Unbreakable (5 page)

I smiled faintly. “They don’t call me the Shark Lady for nothing.”

“Who calls you that?”
“It’s a reputation I have, down at Superior Court.”

He frowned as if he didn’t like the sound of it. “And that’s a good thing?”

I used to think so. Until this moment.
I gave myself a shake, vowing to stop letting this man unravel my thoughts and feelings with just a word. A look.

“My father was a great litigator,” I said. “The best. They called him the Great White and now I’m following in his footsteps. Or I hope to, anyway.”

“He must be proud of you,” Cory said, a strange melancholy flashing over his face then gone again. “But you don’t look like a shark to me.”

I could find no response to that, and silence fell between us. Cory looked lost in his own thoughts for a bit before saying, “It’s pretty expensive to hire a lawyer, right?”
“Can be,” I said. “Depends on the lawyer.”

As he had when we were standing in line, Cory looked as if he were about to say something more but changed his mind.

“Do you…
need
a lawyer?” I ventured cautiously. “I mean…when we get out?”

He stared straight ahead for a moment and then looked back at me. “I’m good.”

We said nothing more, and this time the silence stretched.

I leaned back against the wall and half-dozed, turning our conversation over and over in my mind, like clothes in a dryer. As I drifted in that strange twilight between awake and asleep, I imagined a courtroom in which Cory Bishop was the David going up against an insubstantial Goliath, and I was there, briefcase in hand, ready to go to battle.

Who do you fight for?

With shame burning my cheeks, I heard myself say,
I don’t know.

Cory

Of all the damn days…

I sighed and leaned against the wall, trying not to think of all the ways this robbery was screwing me over. No sense in worrying about what I couldn’t fix, but I’d have a helluva mess to clean up when we go out.

So what else is new?

I brushed that aside. If Pops heard me say something like that—and still had his wits about him—he’d smack me upside the head for feeling sorry for myself. And he’d be right. Shit happened, and we just had to deal with it. Even being held hostage in a bank robbery wouldn’t let me off the hook in his book. I knew what he would say if he were here. I could hear his voice, hard, like granite, “You gotta take care of these people so when you get out, you can live with
yourself
.”

I nodded, and tried to think of something else. Something good.

Callie.

I smiled automatically when I thought of her. Like a reflex. I wondered what she was doing right then. Did she know about the robbery yet? I hoped not.
She’d be scared and there was no way to tell her I was okay. My smile slipped away.

Keep these people safe, get out, get back to Callie.

With a goal in mind, I felt a bit better. I looked down at the woman dozing against my shoulder and my smile returned.

Alexandra Gardener.

Christ, she was beautiful. Stunning. I admit, inappropriate thoughts had flooded my brain when I first saw her. But she was one of those Beverly Hills-type professionals: career-driven, rich, meticulous. I’d lived in LA all my life and knew the type well.

But Alex surprised me with our small talk in line—before the monster squad busted in the door to ruin our day—and again with her speech to calm the group down. She wasn’t stuck-up or standoffish. Smart. Funny. And those eyes…Like a summer sky on a cloudless day.

I wasn’t stupid enough—or
deluded
enough—to think anything was going to come of it if we survived this mess. Her shoes probably cost more than my car payment.

But there was a spark in her, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. She projected a tough exterior, but it was like a shield. Shark Lady, they called her, and I guess she was okay with that. Made her dad proud. That was something I could appreciate. It was something I’d strived for my entire life. But sharks conjured images of eyes rolling to dead black, and rows of jagged teeth.

Alex reminded me of some Irish warrior goddess—all red hair and fierceness. She was probably a sight to see in the courtroom. I bet she’d make hash out of whatever two-bit ambulance–chaser Georgia had hired against me. But it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that a lawyer of Alex’s caliber was far out of my price range—
every
lawyer was out of my price range, even two-bit ambulance chasers. So when Alex asked me if I needed one, I didn’t even bother.

And tough as she was, I felt a strange, almost primal desire to protect her. It was probably nothing. The situation was seriously fucked, and that guy, Frankie, made my skin itch. I didn’t like how he looked at me, but I could deal with that. It was how he looked at Alex that made me want to put my fist through his mask. I’d have to watch out for her. For all of them.

“I have to take a leak,” Roy said.

Carol snorted. “Nice manners.”

“I do too,” Tanya whispered. “Use the restroom, I mean.”

