Page 27 of Valor (Long Hot Summer: Christian Romantic Suspense #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Heather had never experienced a hospital-wide emergency before. A scream from the end of the hall sent everyone into a panic. Heather used the distraction to get out of her bed. She’d heard the warning. A gunman was in the hospital. They were coming for her. If she could find an officer, she could tell them Micha was part of this assault on the hospital.

“Heather Sundin?” someone called her name.

She glanced around and noticed her nurse looking into her empty room. She ducked into the bathroom to avoid being seen. After counting to sixty twice, she slowly opened the door. Her nurse was gone.

People stared at her from their rooms, curiosity making their eyes wide. None of them called to her, which was good because she had no answers. She knew what Eric and Aaron looked like and would know to run if she saw them, even if they weren’t brandishing weapons.

The halls were all dark, with occasional flashing lights where the walls met the ceiling. The darkness made the hospital scarier than the noise. Hospitals were supposed to be full of light. Even when she’d wanted dark, there was always too much light.

“Ma’am, you need to go back to your room. Follow the arrows near the blinking lights.” A uniformed security guard met her at a nurse’s station.

“If patients know to follow the arrows, won’t the bad guys do the same?” The question seemed legitimate, but he didn’t answer her. He pointed the direction she’d come and stood in her path.

She headed back and went into the stairwell. Thankfully, she was able to go down to the next floor. Allen hadn’t been on that one anyway. She reached the next floor and pushed on the door. The bar clicked but wouldn’t open. It required a key card. She peered through the window, but that hallway was completely dark.

Her only other option was the main floor. That was most likely where the trouble was. If they locked down the elevators and most of the stairwells, the men would be contained on the first floor. So how could she get in there?

Her heart raced, and the adrenaline from the hospitalwide warning started wearing off. Her knees were weak, and her breathing came too fast. She finally made it back to the first floor and tried the door. It didn’t budge. Unlike upstairs, she heard voices on the other side.

Squinting through the bulletproof glass, she saw Eric standing next to Aaron halfway down the hall, bathed in the red glow of the flashing emergency lights. Going in there would be the most foolish thing she could do. Being seen was the second. She ducked down and looked up and down the stairwell. There were no sounds of feet coming or going, meaning she was alone. At least for a little while.

Her position was on the opposite end of the hospital as the parking garage, so she couldn’t find an exit and make use of that, but she could get out of the hospital on this level and hope the bright sunlight didn’t make Eric and Aaron aware she was there. She might be able to catch up with an officer outside. That was the best plan she could come up with that didn’t put her in the direct line of fire.

Keeping all pressure off the door so she didn’t make noise, she glanced at the two men through the door once more. Neither of them were looking her way, but the light from the hall was enough to cast a faint glow on the floor. If they were paying attention, they wouldn’t miss the sign that someone had left.

She reasoned that if they followed her, there had to be officers outside. Running could actually help, and if they didn’t follow her, she’d be safe. With a deep breath, she pushed open the door and ran outside, then flattened herself against the wall outside as various officers aimed their weapons at the door.

“Hold your fire!” Allen came forward, holding his hand up.

As everyone lowered their weapons, he came toward her. “Heather, how did you get out here?” He directed her back behind the barricade of cars.

Her words stalled somewhere in her chest, and she sucked in air past the stress and worry. “I had to get out. Eric and Aaron are in there.”

Allen drew her into his arms and held her close. There, with him, she was safe. She could face any obstacle, any threat. He was a man of God. No shifting sands. He wouldn’t leave her like the other officer had.

“Allen, I...” She wasn’t sure if she could admit what she felt when this wasn’t over. Eric and Aaron needed to be caught.

Allen released her and opened the trunk of his patrol car. He drew out a thick vest. “You’re not getting shot again. Put this on.”

She stood still as he helped her put it on and zip it closed, taking special attention to make sure it fit her properly. Her head swirled, and she hung back, sitting in his car as he went around to tell each group of men what they needed to know. Even though it only took a few minutes, the time felt like hours. She prayed the poor people inside were safe, though they weren’t really safe with shooters. Especially if Eric and Aaron were specifically looking for her.

Allen’s phone buzzed, and he held up his hand to let her know he wanted to hear whatever else she had to say, but he had to take the call. He pressed his phone and put it up to his ear, then plugged the other against all the noise around him.

“Pendleton.”

