“Yes. But it’s on the other side of the garage, and we can’t get to it.”
“Is there a release at the door?”
“I think so.”
“I’ll get to the door and open it.”
She gave him a panicked look.
“Go!”
She ducked low, moving along the wall, following his directions, and he gave her points for not arguing. But he couldn’t help wondering if he’d put her in worse danger.
The garage was half empty and deathly quiet, and he’d like to know where the man with the gun had disappeared
He could be in back of them. In front. Anywhere. Straining his ears, he tried to figure out where the guy was hiding. But he heard nothing—and saw nothing.
Praying that Olivia made it to his car in one piece, he crawled awkwardly to the exit gate with the box under his arm, using the remaining cars as cover and hoping the gunman didn’t spot him.
But as he moved toward his goal, a wave of dizziness seized him, and he saw black spots in front of his eyes. It took every ounce of determination he possessed to hold on to consciousness. Even so he felt it slipping from his grasp.
Panic tightened his throat.
“No,” he ordered himself. “Not now.”
But working with another person inside his head was taking its toll. Luke stopped, pressing his shoulder against a car bumper, feeling like he was hanging onto awareness by his fingernails. If he passed out, he was dead. And so was Olivia.
And the box is lost, the warrior growled inside his skull.
Right, the all-important box. That’s what got us into this damn mess.
The warrior didn’t respond to the sarcasm. But as Luke wavered on the cold cement floor, he felt his breathing change. It became slower and deeper, and he knew the warrior was using some kind of calming technique on his mind and body. It helped. After a minute, the black spots went away, and Luke felt like he could function again.
“Thanks,” he muttered as he started crawling again toward the front of the garage where a metal gate closed off the entrance. Luckily there was a car parked nearby, which gave him some cover. But when he reached for the red button that opened the door, the guy spotted him and started shooting.
At that moment, shots rang out from the other end of the garage, and he realized that at least one of the men he’d disabled upstairs had made it down here.
He ducked behind the car as the metal gate began to slowly open. But he didn’t like his chances of getting into the Honda with two men catching him in the crossfire. Worse, he’d draw that fire toward Olivia.
Just as he was trying to figure out his next move, he heard an engine rev.
The Honda shot out of its parking slot, then whipped into forward gear and came barreling toward the gate—which was still not open enough for the car to exit.
His heart leaped into his throat when he heard bullets hit the back fender.