Page 9 of Dark OZ

My mouth hung open. I was transfixed by this impossible girl, like the swinging of the emerald had just stolen all of my common sense and there wasn’t a brain cell left in my body.

“Options are in short supply and we are running out of time,pretty boy.” Lengthening her spine to stand tall, she grinned down at me with smug triumph.

I was going to regret this.

“I’m not taking you to the Wizard, but if you get us out of this building, I’ll do my best to keep you alive until we can figure out what happens next.” I flipped the locks. “Get in.”

“Wait. I have to do something first.”

“Sorry, what?” She had to be out of her mind. “This isn’t a leisure cruise. Get the fuck in the car.”

“No.”

I stared her down. For probably the tenth time in as many minutes, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She held out her hand in a gimme motion.

“Give me your gun.”

“Now, I know you’re joking. I’m not giving you my gun.”

“We don’t have time for this. Do you want out of this garage or not? I’m not leaving until I do this. The longer you hold out, the longer this will take.”

I climbed out of the car. “Lead the way but make it quick.”

She strode straight for the Cyclone Shipping truck parked at the loading dock. From the plates, it was the same truck I’d seen arrive earlier. Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place: her general state of distress, her clearly abused body, the desperation in the way she drove that snow globe into Eastin’s face. Without a doubt, I knew exactly what cargo that truck was hauling.

Without waiting to be asked, I leveled my gun and shot off the padlock keeping the back hatch shut. The girl didn’t even flinch from the loud bang that was still echoing in my ears. Just how desensitized was she? Putting her whole body weight into it, she swung the doors open.

Inside, nearly a dozen women shrank from the sudden influx of light. A few scrambled away from the door as far as their bound arms would allow. Others cried with hope to their saviors.

Heh. Imagine it, me, a savior. There was a twist for the ages. The girl pulled a release on a chain, and the restraints holding the women in place dropped to their laps.

“Now we can go,” she said with finality. The sounds of voices and screeching tires echoed around us.

“Not a second too soon.”

We hurried back to the still-running cab. She hopped in beside me, bare legs sliding over the leather interior. “Things are about to get a little bit hot around here. You’re going to want to buckle up.” I reached over her lap, clicking her seat belt in place. She hissed in pain when my elbow brushed her side.

The dinging sound announcing the elevator chimed behind us. Leaning out of my window, my gun bucked as I fired off three shots in quick succession. I floored the gas pedal before I could see if any of them got back up. Unlikely, but hey, even I miss sometimes.

Tall steel pylons gleamed in the floodlights, blocking the exit. I was betting on the system recognizing the emerald and Eastin’s self-centered need to never wait. It was a dangerous bet because if it didn’t pay off, we were about to slam headfirst into an unmovable barrier.

As we approached the pillars, they lowered swiftly. With a yelp of excitement, I dropped the car into a lower gear and blazed up the spiraling ramp, drifting on each curve. Barrier after barrier parted for us.

Flashing my eyes on the rearview mirror, I said, “That didn’t take long.”

“What didn’t take long?” The girl twisted, her long hair catching in the wind from the still-open window and slapping me in the face.

Two cars advanced, nearly clipping my rear fender. A spray-painted sign on the wall indicated we were approaching the exit, along with several armed gunmen on either side of the gate. Bullets caught in the windshield, spraying the concrete wall behind us.

“Don’t worry. It’s bulletproof glass.”

I rolled down my window.

“Bulletproof glass doesn’t work when you roll the windows down!”

“Lean back for me, sweetness.”

“What?”

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