Guns 'N' Tulips (4 page)

Connor
wanted to laugh at the indignant look on Rourke’s face. It was
total bullshit of course, but Rourke didn’t know any better.
Keep it up, honey.
Get him a just a little more riled.
And when he was good and distracted, Connor would
take him down.

“Seriously, Rourke. Clock’s ticking,” Connor
said, adding fuel to Rourke’s fire.

“I’m not leaving without the goddamn
money!”

Lily trembled and Connor’s gut knotted. She
wasn’t faking this time. “Give her a little room if you don’t want
her to screw it up again.”

From the lobby, Neil called out, “You guys
almost done? We’re cutting it real close.”

“Shut the fuck up!” Rourke shouted. “We go
when I say.”

Nothing but silence answered him. Connor
nodded at Lily. “Finish it up.”

Together, Joe and Lily turned the dials to
the last digit. Connor pulled the latch and again, the door
remained locked tight.

Rourke spun her around, murder in his eyes.
“Think you’re smart, don’t you? You think that baby in your belly
is going to save you?”

Her pale
skin turned white as Lily’s gaze flew to Connor’s face. “Baby?” His
voice sounded strangled, like a rope had been cinched tight around
his throat.
Christ
! He’d
noticed that her breasts seemed fuller and her hips a little
rounder, but he hadn’t thought much of it beyond knowing he wanted
to put his hands all over her new curves. But a baby? Was it his?
In the months since he’d started this mission, he hadn’t even
considered the possibility that he might lose Lily to another
man.

“I didn’t agree to killing any pregnant
woman,” Owen said, backing away from Joe and lowering his weapon.
At that moment, Connor could have kissed the man. Owen had his
faults, but Connor had heard enough to know the man wanted out.
Rourke probably had something on him to force his continued
cooperation. But maybe… given an opportunity, Owen might turn on
his leader. Owen might be the ally Connor needed right now. But if
Connor was wrong… That thought didn’t bear thinking about.

“I don’t pay you to have morals. If I say she
dies, she dies. Got it?”

Owen took another step back such that Rourke
had to turn to see him. Which put Connor in the perfect position to
jump him. “I don’t know, boss.”

Easing his hand into the waistband of his
jeans, Connor pulled out the security guard’s gun. He aimed it at
Rourke’s back and released the safety. Rourke spun around, his
weapon ready. Connor squeezed the trigger, hitting the man in the
chest before he could pull off a single shot. Rourke fell to the
ground, his hand covering his wound, injured but not dead. Connor
kicked the MP5 out of reach.

“I should never have trusted you. Or you,”
Rourke said to Owen when the man approached.

“You shouldn’t have threatened my girlfriend,
you stupid bag of shit,” Owen said, slamming his boot into the
man’s ribs.

“Let’s tie him up.” Connor leaned down to get
some rope from his backpack.

A flash of movement caught his attention.
Rourke had retrieved his sidearm and now held it pointed at Lily.
Connor felt his heart stop, saw every moment he’d ever shared with
her flash before his eyes, saw every moment he’d dreamed of sharing
with her evaporate into a dark nothingness.

“No!” he shouted, throwing himself in front
of her.

But once again, Owen was there. He raised his
weapon and shot Rourke in the head, twice. Silencing him
permanently. Connor quickly moved to block Lily’s view. She didn’t
need to see Rourke’s eyes go dead. Nor did she need to see the
blood and brains sprayed everywhere, even marking the legs of his
jeans. Almost made him sick. Almost, but not quite. Rourke got what
he’d deserved.

Connor pulled the stocking off his head and
cleared his throat. He needed to know if he and Owen were on the
same side. “Hey, we good, man?”

“Yeah,” he said, removing his own stocking
and dropping it on the ground. “I knew you were still a cop all
along.”

Connor’s eyebrows popped despite his effort
to keep his expression blank. “So why did you risk it?”

“Crazy motherfucker had to be stopped.”

