“God wants me here,” Mal shot back. “Do you think He wants you dead?”
Pippa swayed on her feet.
Mal nearly reached for her and then stopped himself. “What did you give her?”
Isaac looked around, his gaze oddly serene.
Pippa coughed. “Malcolm? You should get out of here. Trust me.” Her voice was slurred.
Isaac stilled and then focused on her. His jaw went slack. “You know him.” He shook his head and stared at Mal. “How? How in the hell?”
“I love him,” Pippa said, grasping the back of a chair for balance. Her eyelids were half-closed, and the bomb on her back seemed to be pulling her.
Betrayal flashed through Isaac’s eyes. “You can’t. You love me. I’m sacrificing everything here.”
“No.” She coughed. “You can’t sacrifice what you don’t have.”
“But I do. Just like God sacrificed his only son.” He smiled, the sight chilling.
She blinked. Once and then again. Her face turned even paler. “No. You’re wrong.”
“I’ve been hinting at the truth forever.” He shoved her, hard, and scrambled toward the door.
Mal stepped in his way and drew out his gun.
Isaac paused and held his hand higher. “I will push this button.”
Pippa fumbled with her skirt, but Mal kept his gaze on the crazy guy. “If you push it, we all die.” He smiled. “I’ve been ready to die since my first assignment. What about you, Isaac? You sure you’re ready? Have you done everything you planned?” God, he had to get that remote. Now. He had to figure out a way to save Pippa.
“Say the words,” Pippa murmured, a gun suddenly in her hands. “I want to hear you say them, even though you’re so wrong.”
Mal eyed her. What was she talking about?
Isaac lowered his chin, his focus on her. “You already know. Always have. Your mother and I were together, right before she met your father. It’s destiny. You can feel it.”
Whoa. Was he saying—
“You are not my father.” Her hands shook.
“Oh, but I am,” Isaac said. “First Corinthians is more than clear.So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.”
“Your interpretation is wrong,” Pippa said slowly, her words slurred. “So wrong. You really are a nutjob of classic proportions. You wanted to marry your own daughter?”
Isaac’s chest puffed out. “Think of the purity of our line. The blessed children.”
Pippa gagged.
Mal’s earbud crackled. “Got one,” Force said tersely. “Have isolated, removed the backpack, and am clearing the area. Bomb squad move in.”
Wolfe’s voice came next over the line. “We’ve isolated, but she won’t take off the pack.”
“Ditto here,” Raider said quietly. “Working on it.”
“Retreat if necessary,” Force ordered. “Don’t let them take you out as well.”
Mal shut off all the outside noise and concentrated. The second Isaac got out the door, he’d press that button. “Pippa? Can you take off the backpack?”
“It’s locks, I mean locked,” Pippa said. “Leave, Malcolm. Please get out of here.”
