Page 71 of Inherited Light
I paused for a moment and took a deep breath. I centered my energy on Cat and not the fear sitting in my gut. “I’ll try to sneak in as far as I can, but if she hears me I’ll start a conversation. You said she wants us to be together. I’ll feed her whatever lies she wants to hear to get close enough to Cat. She won’t fire at Cat if I keep her distracted. Once I’m close enough, I’ll take her down.”
“That’s your plan? You’re not a trained cop, Lorenzo.” Noah said, his teeth gritted together. He was the one who screwed up and Cat was paying the price. I didn’t care what his opinion was.
“You’re going to get me a bulletproof vest and a gun, I’m not going in completely unprotected.”
Noah was shaking his head adamantly and we were at a stalemate. Tabitha strode up behind him and spun him around. “Noah, stop being so damn stubborn. The only one who can go in there, with any chance of keeping Cat alive, is Lorenzo. Whoever this crazy woman is, she will shoot first and ask questions later. Take my word for it. I’ve seen how this ends.”
Noah cocked his head and crossed his arms. The two were focused only on each other, and he finally spoke. “You’ve seen how this ends. You do know you both sound absolutely bat shit crazy, right?”
Tabitha threw up her arms and got in his face. “You won’t think we’re so crazy when Lorenzo gets her out alive. Now, whatever he needs, get it. He’s going in, one way or the other.”
Noah noticed me backing up toward the shelter and held his hand out, making the come here motion. He gave one nod to a cop and he handed me his vest. I stripped my shirt off and strapped it on, tugging my shirt back over the top of it. There would be no question I had a vest on, but hopefully with the shirt covering it, she wouldn’t focus on it as much. Noah pulled a gun from a holster behind his back. Before handing it over he stared at me with one brow lowered.
“Do you know how to fire a weapon?”
I held my hand out when I answered. “A Glock 22 is standard issue with internal safety. The gun won’t fire without full depression of the trigger. In a combat situation with a handgun, the closer you are to your target the more accurate you will be with each shot, ensuring the bullet won’t go wide and harm a bystander.”
He flipped the gun around and put the butt of the pistol in my hand. “I would prefer if you don’t use it. Keep it hidden until you feel you have no choice. Try to end this peacefully. I know if anyone can do it, it’s you.”
I gave him a nod and tucked the pistol into my waistband at my side. I couldn’t put it behind my back because the vest wouldn’t allow me to pull it quickly. Another cop handed me a pair of handcuffs and showed me how to work them. I put those in the front pocket of the vest, leaving the shirt unbuttoned far enough to access it.
“Okay, I’m ready. How should I signal you to come in?” I asked, anxious to get to Cat and end this. We’d be visiting a hospital again before we could go home and I didn’t want to delay her treatment
“We’ll be following you into the building. If you’re opening the door, we’ll get in position and listen to how things go down. We’ll be waiting for you to yell all clear when it’s safe for us to advance. If you start shooting, we need to wait for the dust to settle before we move in, since we can’t risk being hit.”
I nodded once. “Understood. Ready?” I asked making eye contact with the group of five guys in front of me.
“Ready,” they said in unison.
I led the way back to the bandshell. I took a deep breath and without thinking about it, opened the door, and stepped inside. The voices ceased instantly when the occupants sensed noise from outside.
“Cat, are you in here? It’s me, Lorenzo,” I called. I wanted whoever had Cat to know I had found them. I hadn’t planned to forewarn them I was coming, but I had to give the police enough time and noise coverage for them to get into position. A small hallway ran in front of me and to my right, and I had to decide which way to go. I caught a flash in my side vision and Noah was motioning for me to go straight.
“Hello? Is anyone here?” I called again, trying to keep my voice steady.
There was a grunt and then Cat’s voice. “Lorenzo? Is that you?”
“Cat? It’s so dark in here. What are you doing so far into the shelter?” I asked, carefully picking my way forward by the light they had clipped to my vest. It wasn’t much bigger than a pen light, but it gave off enough illumination to see the ground and anything on it. I took two more steps and was standing in a great room big enough to hold half the audience of a summer night concert. In the corner Cat lay on the ground, her face lined with pain and her forehead bleeding.
“Lorenzo,” she squeaked, her voice weak. “Please help me.”
It took all my concentration to keep my feet planted in the doorway until her captor turned to me, her smiling face one I recognized, only now evil filled her features in the low light of our flashlights.
“Monica?” I asked, taking two steps forward. “What the hell are you doing here?”
She stepped forward, her gun pointed at me. “I’ve missed you so much, baby,” she cooed.
I took two steps back again as she approached. I didn’t want her to get too close to me and find the gun at my side.
“I’ve waited for you to ask me out since I moved back to Little Ivywood, but you haven’t,” she whined, her lips turning down in a frown.
“I, I didn’t know you were back in town,” I said, my gaze focused on Cat who had closed her eyes. I could see the pain had taken a toll on her and her consciousness was slipping. She would pass out in a few minutes and I didn’t know how long we had to get her to the hospital. Whatever Monica had done to her, it was slowly killing her.
“I’ve been back for two years!” she exclaimed suddenly, as though my answer hadn’t been the right one. “I moved back because I missed you and realized I was wrong. I should have accepted your proposal.”
I edged around to my right, trying to get in front of Cat and block her with my vest in case Monica decided to shoot.
“You broke up with me, Monica. You told me you wanted to be adventurous and see the world, remember?”