Nodding, Conner clapped him on the shoulder.
“Let’s not declare this ‘mission accomplished’ just yet.” The
report had echoed throughout the bank and the rest of the Bandits
would come running any second. Hopefully, Terrence had stayed
outside with the getaway car. If not, he and Owen would have a
third guy to contend with. Not terrible odds, but two on two was
better.

“Lily, Joe. Get against the wall and don’t
make a sound. As soon as we get Neil and Frank away from the door,
you two run back to the lobby.” He handed the gun to Joe. “This
belongs to the security guard. Give it back to him. He’ll know what
to do to get everyone out of the building. And make sure to tell
the police that the driver and getaway car are at the employees’
entrance.” He reached inside his pant leg and got out his Glock 27,
giving it to Lily.

“What about you?” she asked, her eyes
glistening with tears.

He traced a finger along the soft curve of
her cheek. “I’ll be fine as long as I know you are.”

She smoothed a hand over what he now noticed
was a slightly rounded belly. “It’s yours, you know.”

A lump formed in his throat and he couldn’t
speak. He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. “I love
you,” he whispered. Hearing a noise coming from the offices, he
straightened and pressed a finger to his lips, then indicated the
wall. Lily nodded and she and Joe followed his orders without a
sound.

After picking up Rourke’s MP5, Connor moved
to one side of the entrance to the saferoom while Owen took
position on the opposite side. Weapons drawn, they lay in wait.

Lily plastered herself against the wall.
Armageddon was about to occur and she had a front row seat. Without
being conscious of it, her eyes were drawn to the bloodied ruin of
the man who’d caused this nightmare. A shudder rippled through
her.

An uncertain hand gripped her fingers, gently
squeezing them. She tore her gaze from the horrific sight and
offered Joe a tight smile, grateful for his reassurance.

Suddenly, gunfire erupted, the reverberations
deafening. Connor and Owen drew their former compatriots deeper
into the room. Joe tugged on her hand, pulling her along the wall
toward the door. She searched over her shoulder for Connor in the
melee. He had to be safe, he had to get out of this alive. She and
the baby needed him.

Joe urged her to hurry. Together they raced
toward the lobby. “Tony!” Joe shouted. “We need to get everyone out
of here.”

The bank employees and patrons stared at
them. “Let’s go. It’s safe,” she said, reaching for old Mrs.
Lundquist. The poor woman looked shaken.

Joe handed Tony his pistol. The security
guard’s large hand closed around the grip and a renewed sense of
authority seemed to fill him. His spine straightened and his
shoulders pushed back. “Listen”—he cupped his ear—“the cops just
arrived. We’ll need to go out one at time with our hands in the
air. Joe, you go first. Let them know we’re coming out. Use the
word hostages. That should get them to stand down.”

Worry churning in her gut, Lily urged
everyone toward the door. She hadn’t even considered that the cops
might be confused, seeing them run out of the bank. But Tony was
right. They needed to be careful.

And what about Connor? Did any of the cops
outside even know he was undercover? Or would they think he was one
of the Bandits and gun him down the second he stepped through the
door? Her belly cramped painfully, making her stumble. Mrs.
Lundquist held her arm tightly until she regained her balance.

“We’ll be okay, dear. The police won’t shoot
a little old lady like me.” She smiled and patted Lily’s hand.

Joe inched the door open and shouted, “This
is Joe Romano, the bank manager. The hostages are coming out.”

A voice on a bullhorn responded. “Come out in
single-file with your hands above your heads.”

Joe went out first, walking slowly. An
officer raced up to him and pulled him to the side behind an
ambulance. Lily sent Mrs. Lundquist out next. Then one by one, the
others exited. Finally, it was her turn. She gripped Tony’s arm.
“The tall one they call Conman? And the other one, Owen? Don’t hurt
them. They saved me and Joe.”

Tony nodded. “Go ahead now, Ms.
Stephens.”

As soon as she was out the door, an officer
whisked her to the side. “Anyone else?” he asked.