I was in the same boat. Hours had passed since we’d been locked in the meeting room without the first clue about what was happening between the cops and robbers.

I glanced around the room. “Anyone else?”

Murmured assents or nods.

I started to get to my feet when I felt Alex’s hand on my arm, gently holding me back.

“Hey,” she said. “Be careful.”

Her face was soft now, free of the stiffness that had been there as we talked about her work. I smiled at her in what I hoped was a reassuring manner.

I got to my feet and slowly approached the window in the wall. I kept to the side, giving Frankie a chance to see me in his peripheral vision, but the twitchy bastard didn’t turn. I knocked lightly on the glass and then flinched—everyone in the room flinched—as Frankie spun around, his face twisted in fear and fury. He had pushed the monster mask up onto his greasy hair revealing a face pocked with scars and emaciated. Drugs, probably. Awesome. A junky with an AR-15.

I fell back as Frankie slammed opened the door, and screams erupted as he leveled his weapon’s muzzle at me. My stomach clenched and my balls tried to crawl up into my guts. It only took the slightest touch to rattle off a dozen rounds with one of those things and he was jumpy as hell. This was it. I was going to die.

Callie, I love you…

“What the fuck you think you’re doing? Sneaking up on me? Get on the ground, asshole! Now!”

I returned to my spot against the wall beside Alex, walking on legs that felt like Jell-O. My breath came in harsh gasps but anger was fast burning up that first jolt of terror.

“Relax, man,” I said. “I wasn’t trying to get the jump on you. We got people here who need to use the restroom.”

Frankie froze for the space of a few heartbeats and then burst out laughing—an obscene giggle. “Gotta go pee-pee?” He snickered and wiped his nose. “All right. Hold up.”

He disappeared for a moment and the entire room breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” Tanya said to me, and Sylvie, sitting beside her, nodded.

Frankie reappeared in the door a minute later. “All right, piggies. Field trip. One at a time.” He indicated for Roy to stand up. “Slowly, fat man, or I spray the wall with your guts.”

One by one, we took turns filing out of the office. Wolfman did the escorting so Frankie could remain on guard. When it was Alex’s turn, I felt every muscle in my body tense as she slowly got to her feet.

“Come on, Red,” Frankie exhorted. “We don’t got all day.”

Alex squared her shoulders and started to slip through the doorway but Frankie moved to block her. He leered at her and she averted her face, as if he smelled sour. My hands clenched into fists.

Frankie giggled. “You’re a pretty one, aren’t you? Gotta pee-pee, angel? Need any help?”

Alex said nothing, gave him nothing to show he was riling her. She squeezed past him, into the hallway.
Good for you, Alex
. I eased a sigh as Wolfman, still wearing his mask, led her away, out of Frankie’s reach.

“You just holler if you change your mind,” Frankie called after, chortling like a dope. His jumpy, housefly gaze landed on me and an ugly sneer spread over his face. “I see you watching us, pretty boy.” He cocked his head, mockingly curious. “You don’t like how I talk to Red? No, you don’t like that at all, do you?”

Fuck.
I averted my eyes, vowing to keep them anywhere but on Alex when she returned.

Too late. When she came back, Frankie danced back and forth like an eager mutt. “Feel better, Red?” He glanced at me, then her. Back and forth, gauging how I reacted without the smallest shred of subtlety. And I couldn’t help but look.

Alex said nothing, but braced to move past him. Again, Frankie blocked her path, moved closer, until she was backed against the doorjamb, his body against hers. He leaned in, nosed her neck, and inhaled noisily. “Mmm, you smell good. Like money.”

“Hey, man,” I said, striving to keep my voice flat. “Leave her alone.”

“But she likes me, don’t you, Red?” Frankie’s free hand crept up to her breast. “I think she likes me a lot—”

A red haze of rage descended. I surged to my feet, ready to rip the fucker’s throat out, but Frankie backed off quickly, and swiveled his weapon toward me.

“I knew you couldn’t stay put. Ha! A bully, just like I thought. Big strong guy…break me in half with your bare hands right?” He laughed and hefted his AR-15. “You ain’t shit to
this
.”

“Be cool, man,” I said, holding up my hands and trying desperately to follow my own advice. “Just leave her alone.”

“Fuck you!” Frankie spat a wad of saliva. I think he was aiming for my face, but he was too far away and the yellowish blob landed at my feet.

