Page 153 of Guarding Grace

“Did you hear what he said?” Marci sobbed.

I pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back. “He’s a blowhard. We’re not letting anything happen to you.”

“We?”

“Terry and the guys are looking for us right now. When they arrive, that bastard is going to learn a very difficult lesson.”

“Zane too?” Her Zane interest hadn’t diminished one bit.

“Zane too,” I assured her. Recalling Terry’s advice that anything could be a useful weapon, I added, “I’m going to see what we have here.”

Reluctantly, she let me go.

A mattress with dubious stains lay in the corner. Above it, a set of handcuffs attached by a chain to an eyebolt in the wall was a haunting reminder of the fate that befell the women Marku captured. Two ratty chairs were farther in the room, and a metal cabinet.

“You’re hurt?”

“I tried to run, and I twisted my ankle.”

From the look of the swelling, she’d probably sprained it.

I examined the chairs. They were metal, but I couldn’t see a way I could get a piece loose to use as a bat, and the chairs were too heavy for me to swing as a weapon.

Terry could probably heave one across the room and take a bad guy out, but no way was I capable of something like that.

The cabinet contained piles of shop towels. Then, behind one pile, I found a spray canister of carburetor cleaner. In the movies, the underdogcould use a can of hairspray and a lighter to make a flamethrower. This was close, but we didn’t have a way of making a flame. Still, I took the canister and closed the cabinet.

“We should sit.” It was time for a frank talk.

She sat in one chair.

I settled into the other and took her hand. This was going to be hard. “If I get a chance, I’m going to attack and make a run for it.”

“Do you think we can make it outside?”

“You need to stay put.” With her ankle the way it was, she couldn’t possibly keep up.

“But—”

I squeezed her hand. “I’ll come back for you. You know that, right?”

She nodded with tears in her eyes.

“Trust me. It’ll be safer for you this way. Their anger will be directed at me.” The truth was that in their minds, they needed me to get their hands on the stupid case the Korean wanted. If I ran, they had to catch me.

Marci fidgeted. If she stayed put, she had value to them. If she ran, she was expendable, and they wouldn’t hesitate to shoot.

Looking down at my footwear, I was damned glad I’d chosen these heeled boots instead of the cute stilettos that had called to me. These weren’t as good as my Nikes, but I could run without breaking an ankle.

Marci bounced her knees. “What now?”

“We sit and wait.” Sitting in the chair gave me the best chance of hiding the canister from view until it was time. I moved the writing pen from my pocket to the chair and sat on it. That way I wouldn’t grab the wrong one from my shirt pocket when he was close enough to attack.

Terry

I waited in my office,giving Jordy the space I had been ordered to give him. I finished another lap around my desk and sat down to reread the news article on the computer screen for the millionth time.

“Don’t worry,” Duke said from across the hall.