Hunted (27 page)

“It’s obvious we’re at an impasse,” Kramer said. “Who’s going to make the first move?” He locked eyes with Will and slowly slipped his hand into his pants pocket.

Will’s demeanor screamed cold and calculated, but Emma saw the vein pulsing on his neck. He was hesitating. Because of her. Anger burned in her chest and the pendant scorched her skin.

Kramer slowly slipped out a phone with a smile of victory raising the corners of his mouth. “Excuse me while I make a call.” He began to push buttons.

Emma held her breath.
Oh, my God. We’re trapped
. They’d be locked up and watched like caged animals possibly for the rest of her life and she’d never get Jake. Rage over his smugness and intimidation blistered her throat and she recognized the ball of power and electricity building in her core. She couldn’t let him get away with this.

“Stop.” She growled, electricity tingling on her arms.

Kramer paused, his finger hovering over his phone. His arm jerked and shook. He looked up his eyes wide and his mouth gaping.

She couldn’t believe he did what she said. In her peripheral vision, she saw Will turn to her in shock.

“Who are you calling?” she asked.

His mouth twisted in a grimace. He appeared to be struggling against himself. “Security,” He muttered through clenched teeth.

“Put the phone down on the table.”

Kramer’s hand shook as he reached for the table, phone in his hand. His face paled and his voice rose in panic. “What are you
doing to me?
” The phone dropped onto the table with a clank.

“Ensuring our getaway.” She turned to Will, unsure what to do next. “Where’s James?”

“Taken care of. I only need to worry about you.”

She raised her eyebrow in mock surprise. “Funny, I thought it was the other way around.”

Will walked to the door and put his ear next to it.

“What should we do with him?” she asked, fear creeping in to replace her anger. How had she controlled him? Kramer’s mouth twisted in agony, his eyes wide with terror.

“Can you make him tell them to remove the security guards outside the door?”

“I don’t know.” She turned to Kramer, but the stone around her neck had already began to cool. She thought about what he planned to do to her and the rage returned, along with the power.

Will moved toward her and she lowered her voice. “I have no idea how much I can control him. What if he’s on the phone and he tells them we’re here?”

“I’m willing to take the chance. If we walk out of here with them still out there we’ll get the same results. At least this way we have a shot.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She focused on the power and then on Kramer and making him do what she wanted.

Kramer grabbed his head. “Stop,” he groaned.

“Emma…” Will said.

“I’m trying.”

“I think you’re trying too hard. Scale it back.”

Kramer seemed to be in even more pain than before. What if she killed him? “I’ve never done this, Will. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Her voice rose with her panic.

“It’s okay, take a deep breath. You’re doing great. Maybe not so intense.”

The power in her chest felt like it was about to explode. Kramer laid his head on the arm of the chair, rolling in agony. She knew she had to release some of it or the result would be disastrous. Instinctively, she lowered the gate to the power, letting it travel down her arms and through her fingertips, The room filled with electricity.

Kramer stopped moaning.

“Emma, what the hell was
that?
” Will asked.

“It’s okay.” She took a deep breath. She felt more in control and centered herself on the power tumbling inside. Somehow she knew she could do this. “Kramer, pick up your phone.”

He sat up and retrieved the phone off the table.

“Look at me,” she said.

He looked toward her, the fear on his face dissolving into blankness.

“Scott,” she said in a soothing voice. “I need you to do something for me. Will you help me?”

He nodded.

“That’s good, very good.” Her voice was soft and sweet, like a mother to a child. “I need you to tell the security guards in front of the apartment that you don’t need them and to leave. Will you do that for me?”

“Yes,” he mumbled softly.

“Thank you. You can call them now.” She moved so that she could keep an eye on him and on the door.

He punched numbers on the phone and Emma tightened the grip on her gun, the slick of sweat on her palm making the handle slippery.

Kramer raised the phone to his ear.

Will lifted his gun.

Kramer stared at the wall with a dead look in his eyes. “This is Kramer. Call off the security guards in front of my apartment.” His voice sounded tired.

