The woman started trembling, her face turning a pale green. “Uh, uh, uh. Right. Okay. I can do that.”
“Nice and easy.” He opened the door and they stepped into the hallway.
Evangeline fell in line beside the nurse. She brought them down the hallway and around the corner to a closed door. To Evangeline’s shock, she unbolted it from theoutsidebefore they entered.
Hannah sat in a chair, her wrists and ankles strapped to the frame with Velcro. Her tear-filled eyes were red, her cheeks puffy. Evangeline hurried over and freed her. Hannah struggled to stand, so Evangeline snaked her arm around her waist and pulled her to her feet.
“Sit,” Sin said to the nurse.
When she did, he strapped her in the chair and shoved a towel in her mouth.
“Let’s get Hannah the hell out of here,” he said.
“They took Robert,” Hannah choked out. “We have to find him.”
“He’s safe and he’s in the car,” Evangeline replied.
Hannah started sobbing. “Oh, my God, thank you.” As fresh tears rolled down her cheek, she gripped Evangeline.
“Who opened this door?” a boisterous voice called out from the hallway. “What in the hell is going on in here?”
Evangeline and Sin turned as Charlene Caraway filled the doorway, a toothy smile brightening her face. “Isn’t he absolutely perfect?”
Then, Charlene’s expression flat lined and her eyes turned bitter cold.
“God, no.” A bone-chilling shudder ran through Evangeline. “You’reUncle Charlie.”
Charlene’s icy stare darted from Hannah to the nurse trapped in the chair. “This can’t be happening.”
As Sin lunged toward her, Charlene yanked the door shut and flipped the deadbolt into place. Seconds later, the blast of the fire alarm shattered the silence.
Two strides and Sin was at the door. He aimed at the deadbolt and fired, threw open the door, and turned back to Evangeline. “Get Hannah out. That bitch is mine.”
* * *
Mayhem.
The high-pitched wail of the fire alarm caused panic among residents and staff. Powered by adrenaline, Sin swept the crowded hallway, but Charlene was gone. Pregnant women ambled in both directions. Some residents pushed strollers while others carried their babies.
A security guard herded people toward the lobby, but Sin pushed on in the opposite direction. He ducked into the game room. No Charlene. He did a cursory check of the cafeteria, both meditation rooms, and the admissions and security offices, but his search came up empty. Charlene had vanished.
Where the fuck did she go?
At the hallway’s end, he opened the fire door. The staircase went in both directions.
“Sin,” Evangeline said through the comm.
“Go,” he replied.
“Hannah and Robert are in the car with Sanchez. Did you find Charlene?”
“No. Either she’s hiding somewhere in the building or she’s halfway to Dulles.”
“People are huddled in the lobby and milling out front, waiting for someone to tell them what to do.”
“Make the call,” Sin said.
26
