Page 78 of Her Cadillac Cowboy
“Don’t question me on this.”
“I won’t. There won’t be time for questions.”
“Please, Sara, just listen. Will is near the machine shop door, recovering from being knocked out. One of us has to get him out of here. The other one has to go and distract those thieves before they make off with the Caddy and all that money.”
“I think I can manage to get Will out into the lot. Is he hurt badly?”
“Just a bump on the head. He should be fine. While you’re doing that, I’ll turn on the emergency lights in the showroom. That ought to give those thieves something to think about.”
“Good thing I didn’t tie the new security system in with the back-up power. You remember where the switch is?”
“Just inside the entrance to the hallway from the showroom.”
“Right. Give me five minutes to get to Will before you hit the switch.”
“Got it. Let’s go.”
They crept down the stairs. On the first-floor landing, Josh pulled the door open without a sound. She’d have to remember to reward the maintenance crew for doing a good job on the upkeep of her building. A squeaky door could have killed them both.
Nothing showed from the glass portions of either door. The darkened showroom seemed odd. Carson’s paid huge electric bills on the premise that the brilliantly lit space was an attraction and boosted sales. Sara couldn’t see the Caddy from her position halfway down the hall. No one crossed her line of her vision. She turned her head. Nothing moved in the gloomy portion of the hallway that stretched between herself and the machine shop. She looked at Josh. He nodded. She had to go now.
They moved into the hallway. Josh eased the stairwell door shut behind them. Staying against the wall, she crept toward the machine shop as Josh inched toward the other end of the corridor. In moments, she was through the machine shop door and staring at a maze of equipment. Thank heaven she was familiar with the layout of the space or she’d alert the thieves to Josh’s presence before he was ready.
Moving as quickly as she dared, Sara sped toward the side door to the lot. She’d find Will, get him to safety, then go back to help Josh. She wanted him safe and sound. She had to explain why she said she loved him. She couldn’t do that if the fool man got himself killed.
???
Josh waited an agonizing five minutes, letting his vision adjust to the dim interior of the showroom. Had Sara realized she said she loved him? He wasn’t about to let her forget it. When this was all over, they would have a come-to-Jesus meeting over denying one’s feelings. But they needed to stop this break-in first. Lord, he hoped she’d stay with Will. Josh didn’t want her anywhere near these criminals. When he flipped the switch and they knew they’d been discovered, things might get deadly fast.
One of the intruders had gotten through the car’s locks. He called to his cohorts, who came in a rush. Now a second guy was in the Caddy, trying to hot-wire the old car. The ancient wiring system was giving him some problems. Josh smiled. Looks like the Caddy wasn’t giving up without a fight.
A glance at the glowing dial of his watch showed it was past time to throw the switch. He covered his eyes to shorten the delay in vision change. Light flooded the showroom. He saw four bodies freeze and launched himself at the nearest.
“Everybody clear out,” one of the figures called. “I’ll hit the button.”
The thieves scattered, but Josh caught a tall, skinny guy and wrestled him to the ground. A panicked, teenaged face stared up at him. Despite Josh’s restraint, the kid clawed to get away. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Y’ gotta let me up. We’re gonna get killed.”
“No one’s getting killed. Your buddies ran off and left you high and dry.”
“Mister, you don’t understand. He hit the button. There’s a bomb.”
Fear chilled Josh’s spine. “Where?” He shook the kid.
“In…in the shipment…the oil shipment.”
“The one delivered yesterday?” He was up and running before the kid could nod to confirm it. Part of that shipment had been moved into the machine shop today. The rest was stacked within twenty feet of the building, ready to be moved to safe storage. Either way, Sara and Will were right in the middle. He put his hand on the door to the maintenance shop.
The blast sent him flying back into the showroom.