“The security guard. But listen, two of the
Bandits helped us. Please don’t shoot them.” She wanted to tell him
that Connor was undercover, but he’d made her promise not to say
anything. “Oh, and there’s a driver waiting in a getaway car near
the employees’ side door.”

“Not to worry, ma’am. We already got
him.”

Thank goodness. Two against two was
definitely better odds for Connor. But that assumed Owen, an
admitted criminal, could be trusted. Her stomach tightened again.
Rubbing it, she blew out a breath and tried to relax. All this
worry wasn’t doing her or the baby any good.

Now that she had a moment to look around, she
noticed many familiar faces. Several of the men and women with
their guns drawn and pointed at the bank entrance were members of
Connor’s unit. A few of them had to know he was undercover. One of
the men broke from the ranks and approached her.

“Lily?”

Ease washed over her when she recognized
Connor’s partner. If anyone could help Connor, it would be him.
“Paul. Thank God.” She gripped his arm and pulled herself up on her
toes to whisper in his ear. “Connor’s in the bank. You’ve got to
make sure he gets out safe.”

“I’m sorry, Lily. Connor’s on his own.”

“But he’s your partner!”

Paul scowled. “Ex-partner. It’s taken me four
months to live that down. Don’t start it up again.”

“But he said he was under—”

“Whatever he said, don’t believe any of it.
Connor’s a liar. You can take the boy out of the South Side, but
you can’t take the South Side out of the boy. He’s still the same
safe-cracking hood he used to be.”

Well, that certainly answered her question.
If Connor’s own partner didn’t know he was undercover, the others
wouldn’t either. Fear for Connor’s safety clawed at her chest,
making it hard to breathe. Just as she decided to tell Paul
everything, his chin snapped up and his eyes focused on the bank’s
entrance. “Something’s happening. Get behind the ambulance.”

She clutched his arm. “Don’t—” Her dry throat
closed around the words. She swallowed and tried again. “Please,
don’t hurt him. This isn’t what it seems.”

Paul
shook his head, pity in his eyes. “You need to let him go, Lily.
Forget him. He chose the fast road, now he has to pay the toll.
These Bandit bastards have been
killing
people.” He nudged her toward the ambulance and,
taking out his gun, crouched behind the fender of a police
vehicle.

Lily positioned herself so she could see the
door to the bank. Could Paul be right? Had Connor duped her? While
she and the others distracted the police, he and the rest of the
Bandits might even now be absconding with the money from the teller
drawers. It wasn’t a fortune, but it was something.

On the other hand, Connor had done everything
he could to protect her and the other hostages. He’d even shot
Rourke. Shuddering, she remembered the blood and… other stuff on
Connor’s pant legs. Had that been just so he could take over the
gang?

She shivered and wrapped her arms around her
waist. An EMT placed a blanket over her shoulders. Lily smiled at
him in thanks.

Either way, she’d know soon. If Connor didn’t
come out of the bank in the next minute or so, she’d know he’d lied
to her yet again. But if he did come out in peace, she’d do
whatever she could to make sure he got through this alive. She owed
it to him, owed it to their baby.

Just then, Connor appeared through the door,
Owen close behind him. Their hands, held out to their sides, were
empty. The officer with the bullhorn shouted for them to drop to
the ground. As she watched, her heart in her throat, Connor
complied. And then the cops descended on him like a swarm of army
ants.

The perfect end to the perfect fucking
day.

Connor
lay face down in the dirty slush covering the sidewalk. He looked
around, trying to catch a glimpse of Lily, but all he saw were
boots. Boots that were approaching his face, his ribs, his
legs.
Oh
Jesus
.

“Stand back,” a familiar voice shouted.
Connor clenched his teeth, biting back a groan when he spotted Paul
weaving through the crowd of officers. He could only imagine the
razzing Paul had taken when Connor had been jailed on bribery
charges. They’d been partners, best friends, and it must have felt
like being slapped in the face. No. It would have felt like being
stabbed in the back.