Page 83 of Tony

“Get it,” he ordered. “Might be the police ready to make a deal.”

Licking her lips nervously she stood, her feet bleeding as she walked to the counter. Her gaze went to the kitchen window, but she could not see out. Wondering if the police had surrounded the house and were watching her now, she picked up her phone.

“Hello?”

“Ms. Mullins? This is Sergeant Levin and I’m here to help get you and Mr. Velazquez out safely. Are you all right?”

“Ye...yes,” she answered.

“Does he have a weapon on you now?”

Glancing back at the barrel of the gun pointed directly at her, she nodded, forgetting to speak out loud.

“Ms. Mullins, we have a visual on you from the kitchen window and see you nodding. Is he behind the kitchen wall?”

Before she could answer, Hernando barked, “Give me the phone, bitch.” She handed it to him, and he motioned for her to sit down in the hall again.

“You want to talk, pig? You talk to me,” Hernando said. “I want out and you’re gonna help me get out or this bitch is dead.”

The negotiator and Hernando continued to talk for a few minutes; he kept the gun trained on her as he rattled off his demands.

Her eyes darted once again toward the laundry room where she could see Bernard now squatting on the floor, trying to aim his gun around the corner. Her eyes grew round as she tried to indicate that he needed to stay quiet and with the barest shake of her head, he moved back a bit.

Her mind racing again, she glanced at the door next to the laundry room.The basement! Tony could come through there. He’d been down there when she had asked for help storing some boxes.Closing her eyes again, she thought of the two small windows.Can he get through?Wiping her hands on her pajamas again, she swallowed back the bile that threatened to come up. Her gaze sought out Bernard’s once more.It may just be up to us, she thought.Oh, Jesus help us.

* * *

Matt and Shane kept vigil outside hidden by the bushes, their eyes trained on the two men as Tony and Vinny ascended the ladder placed against the house. The placement of the ladder allowed them to be unseen by anyone on the inside of the house, and it led to the small attic window. The two men were so silent, not a sound was heard.

“Damn, I’m good, but not that good,” Matt admitted.

Jobe nodded his appreciation of their feats. “Special Forces training. Most missions we went on, absolute silence and surprise was essential.” Nodding toward the now closed attic window, he added, “And Captain Alvarez was the best. Never seen a man train so hard.”

Gabe added, pride in his voice, “And Vinny? Best sniper we had.”

The four of them silently spread out among the police that had their eyes on the house. Always trained to keep their focus one-hundred-percent on the mission, a look passed between Jobe and Gabe, each knowing what flashed through the other’s mind.Let Sherrie be safe, ‘cause their boss—and friend—couldn’t survive another loss.

The darkness of the attic appeared illuminated in a green hue as Tony moved stealthily from the window to the stairs. Vinny’s image appeared by his as they stopped. Both with audio amplifiers, they could hear the voices coming from below. No words were needed as they both assessed the risks.If Sherrie and Hernando were in the hall where the stairs were located, they’d never get a shot off without endangering her.

Speaking softly into his radio, Tony ordered, “Keep him away from the stairs.” Gabe relayed that to Shane who headed off to the negotiator.

The phone rang again, and Hernando picked it up this time. “You gettin’ my transportation?”

“We’re working on it, Mr. Valesquez. The chief won’t agree if we can’t have visual of Ms. Mullins to confirm that she is still alive.”

“How stupid do you think I am? I let this bitch get near a window, then you’ll have a shot at me,” Hernando bit out, his gaze darting around at the windows in the house.

“We’d just like to see her. You can move toward the living room and stay behind her if you like, but then we could see her easily.”

“Not happening. Not going toward the front of the house.” Hernando looked down at Sherrie, still sitting on the floor, a smile crossing his face. “You look at the little window in the back door and you’ll see her, but not me.”

No!she thought. The back door led to the patio from the laundry room.We head toward the back door, he’ll see Bernard.Her legs refused to obey, but several swift kicks to her hips had her crying out as she stood.

Tony and Vinny slipped down the attic stairs and quickly passed through the hall by the bedrooms. They stopped at the top of the stairs leading down to the first floor, listening to the sounds below. Pulling off their night-vision goggles, they set them gently on the floor.

“Target?” Tony whispered.

BJ, still monitoring the inside security cameras, reported, “Sherrie and Hernando are moving toward laundry room off of kitchen. Neighbor is in there but have no visual on him.”

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