“Come on, Frankie,” Wolfman said from the hallway. “Let’s wrap this up. Who’s next?”

Frankie hesitated and I could see a thousand different chaotic thoughts dancing behind his eyes. Finally, he barked at Alex to sit down and she did, avoiding meeting my eyes as she passed me. I wanted to tell her it was okay, to comfort her somehow, but Frankie was jabbering at me to take my turn.

“I don’t like you,” he said as I went to the door. “I don’t like you
at all
.”

It took all I had to not shove the bastard out of my face. “Feeling’s mutual.”

In the hallway, Wolfman took up position behind me. “Eyes forward. No talking.”

We walked down a short corridor perpendicular to the hallway in which our office room was located. I saw other offices filled with hostages, no more than about ten to a room, and made a mental note to tell Amita so she could pass it on to the cops. I didn’t know exactly what good it would do, but I figured the more info they had, the better. Especially about the monster squad. By my count, there were only six of them but I couldn’t say for sure. I’d only seen three since we’d been moved. I tried to get a count of more, or anything else I thought might be useful, but the men’s employee bathroom came up on the left.

“Two minutes,” Wolfman said.

I used the restroom and then took a minute at the sink to splash some cold water on my face, trying to think. Frankie was bad news. Someone was going to end up seriously hurt or killed if he wasn’t dealt with.
And if he touches Alex again…

My hands clenched again at the memory of that filthy bastard’s hand on her. The rage had been hot and immediate. Potent.
You’d feel the same it were any woman there,
I told myself. Maybe. I knew I’d defend any woman the same way, but the ugly feeling in my chest when he touched Alex? That outrage had an edge of fear to it that I couldn’t explain.

When my time was up, I fell in place ahead of Wolfman.

“Hey man, Frankie’s a loose cannon,” I said. “You think you can put him somewhere else? Away from the other hostages?”

“I said, no talking.”

He sounded like a regular guy, not some cartoon villain, despite the mask he still wore over his face. I took a risk and stopped. “Listen, I—”

Instantly, Wolfman’s AR-15 came up and his eyes under the mask widened. “The fuck are you doing?”

My hands shot up. “Nothing, I swear. Just trying to warn you, Frankie’s going to kill someone. You know that, right? Is that part of your grand plan?”

Under his mask, Wolfman was pissed at me, but scared too. Maybe more than a little. “Shut up, turn around, and keep walking.”

I had no choice but to do what he said, but I kept my arms up, to show I meant no harm. For all I knew, Wolfman was just as twitchy on the trigger as Frankie.

Just as we turned the corner to our hallway he said in a low voice, “He’s Drac’s brother.”

I turned my head just enough to glance back. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Wolfman said heavily. “He’s not going anywhere.”

At the office, Frankie didn’t say anything, only snickered a little, and let me move past him. The others took their turn going to the bathroom, and when the door was shut with Frankie safely on the other side, Alex took my arm.

“He’s got it out for you,” she whispered.

“I noticed.”

“No, I’m serious. He’s planning something. I saw it in his face when you left, and just now again, when you came back. When your back was turned.”

“I’ll be careful.”

She huffed irritably. “Be more than careful. Don’t say a word to him. No matter what happens. No matter what he does—”

“I’m not going to let him touch you, Alex,” I said with more intensity than I’d intended. The others were watching. “You, or anyone else,” I added, louder.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Oh joy of joys. I knew you were going to play the hero.”

“Shut up, Roy,” Carol snapped but the big man barreled on as if he hadn’t heard.

“You talk tough, Bishop, but they’ve got the guns. You don’t.”

“He’s right,” Alex said. “And Frankie’s waiting for a chance to use his, Cory. I can see it.”

I shrugged. They didn’t get it. Roy sure as shit didn’t, and neither did Alex. But that was okay. She didn’t have to get it. She just had to live.

I looked down to find her watching me through narrowed eyes, picking apart my silence. “I can take care of myself,” she said finally.

“I don’t doubt that,” I replied, somehow not surprised that she read me so well. “But if he touches you again I’m going to break his fingers.”

Alex sat back against the wall, taking that in, studying me again with those sky blue eyes of hers. “I’ve never heard a man say something like that and actually mean it. Not just bluster.”

I shrugged again.

She sighed irritably. “Don’t get yourself killed, Cory. Please.”