guys call themselves the Wolf Pack. They’ve done some robberies before, but smaller scale. A bank, an ATM, a currency exchange office. This is a step up for them.”
“It’s the end of the road for their careers as thieves,” Vander said. “I just want my wife out safely.”
Boone lifted his chin. “Let’s do this.”
Vander nodded. “Let’s do this.”
“They should have been back by now!” Tiger paced back and forth, anxiety pouring off him.
Wolf glared at the door, his face set in hard lines.
Brynn shifted, trying to relieve the pressure in her back. It was hurting like hell.
Suddenly, a sharp band of pain gripped her stomach. She sucked in a breath and pressed her palm to her side.
It felt like the Braxton Hicks contractions she’d had a few times.
Except stronger.
A lot stronger.
Oh, no. The reality of her situation washed through her. No, no, no.
“Brynn, are you okay?” Kristine asked.
She dredged up a smile for the woman. “Great. I’m fine.” The pain eased.
Wolf strode past them and into the office. Carolyn rose from beside Ben. Terse words were exchanged and Wolf lunged forward. He grabbed the front of Carolyn’s dress and shook the woman.
God, things were not going well. Wolf was losing it.
Suddenly, several muffled thumps echoed from down the hall. Sounds she knew all too well.
Gunshots.
Her stomach cramped. She prayed that Vander was all right.
Wolf rushed out and joined Tiger and the others. They all stared toward the elevators.
“What the fuck?” Gorilla said shakily.
Wolf lifted his radio. “What’s going on?”
No response.
He growled. “I want to know what the fuck is going on!”
“What’s going on is that you’re going down,” a deep, male voice said.
Vander. Brynn rubbed her belly and hid her smile.
“Your friends aren’t coming back. And I’m coming for you.”
Wolf let out a sound. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Not tonight.”
With another angry sound, Wolf threw the radio. It hit the wall and shattered, and several guests cried out.
With a sudden jerk, he strode back into the office, grabbed Carolyn and dragged her back out into the room. Brynn tensed.
He shoved her to her knees beside her husband. He pulled out his gun and pressed it to the back of David’s head.
“No!” Carolyn lunged forward.
Wolf knocked her back roughly.
Brynn rose, her brain racing for a way to stop this.
“I’ve had enough.” His voice was low and ragged.
Nothing had gone according to his plan, and Brynn knew he was spiraling as he lost control of the situation.
She needed to give Vander some time to take out these last few thieves.
“Please.” Brynn held out a hand. “Stay calm. No one needs to get hurt.”
“Calm?” Wolf yanked his mask off.
Underneath, he had a rugged face that was a little short of handsome. She pegged him in his mid-thirties. He had a hard edge to his face, and his eyes were wild.
“I worked for a company just like this one. I was a fucking cog in their wheel until they fired me. They wanted to invest more in AI. In a soulless machine. All they cared about was money and their bottom line. Haldon is no different.”
“We are,” Carolyn said. “We invest more in charity and research than any other investment firm in the country.”
“So you can sell a good PR story,” Wolf spat. “You don’t really care. No one in this room cares. You drink your fancy champagne, wear your designer clothes, go on your luxury holidays. You only care about yourselves.”
“That’s not true,” Carolyn murmured.
“You have billions of dollars. I deserve some of that.” His last words were a shout.
“They aren’t my billions. My clients—”
“You’re perpetuating the system. Keeping us all down while they get richer!”
Brynn saw that Wolf was working himself up into a rant. Emotions were obliterating any rational thought. Her stomach tightened with another contraction. She wrapped an arm around her middle and breathed deeply.
Wolf slapped the gun against David’s face, splitting his cheek open.
The contraction finally loosened its grip on her. Button, please, stay in a little longer.
She straightened. “Please, take a breath. Carolyn’s willing to help get you what you need.”
Wolf’s glittering eyes zeroed in on her like a laser. “I wanted the money. I wanted me and my guys to get out of here. None of that’s happening!”
“We’ll get you what you need.” She kept her voice extra calm.
Wolf lowered his arm and cocked his head. “You sound a lot like a fucking cop.”
She stilled. “No, I—”
“You’re the cop.” He shoved David aside and closed the distance between them. He waved at her stomach. “That blinded me, but you’ve kept a cool head the entire time. Like you’re used to this kind of thing.”
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“It doesn’t fucking matter.” He grabbed her arm. “You’ll be the best fucking thing I have to get what I want.”
Several people gasped.
“It’s over,” Brynn murmured. “Don’t make things worse for yourself. Think of your family. They wouldn’t want this.”
“Don’t talk about them.” He heaved in a breath. “You didn’t fucking know them.”
“I don’t, but I’m going to be a mother soon.
” Another contraction banded her stomach, the pain more intense than the previous one.
She bit back a moan. It took everything she had to hide it.
It looked like she was going to be a mother much sooner than she’d thought.
“I already love my child, so I can imagine how your mother feels about you.”
A muscle ticked in his cheek.
“Let these people go. I’ll stay with you—”
“Shut up!” He shook her. “Do you know the asshole out there taking down my guys?”
Her brain, still trying to cope with the pain, reeled. “What?”
He dragged her closer. “You do know who it is.”
“No, I—”
He stabbed a finger at Tiger. “Stay here.” He snatched the other man’s radio and then dragged Brynn across the room. She stumbled, barely managing to stay upright.
“What are you doing?” Horse cried.
“Salvaging this.” Wolf’s sharp gaze hit Brynn, and icy dread slid down her back. “I think I finally have a bargaining chip that will get me exactly what I want.”
He pulled her out of the atrium.