And exactly how was he supposed to do that when they had all watched in horror as Wallis began taking items from inside the backpack he had arrived with the night before?The most recognizable of those things being three bundles of taped-together sticks of dynamite.
Dynamite!
Sephie had decided this whole nightmare was turning into something she would expect to see in a movie.Except this situation was very real and not being watched from the safety of an armchair as she ate popcorn and watched the action unfold on the TV screen.
They had certainly all watched with horror as Wallis had then set about placing those bundles of dynamite in three different areas of the ground floor of the inn and ensuring they were all linked to the detonation console.
Thank God there were no guests currently staying at the inn, and that the CLOSED FOR FAMILY EMERGENCY notice and the locked door had prevented any customers from trying to come in for a drink at lunchtime or this evening.
Although that didn’t change the fact that Sephie and her parents were made to sit in the dark bar area with no food or drink, surrounded by three bombs while the man she now knew to be Edgar Wallis went into the kitchen and cooked himself some eggs, bacon, and toast before he sat at the breakfast bar to eat them.
As if this was just another day and he didn’t have three hostages tied to chairs surrounded by bundles of dynamite.
He had to be a psychopath!
One so unhinged that Sephie felt sure he wouldn’t hesitate to press his thumb on that red button and blow her parents and the inn to pieces if he felt like it.
She kept her pleading eyes on Ranulf now, hoping to convey some of that horror to him.She was depending on him to somehow come up with a solution to this situation before it was too late.
His expression softened as he held her gaze.“Do you trust me?”he prompted softly.
Did Sephie trust him?
She had no other choice right now.Was certainly in no position to be able to help her parents.
She continued to look at him as she gave a slow inclination of her head, hoping the expression in her eyes conveyed that her concern wasn’t for herself but for her parents.
But to answer his question: of course, she trusted Ranulf.
But as he hadn’t resolved this situation in the past five minutes, and nothing had changed in that time, she had no idea how he thought he was going to do anything now that would ensure his own safety, let alone that of her and her parents.
“Close your eyes,” he instructed softly.
Sephie gave a grunt of incredulity.Close her eyes!That was the last thing she wanted to do when she had Wallis standing behind her, threatening to kill her parents if Ranulf didn’t obey.
She could only imagine that the physically powerful Ranulf having to suffer the indignity of someone else having the upper hand in a situation was something he was completely unfamiliar with.
“Stop talking to her,” Wallis instructed harshly.
“Close.Your.Eyes,” Ranulf told her again, completely ignoring the other man.
She gave Ranulf a beseeching look to convey her disbelief in what he was asking her to do.Closing her eyes wasn’t going to stop her fromhearingas her parents and the inn were blown to pieces just yards away.
“Please,” Ranulf added softly.
Her heart fluttered in her chest at the pleading in his voice.
“I said stop talking to her,” Wallis repeated furiously.
“No matter what you hear, Sephie,” Ranulf said, ignoring the man for a second time, “please keep your eyes closed.”
Sephie, unwilling to test Wallis’s patience any further, gave a brief nod before tightly closing her eyes.
She might not be able to see, but she did sense the sudden darkness through her lids and felt a rush of air go past her that was strong enough to ruffle her hair.
Wallis then made a sound of protest, and a wet choking sound that then turned into a scream.
CHAPTERSIX
