Page 51 of Heart Me Up
As I set my phone down I had a brief fantasy of leaping over the coffee table, jumping on Ballcap Guy, and stabbing him in the neck with a pen before he could shoot me. But I was not Jason Statham, so that wasn’t happening.
Silvia and Corrie sat down at the end of the couch farthest from Ballcap Guy and huddled together. I sat in the armchair across from them.
“Now, Agent Falk, where were we?” Ballcap Guy swung around and aimed his gun at the side of Malcolm’s head. He was standing far enough away that his gun was out of Malcolm’s reach.
Malcolm curled his lip and said, “You were about to tell me why you dropped by to see me.”
Ballcap Guy grinned. “Oh, right! Yeah, I just need to know where one of the cars was taken.”
Malcolm squinted and turned his body slightly toward Ballcap Guy.
Ballcap Guy had been smart about how he’d positioned himself next to Malcolm. Presumably Malcolm was trained to disarm someone, but his entire right leg was in a cast sticking straight out in front of him. And Ballcap Guy was standing a few feet away on Malcolm’s right side. So if Malcolm wanted to lunge for the gun, he’d have to get his cast out of the way first. Ballcap Guy would have plenty of warning to move or even shoot Malcolm.
“One of the cars?” Malcolm asked. “The syndicate’s cars?”
“Yes, you dumb fuck, the syndicate’s cars. The ones yourcolleaguesin the FBI stole along with everything else we owned.”
How had this guy not been arrested with the others? Probably not something I should ask about right then.
Malcolm scowled at him. “Well, I’m not on the case anymore, since I was in the hospital. Have you tried, I don’t know,Googlingwhere the FBI’s impound lot is?” Fuck, Malcolm was going to get himself shot.
Fortunately Ballcap Guy appeared amused instead of pissed off. “Cute. Now, here’s what you’re gonna do. You’re gonna call one of your FBI friends and pretend you wanna buy the car I’m looking for when it goes up for auction, but you need to make sure it wasn’t damaged in the raid first. You get them to tell you where it is so you can go check it out.”
Malcolm frowned and so did I. That excuse was thin at best.
“Oh, and now that we have guests, Agent Falk, I'm not gonna shootyouif you don’t cooperate. I'm gonna shoot one of them.” He jerked his head toward me, Silvia, and Corrie. None of us moved. “Though, I might have to put a bullet in your pretty white cast at some point anyway.” He gestured at Malcolm’s leg with his gun. “Was it a gift from my boss when he found out you betrayed him?”
Malcolm stared stoically ahead. We weren’t going to get out of this alive, were we? I forced down the thought. Weweregoing to get out of this alive. I couldn’t act like there was another alternative. I had plans for the future now. I had plans for a relationship with Foster, and this asshat wasn’t going to take that from me, dammit.
I gripped the arms of my chair. Channeling my therapist, I took a few seconds to concentrate on feeling the texture of the upholstery. One deep breath helped me center myself. I could do this. I might not be able to overcome a guy with a gun, but I was smart enough to figure outsomethingthat could give Malcolm an opening to act.
All right. So, I wasn’t Jason Statham, but if he were in my position he’d be looking around for things other than ballpoint pens to use as weapons. I didn’t have a fireplace, so no handy iron pokers. I did have a floor lamp at the end of the couch. A photo of Lucy on the wall in a heavy wooden frame. A cell phone and an empty plate on the kitchen table. Malcolm’s crutches lying on the floor next to the sliding glass door. The other three kitchen chairs. A frying pan in the sink.
Well that was a bust.
Why the hell had I cleaned up all my clutter when Malcolm came to stay with me? Just last week there would’ve been a set of two fifteen-pound weights right next to the chair I was sitting in. Not to mention the stack of empty dishes next to the couch, a pair of scissors, a couple of hardback books, my iPad, several shoes, three or four coffee mugs, some duct tape, and a screwdriver.
But now there wasn’t anything I could grab without Ballcap Guy seeing me. Fuck.
Ballcap Guy was enjoying the sound of his own voice again. “I bet it’d hurt like a bitch if I shot you in the same place again. But, no, we’re gonna start with one of our guests. Hmmm, which one should I choose?”
Silvia and Corrie shrank into the couch cushions. I readied myself to stand, but Ballcap Guy spoke first. “You, the girl, come over here.”
Silvia and I shouted, “No!” at the same time.
I stood up. “She’s, uh, she’s pregnant. Use me instead.”
Ballcap Guy sneered, “Oh, how gallant. Are you the baby daddy?”
I hadn’t been expecting that, so I stared at him and said, “Um.”
“He’s my boss,” Corrie piped up. “At the pet resort.”
“Well, I don’t know what the fuck a pet resort is, but far be it from me to deny your boss his moment to be a hero. Come here.” He jerked his head at me. Fuck. There had to besomethingI could do.
Corrie muttered, “Thank you,” in a low voice.
I nodded and began to walk across the living room toward Ballcap Guy, but the doorbell rang. I was so on edge the sound startled me into crying out.
