Thank fuck.
Everyone but Ethan, who should still be at his post. He’s not allowed to leave the pharmaceutical storage area except to use the bathroom, and that’s right there. But I’m not about to point that out to these assholes. Hopefully, he heard the commotion and ran.
Kaine studies me for a moment, then seems to accept it. He turns his attention to the clinic around us. “I want access to the storage facility. The one that holds the vaccinations.”
No one says anything.
“Who has access?” he asks again, his voice dropping dangerously low. He looks at each of us in turn.
Still, no one answers.
Sally’s eyes are wide with fear, and the bald bastard’s knife is still pressed to her throat. Wren tenses in my arms.
“We can do this the easy way,” Kaine says, “or we can do it the hard way. Your choice.” He nods at the bald prick, who presses the knife to Sally’s throat until blood trickles.
She hisses, her eyes filling with terror. Her face has gone completely pale.
“Don’t—” I shake my head.
Kaine moves behind the reception desk and starts going through Sally’s things. Her purse, her pockets, her desk drawers. He’s looking for a keycard.
“Nothing,” he mutters. Then his eyes shift to Wren. “What about her?”
Every muscle in my body coils tight. I set Wren down, quickly shoving her behind me as the males start to advance.
“Back the fuck off,” I tell them.
Sally gives a strangled cry, and more blood trickles from where the knife is pressed to her throat.
“I’ll slice and dice her,” the bald guy says, looking like he is enjoying himself.
“Stop! Don’t hurt her,” Wren says. “I have a keycard.”
She steps out from behind me before I can stop her, pulling the lanyard from around her neck. It must have been hidden under her shirt. The keycard swings from it. She throws it at Kaine, and it lands at his feet.
“There,” she says, her voice surprisingly steady. “That’s what you want, right?”
The sound of sirens cuts through the air. Multiple vehicles. Heavy footsteps outside. The guards have arrived.
A helicopter appears overhead, the thump of its rotors making the windows rattle.
The phone on Sally’s desk starts ringing. Shrill and insistent.
“Smart move,” Kaine tells Wren. “The party is about to start,” he says as he picks up the keycard, then moves to the phone, where he lifts the receiver.
After listening for a few seconds to whoever is on the other line, he says, “I have several hostages.” His voice is cold. “I won’t hesitate to kill them if anyone sets foot on these premises or tries to intervene in any way. I want the media here – all the channels, the radio stations…all of them. I want to make a statement.”
He slams the phone down and turns to Wren. “You’re coming with me. You’re going to get me into that storage facility.”
“No,” I growl, stepping forward. “She’s not going anywhere with you. You have her keycard.”
“Grim.” Wren’s hand touches my arm. “It’s fine. I’m fine. I can handle this. I’ll help them.”
“We won’t hurt any of you as long as you cooperate.” Kaine’s eyes are blazing. “We’re here to make a point…that’s all. If any of you dies, the focus will be on us being killers instead of on our message.” His eyes narrow. “But force my hand, and I won’t hesitate to kill you.” He looks directly at me as he says it.
I growl.
“I’ve got this. Stay calm…please,” Wren says, clutching my arm so that I look down into her eyes. “It’s okay,” she adds.