“You can hang up.”

Kramer pressed a button on the phone.

“Thank you, Scott.” She turned to Will. “Now what?”

“We’ll wait for the guards to disperse, then we’ll leave.”

“What about him?”

“We’ll leave him here. We should have enough time to get away.”

Remnants of power still coursed through her body. She took a deep breath and shook her arms.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Will leaned toward her. “Look at him. He’s still under your control.”

“Is there anything we want to get out of him?”

“Of course, where to start is the question.”

Emma knelt down in front of Kramer. “Scott, why did your group think I was the woman in the prophecy?”

His vacant eyes stared at her. “Walker told us. He read the papers and did the research and translations. He said you were the one.”

“But how did he know? How did you know where to find me?”

“Walker insisted it was you. Alex said Walker gave him your location six years ago.”

Emma shot a glance to Will.

His mouth pressed into a tight line.

“So why not capture me sooner? Why wait?”

“Walker insisted that you not be brought to us until it was time. He said we weren’t allowed to interfere.”

The hairs on Emma’s neck stood on end. Raphael had said the same thing. That he wasn’t allowed to interfere.

Will knelt beside her. “I thought Warren was in charge. Why is Walker calling the shots?”

“No one questions Walker.”

“Why not?” Emma asked.

Kramer didn’t answer.

“Why not?” Will asked, lowering his voice.

“I don’t know.” Kramer said.

Emma’s eyes widened as she turned to Will.

An explosion rattled the windows and shouts erupted behind the building. Will stood and dimmed the light, checking out the back window. “They’ve found James’ trap. That’s our diversion. We need to go.”

Emma rose. “But—”

“You already got more out of him than I ever hoped to. Let’s not take any chances. The guards are focused on James in the back. We’ll go out the front. Keep an eye on Kramer.” Will moved to the door to the bedroom and stopped in the opening. “If you feel threatened, go ahead and shoot him.”

She held her gun on Kramer, but he seemed more a zombie than the man she talked to ten minutes earlier. His eyes were vacant and his mouth now drooped on one side. What if she’d damaged his brain?

Will returned with several neckties. “Have him move to the office chair.”

Emma gave him the order and he rose and sat in the seat she pointed to.

Will tied his arms and legs to the dining room chair then gagged him with a tie.

“Should I try to release him?” Emma whispered. As much as she wanted him in his zombie state, she needed to know she hadn’t permanently injured him.

Will sensed her apprehension. He lifted her chin with his fingers, searching her eyes. “If it were up to me, I’d have you scramble his brains, but I know what that would do to you. So, if you need to release him, go ahead.”

She nodded, her lips pressed tight, then knelt in front of Kramer. “Scott, look at me,” she whispered.

His expressionless eyes stared into hers.

“You are no longer under my control. I free you.” To her surprise, she felt the bond disconnect.

His eyes widened as he realized he was bound. He began to rock in his chair as he struggled to free himself.

Her shoulders tensed and her voice tightened. “I’m feeling generous today. I might not be so lenient next time.” She stood up and turned to Will. “Let’s go.”

***

Will looked through the peephole. “There’s still one guard in the hall.”

“What are we going to do?” He heard the anxiety in her voice.

He never should have brought her along. Goddamn that James. Now he had to worry about keeping Emma safe, although he had to admit she had gotten information from Kramer. The way she controlled him...when had she learned that? Shivers crawled down his spine. What was Emma capable of?

“I’ll take care of the guard,” he said.

“Don’t kill him.”

He looked down at her, shaking his head. “You know he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot us.”

“That doesn’t mean we need to sink to their level.”

He took a deep breath. “Okay, stand over there.” He pointed to a corner in the entryway then cracked the door open after she’d moved.

After a few seconds, the guard shoved a shoulder through the crack. “Mr. Kramer?”

Will smashed the shotgun butt onto the man’s head and he crumpled to the floor. Will dragged him out of the opening while Emma shut the door behind him.

Kramer rocked the chair in the other room, the gag muffling his shouts.

