Page 28 of Sinner's Salvation

“Stop!” he yelled, coming to a stop about twenty feet away. His voice was barely audible over the fire alarm still peeling every three seconds, but she could read his lips just fine.

She came to a stop.

The agent raised his gun clasped in a two-handed grip and pointed it at her. His hands shook so wildly she doubted he could hit anything he aimed at. This was not the coldly calculating man who’d shot her in the head without warning.

Things weren’t going according to his plan. How horrible for him.

“P...put him down,” Ledger shouted, his tone high and scratchy, as if he were two seconds away from losing his shit.

“I’m taking him to safety.” She tried to put a reassuring expression on her face, to show she wasn’t a threat, but it was hard to do when she really wanted to kill him.

“You...you’re going to eat him,” Ledger screamed, spittle flying from his mouth.

There went his shit.

They didn’t have time for this. Smoke billowed through the air, filling the hallway fast enough to tell her that breathing would become worse than difficult very quickly.

What could she say to get this idiot to put the gun down and follow her out?

“I’m on a diet,” she said, between coughs. “I only eat soldiers on Wednesdays.”

Ledger took a few uncertain steps toward her, his hands shaking so badly the end of the gun swung from one side to the other. “I’m the Counterterrorism Coordinator for Homeland Security.”Cough, cough. “I order you to put that man down.” His expression closed down and hardened.

He’d made a decision and she wasn’t going to like it.

The door behind him opened again. Anna only saw enough to tell her it was another man. She wasn’t sure if this was good or bad, but she hoped it was someone who could convince Ledger to put his gun down so they could all escape.

A hand shot out from behind Ledger level with his neck, hitting him hard.

Ledger staggered to one side, then crumpled to the floor.

Evan Gunn bent over the politician, took the gun out of his hands, and tossed it past Anna and the soldier she was carrying. Evan slung the Homeland Security agent over his shoulder, bounced him once to get him comfortable, then stood tall. “Let’s go,” he shouted at her.

She went.

He was okay.

He hadn’t been caught in the explosion.

He was okay.

He’d moved with precision and power.

He was okay.

She hurried, and with every step she took, she could hear Evan behind her, coughing. It could have been so much worse.

The door got closer and closer, until, finally, she hit it with her left hip, and, careful not to bang the soldier’s head, shoved the door open.

She stumbled outside into the cool, fresh air, coughing at the change in atmosphere. Evan was right behind her with his semi-conscious burden, moaning and coughing.

They were in a narrow alley between buildings with no one in sight, but the sound of sirens, police, fire trucks, and ambulances were everywhere.

“Go left,” Evan ordered. “There are ambulances that way.”

She followed his directions, heading through the narrow passage between buildings at a trot, but slowed as soon as she reached the edge of the building.

Evan swept past her shouting, “Medic!”

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