Page 72 of Game On

The elevator descended several floors before its doors opened into a deserted area beneath the stadium. Their loud footsteps echoed on the concrete corridor, drowning out the sounds of the exuberant crowd milling about far above. Joel quickly scanned the hallway before shoving them into a darkened utility room beside the steam generators. He flicked on the fluorescent light. The room was small, with a broken stadium chair in the corner, a metal file cabinet and card table against the wall. The smell of old cigarette smoke lingered in the air, but it was apparent the room was seldom, if ever, used. Certainly not on a game day.

No one would look for them here, Carly thought desperately.

“Damn it, why do you always have one of those kids with you?” Joel whined, slamming the door securely behind them and waving them deeper into the room with his gun. The surprise of seeing him must have numbed her brain, because she was reacting in slow motion. Giving herself a mental shake, she reached out, grabbing Troy and Molly, shielding them with her body. Her first priority was getting the kids to safety.

She only had to look into Joel’s eyes to know he was high. Sky high. He looked even more manic than he had the night of the gala, if that were possible. Carly tamped down a shiver. Wishing for Lisa’s soothing, therapist’s voice, she tried to reason with him.

“Joel,” she said over Molly’s sniffles. “Molly and Troy don’t need to be here, do they? This is between us.”

Before Joel could acknowledge her, Troy shot out from behind her, yelling. “I’m not leaving you with this druggie!”

Joel was frantically pacing the room, trying to get a connection on his cell phone. He’d ignored Carly, but Troy’s outburst got his attention.

“Hey, you shut up! She doesn’t belong to you.” he shouted at Troy, waving the gun around, as Carly pulled the boy back behind her. “I’ve loved her since she was a little girl. She’s my Darling Carly.”

Trying to process Joel’s words, Carly pushed out a breath as nausea rolled through her stomach. Joel stepped in front of her and her body froze. He lifted a hand to her face before pulling it back without touching her.

“I’m sorry I messed up your house,” he said, tears pooling in his eyes. “But you weren’t being very nice to me.” Anger quickly replaced the tears, almost as if he were a toddler in mid-tantrum. “You were a very bad girl with Devlin. But he’s not going to have you anymore.”

Carly flinched as he turned away, once again fixated on his cell phone. Troy shot forward, starting to say something but Carly slapped a hand over his mouth, shaking her head. She pushed Troy back and, placing Molly’s hand in his, took a step toward Joel.

“Joel, what do you want?”

He spun around, his face confused as if he’d totally lost focus. But then the tears returned and this time, he did touch her. Carly held her ground.

“I want to take care of you, Carly. To protect you like your mother didn’t. Veronica died and left you alone in the world. But I’m here and you’ll never be alone again. You’ll be safe with me.” Taking his hand from her face, he placed it over his heart, his face the picture of sincerity.

Had Carly not been so frightened, she might have laughed at the irony of the situation. Obviously, Joel had bought into the dramatic portrayal of her in that stupid movie about her mother. It was true; her mother’s death had left her with a constant need for security and stability in her life. But what he wasn’t seeing were the events that came after the movie credits rolled. Carly knew she was a strong woman who clearly could survive whatever life dealt her. She’d found her sister and become a part of a family. And she’d finally found her niche helping other kids survive the same type of trauma. If she was lucky, she might even find someone to share her life with. Someone who loved her back.

But she had to get them out of there first. Joel claimed to want to keep her safe, but looking into his crazed eyes, she really wasn’t feeling that way. She steeled her spine and gently caressed the arm he held the cell phone with.

“Who are you trying to call?”

“Keith,” Joel said. He stared at her hand where it made contact with his sleeve. “He’s our ride out of here.”

Carly willed her hand not to tremble on his arm. As much as she wanted to get him away from the kids, the idea of going off with two stoned maniacs scared the heck out of her. She needed to act fast.

“I have a car.” She willed her voice to sound convincing. It was the only option “We don’t need Keith.” She stepped closer to Joel, forcing herself to look directly into his eyes. Biting the inside of her cheek to steady herself, she tried not to let his stare unnerve her. “We don’t need the kids. Leave them here. They’ll just slow us down.”

Thankfully, Troy and Molly remained quiet as Joel anxiously looked between them and Carly. “They’ll tell,” he said, sounding like a toddler again.

“No, they won’t,” she said in reassuring voice. She tried maintaining eye contact. If she could just keep him focused, she might be able to pull this off. “They’ll do what I say.” At least she knew Molly would. Troy was a bit of wild card. He clearly saw himself as Shane’s surrogate: her White Knight. Still, it was her only option.

“So let’s go.” She took a step toward the door, but Joel grabbed her wrist, pulling her against him.

“Tell them to stay,” he said, waving the forgotten gun in her face. “Or I’ll take care of them myself.”

Carly shuddered. “I won’t go with you if you hurt them, Joel.”

They stood like that for a few minutes. Finally, the expression on his face swung back to whipped puppy as he slid the gun into the waistband of his jeans.

Letting out the breath she was holding, Carly turned toward both kids. “Molly, Troy, you both need to stay here until the game ends. I mean it.”

Neither one said anything. Molly eventually nodded as she stepped closer to Troy. The look on Troy’s face was pure Devlin defiance.

I love you, Carly mouthed over her shoulder as Joel hauled her out the door. She prayed they’d stay at least long enough for her to get Joel out of the stadium. Breathing a sigh of relief that Troy and Molly would be okay, she let Joel push her into the elevator. She’d only have a few minutes ride to formulate a new plan.

“Surveillance video has them in a service elevator at portal G nearly ten minutes ago,” Donovan said as they raced through the crowded stadium. Their progress was hampered by the fans milling about on the mezzanine grabbing a bite to eat and a beer before heading for their seats. “It could have stopped on one of three possible floors. We’ll have to do a floor-by-floor search,” he said.

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