Page 86 of Every Last One

“I’ve secured a deal,” Mindy said over the airwaves. “This ends now. Police will be coming to help you get safely out of the building. Cooperate with them.”

“You’re sure this isn’t a trick?” Carmen asked.

“I’m sure. The FBI is bringing these fat cats their money, so we’ll be free.”

“Okay, then,” Carmen Feeney said.

“All right, I’ll surrender,” Shane Perkins said.

A few seconds of silence before Mindy spoke again.

“Broken Bridge, do you copy?”

“Shit, that’s Tom Sparling,” Brice said. “What’s going to happen if he doesn’t respond?”

“Or if he does and tells her he was knocked on the head and locked in a room?” Gibson said.

A collective hush came over the vehicle as seconds ticked off.

“Broken Bridge, do you copy?” Mindy repeated.

The walkie-talkie crackled.

“Copy, over,” Tom Sparling said. “As long as you’re sure you can trust them.”

Brice faced Sandra. “Sparling’s conscious.”

She expected Sparling to tell Mindy what he’d been through and where he was, but there was nothing more. The frequency went dead. Sandra had a horrible feeling. The release switch inside the storage room. Had he regained consciousness and let himself out? If so, he was roaming the fourth floor again. She turned to Luis. “Can you switch the view so we can see the storage room where Nurse Torres put Tom Sparling?”

Luis did as she asked and gestured at the screen. “Nothing looks any different.”

“Can you back up the footage and see if he came out?”

What they saw from one hour ago sent chills through Sandra and had her feeling it was all her fault.

FORTY-SEVEN

ONE HOUR AGO…

Maria never would have left Jordon’s side if it wasn’t for Sandra’s words running on a spool in her mind.Don’t play the hero… But being a hero was in her DNA. She didn’t fight injustice on the streets like a cop, but she did her part to save lives inside this hospital. Being placed in such a position where her hands were tied by a man who saw fit to storm in here with a gun was infuriating. And watching Jordon in so much pain had her feeling powerless.

She also felt lost without the freedom to conduct her rounds and check in on her patients. They would need her by now. And even if they didn’t, this had dragged on for hours, and they’d be hungry. She’d do what she could.

Dr. Bell tried to discourage her from leaving, and so had Jordon. His pleas had been the hardest to overlook. What if he wasn’t alive when she returned?

But, no, she couldn’t think that way. No good would come from that.

She’d start by checking in on Gail and Phoebe Chapman, but she’d hit the vending machine first. After using change from her pockets and getting two bags of chips, she headed to their room.

She tried the handle and found it was locked. “Gail? It’s me, Nurse Torres. Maria.”

Silence. When they’d parted ways, she told Gail not to answer the door under any circumstances. Maria knocked softly and announced herself again.

This time, the blinds on the door were lifted. Gail peeked through.

Maria tucked inside the room and locked the door behind her. “How are you two?”

Gail looked over her shoulder at her daughter, who was sleeping. “We’re doing all right. Why did you lock the door again? That gunman can’t hurt us now, right?”