“The man with the gun robbed the convenience store and took a pregnant woman hostage. Sheriff Alton gave me her sidearm and, without a word of explanation, marched over there and demanded to take the place of the hostage.”
Kane gaped at him in disbelief. “She did what?”
“Oh yeah, she is a feisty one and she is gonna get herself killed.” Johnson gave him a disparaging stare. “The man is Rick Horal. He got out of jail not three days ago.”
Kane frowned at Sheriff Johnson. “Has he done this before?”
“Yeah, he is a repeat offender. Never hurt anyone before but he went down for armed robbery.”
Kane met the man’s gaze. “I’d like permission to take the lead on this one. Sheriff Alton’s safety is my responsibility and I’m trained in hostage situations.”
“She thinks the sun shines out your ass and said you’d be by before he shot her.” Johnson gave him a long, unreadable look. “Heard you shot one of the Daniels boys right between the eyes during your negotiations.”
Ignoring the hostility, Kane moved his attention back to Jenna. She appeared calm and stared at him then lifted one elbow and made a halting gesture with the other hand. He figured Jenna planned to take the gunman down alone. He shrugged, not wanting to offer any signal to the gunman, and flicked a glance at Johnson. “I do what’s necessary.”
“Well then, go rescue your sheriff. My men will follow your lead. I have a vest in my car. I’ll send someone for it.”
Kane noticed the slight tremble of the gunman’s hand, the finger resting above the trigger, and the sweat beading on the man’s top lip. He is losing it. “No time.”
“It’s your funeral.” He motioned his men to his side and spoke to them in hushed tones. “Deputy Kane has experience in hostage situations so listen up.”
Kane turned to them. “Stay back and don’t get trigger happy. Leave him to me. I don’t want Sheriff Alton hit.”
As if ice-cold blood slid through his veins to heighten his perception, Kane surveyed the situation, taking into account the position of all the players and every possible outcome. He had to make himself the target and allow Jenna to solve the problem. The idea of not trusting her with his life despite the gun to her head and recent flashbacks did not come into the equation. I trust her. She won’t fail.
Dammit, I can’t have a flashback now. Cold sweat dampened Jenna’s shirt and the slight tremor in her hand often came without warning. She had gotten herself into this situation and she was more than capable of getting herself out.
Seeing Kane in the crowd had settled her, and she concentrated on his face, mentally willing him to draw the gunman’s attention and allow her to do her job. Worried he might believe her to be in mortal danger, which she was to some extent, she hoped he understood her signal to back the hell off. When Kane moved almost nonchalantly from the cover of the cruiser without wearing a Kevlar vest to protect him, she wanted to scream at him to go back. Instead, she took a deep breath to focus and calm her nerves. She noticed the hard line to his mouth and flicked her eyes toward the group of deputies standing behind the cruisers. It was obvious he did not want the Blackwater deputies involved in the situation.
They had trained together for almost a year now and run through many similar scenarios. She had the ability to take down the gunman without his help, but with a pistol pressed against her temple, she needed a distraction, and it seemed Kane had volunteered. When he met her gaze and gave her a slight nod, she flicked her eyes hard to the right. Once the gun was away from her head, she would strike out with deadly force.
To her relief, Kane understood her frantic gesture. He moved out into the open, keeping to the man’s right, and held up his hands. If Rick Horal aimed his weapon at him, she would get a split-second chance. She ground her teeth and forced her trembling knees to calm. The training to slow her heartbeat and remain in control, which Kane had reinforced in her over the past months, fell into place. I am in control and I’m going to take down this son of a bitch.
She held her breath as Kane’s movement caught the gunman’s attention.
“Hey, Rick, what’s all this about?” Kane shook his head slowly. “I hear it’s not like you to take a hostage.”
“You ain’t a Blackwater deputy and you got no say in what I do.”
When the muzzle of the gun moved away from her temple, Jenna got her feet under her and casually as possible lifted one elbow level with Horal’s stomach then closed the palm of her other hand over the fist. Ready when you are, Kane. When Kane’s gaze flicked back to her, confidence flooded through her. If Kane could make the gunman angry enough to draw fire, she would strike.
“Yeah, maybe, but that’s my sheriff you have there, and the mayor of Black Rock Falls would have my badge if I allowed you to shoot her.” Without hesitation, Kane took another step forward. “It’s not too late. Hand over the gun, and the sheriff won’t have you charged with kidnapping her.”
“No one is gonna let me walk away, and I’ll kill her if you take one step closer.”
“That would be a stupid thing to do unless you plan on dying today?” Kane moved another few paces to the right. “Right now, we can work this out, but the moment your finger moves to the trigger, your brains will be all over the street before you have time to take a breath.” He smiled at him. “That’s a promise, and look behind me—you have the entire Blackwater Sheriff’s Department just waiting to shoot you full of holes. You can’t win.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I’ll take you out first. The sheriff here ain’t got no weapon and she ain’t no threat to me.” Horal stepped behind Jenna, using her as a shield. “They won’t risk shooting her, will they?” He moved the pistol away from Jenna’s head and lifted his outstretched arm to aim it at Kane.
She had a millisecond to save Kane’s life. As if in slow motion, Kane hit the ground, drawing his Glock out of its holster in one fluid motion. Jenna slammed her elbow into Horal’s guts. As the gunman cried out in pain then bent in agony, she brought up her thigh and slammed his face into her knee. His nose shattered with a satisfying crunch and she stepped to one side as he folded, dropping his pistol. The chop she delivered at the base of Horal’s skull sent him sprawling face down on the blacktop, screaming for his mama. Disgusted as the smell of urine burned her nostrils, she stepped over him and kicked his weapon out of reach then bent to draw his arms behind his back and cuffed him.
After dragging the gunman to his feet and handing him over to Sheriff Johnson, Jenna ignored the congratulations or bemused stares of the deputies then retrieved her weapon. She nodded to the sheriff. “I’m not pressing charges against him but you might want to ask the pregnant lady.”
“Thanks for your help.” Sheriff Johnson tipped his hat.
Jenna waited for Kane to brush the dust from his uniform then glared at him. “Didn’t you hear the sirens?”
“Not until I’d left the social worker’s office.” The nerve in Kane’s cheek twitched. “I’m surprised you got involved in a local matter. Were you aware the gunman just got out of jail for armed robbery?”