Will took off the guard’s belt and tied his hands behind his back, looping it around a table leg in the process. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a set of keys. He figured the guy had to have a car on the grounds. The only problem would be finding it. He walked over to the window and saw a parking lot scattered with cars at the other side of the complex.

“That will detain him for awhile, but not long,” Will said. “We need to get moving.” He glanced out the peephole again and mumbled, “It’s clear.” Opening the door, he peered into the hall before he grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door and into the stairwell.

“Where’s James?” she whispered as they sprinted down the stairs.

“I sent him to the car. I told him I’d call him after we got away.”

“Aren’t you worried? You said they found him.”

“No, they found the diversion he created. He should have been long gone by the time they found it. I sent him off when Kramer came into the apartment. He snuck out the window.”

“He
jumped
four floors?”

“No, he rappelled.”

“Of course he repelled.” Sarcasm dripped from her words.

Will couldn’t help his smile. They reached the first floor and Will continued descending.

“Where are we going?”

“The basement.” It amazed him that she didn’t ask why and just followed his lead.

He’d prefer to go out the back door and slink along the back of the buildings, working their way to the parking lot full of cars. But the guards would be out there after finding James’ pipe bomb. The front was more inconspicuous, but he doubted Emma would be inconspicuous. She was a woman in a compound filled mostly with men. She’d draw the attention of the guards.

Which meant he had to hide her.

They stopped at the basement landing of the stairwell. After checking for activity, they entered a large room with concrete walls filled with discarded furniture.

“What are you looking for?” she asked.

“This.” He walked over to a rolling trash cart, half full of trash bags. He took her hand and led her to it.

“Oh. No.”

“Oh, yes. But not yet.” He opened a closet door and rummaged around until he found a work shirt, shrugging his arms into the sleeves.

“Carl?” she asked, reading the name on the shirt. “I knew a Carl once.”

Lifting an eyebrow. “Did you, now?” He put his hands on her waist. “Time to take a ride.”

She didn’t argue as he lifted her up and swung her over the cart edge. He released her as her feet touched the bottom and she began shoving bags out of the way.

“This is disgusting.”

“Exactly, that’s why it’s the perfect place to hide.”

“Are you sure I can’t push you?”

“No way. When I was a little boy I wanted to be a trash man. It’s the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.”

She squatted down and looked up at him, surrounded by bags. “Far be it for me to keep you from fulfilling your fantasy.”

“Princess, I’ve had plenty of fantasies about you and none have ever involved trash.” He handed her his gun and backpack. “I hope this works, but in case we get into trouble, don’t hesitate to use this.”

“What about you?”

He tucked his handgun into a holster under his shirt. “I’ve got this, but hopefully I won’t need it.” She nodded.

“Sorry, time to for you to hide now,” he said as he moved some to the bags to cover her head.

“You get us out of this and maybe we can work on one of your non-trash-related fantasies,” she said, her voice muffled by the bags.

“Now there’s an incentive.” He pushed the cart toward the elevator. “No talking from here on out.”

The doors opened to an empty box. Will released a sigh of relief as he wheeled the cart inside and pushed the button for the first floor. He tried to act lackadaisical for the camera in the corner. It would be a miracle if they got out of this without gunfire, but he still hoped for the best.

The first-floor lobby was empty with the exception of a security guard at the front desk, the hum of the floor polishers noticeably absent. The guard looked up at Will with narrowed eyes and stood up from his chair. Will pushed the cart toward the front doors, ignoring the man.

“Where’s Mitch?” the guard asked.

“Uh, I think he’s off tonight.” Will kept his head down.

The guard walked around the desk. “What’s your name? I need to check your credentials.”

“Stan McEntire.”

“How come you’re wearing Carl’s shirt?” His hand gripped the handle of his gun on his belt.

Will shrugged, trying to look bored. “I’m a temp. Got called in the last minute and had to use his shirt.”

The guard studied him, dropping his hand from the handle of his gun. “I wasn’t notified that you were filling in. After the incident a few weeks ago, they always notify me of personnel changes.” He walked behind the desk.