His face was grim, with lines around his eyes showing his deep thought and concentration. How had she never noticed how dedicated he was? Then again, just a short time ago, his dedication would’ve put him solidly on her ‘never in a million years’ list. Now, it was one of the things that made him so appealing.

“She’s not in there,” Allen said, looking at her. “And you aren’t getting her.”

He was quiet again, letting whoever was talking to him say their piece.

“No, I don’t think you understand. This is over. We’ve got you surrounded. You are not getting the land you want. You are not getting the people you want. Unless your aim is to go out in a blaze of bullets, I suggest you come out with your hands up.”

Allen pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it for a second before shoving it back in his pocket. “They never listen. Always the hard way.” He sighed. He made a hand signal, and all the officers took aim at the hospital doors as they had when she’d come out.

If she had waited by that door, she’d have been used as a shield for both men to get away. That had never occurred to her as she’d looked for a way out. Her knees buckled, and she lowered herself to the ground. This had to end. She was tired of looking at every decision through the microscope of hindsight.

“Men, keep your eyes trained on that door. I’m going in.”

Allen’s words tore something in her chest.

* * *

Allen didn’t want to go in there, but this was his case and negotiating with Eric wasn’t getting anywhere. Even though Eric hadn’t mentioned Aaron or Micha since Heather had escaped, he knew exactly how many men he’d have to face inside. He’d gone hand-to-hand with all of them except Aaron and he hadn’t seemed like much of a threat at the town meeting.

He approached Heather where she sat on the ground, worry furrowing her brow. He wanted to tell her he would be back, but there was a chance he wouldn’t. That was part of police work. He could leave and not return. The best way to handle that fact was to always be honest and to treat every moment as if it might be his last.

“I think I promised you a kiss once you were standing.”

She slowly stood with his help and pressed herself to his side, then held on tight. “I don’t want you to go in there, but I know you have to.”

That alone told him Heather had the right attitude to be the wife of an officer, even if she didn’t think she did. “I think I’m falling for you, Heather.”

She shook her head. “Don’t tell me that before you go racing in there to save everyone. What if I never see you again?”

“What if you don’t and you never knew how I felt?” He traced her jaw and felt it trembling. He didn’t want to see her cry, but it told him everything he wanted to know.

“I think I love you, too.” She raised on her tiptoes and kissed him, holding his scruffy cheeks in her hands. He’d never been cherished like that. He wanted nothing more than to finish this job so he could tell her how he hoped their lives would be in the future and learn about her hopes and dreams.

He ended the kiss and laid one tenderly on her forehead. “Stay here in my car. You know I’ll do everything in my power to come back to you.”

“I know.” She looked him in the eyes, giving him the strength he needed to face the battle before him.

“Knowing you’re safe out here gives me focus. I’m so thankful you aren’t in there. I was worried about you.”

She nodded, pulling back from him to allow him to do what he needed to without worrying about anyone but himself. He took a breath and turned back to Danny.

“Get Grady over here. I want someone to cover Heather. You’re with me.” He wasn’t foolish enough to go into the situation alone.

Danny silently gestured for Grady to move into position, then followed Allen to the left side of the door. It pulled open, so he calculated what they’d have to do to enter. Heather had told him Eric and Aaron were behind a locked door on this side. He could go around to the front and then he would have access to them without the locked door, but that would also leave them open to getting shot. Those doors were supposed to be bulletproof.

He and Danny made their way inside and then up to the floor where Heather had encountered the security officer. He was still there, patrolling the corridor. Allen gave his name and rank, as did Danny.

“I’m Stevens. I can get you into the first floor, but I don’t have any protective gear.”

“I’m not asking you to get shot. I just need access.” Allen followed him to a hidden staircase that led down to the x-ray department.

“Unless they’ve worked for the hospital, they won’t know this is here. It’ll give you the element of surprise,” Stevens whispered.

Allen and Danny prepared themselves in the radiation department, making sure all their equipment was ready. Danny held his flashlight and his handgun. Allen led with his gun, sweeping the area before going forward.

Low talking down the hall alerted them to where Eric was. Allen held up his hand to stop so he could listen. He waited to hear who was there, but only two voices spoke. Danny pointed to his ear and raised two fingers, confirming he only heard two voices as well.

Allen gave a nod to move forward, and they continued. The amber flashing light continued in the hall, and he prayed for those in their rooms, terrified at how long they’d been waiting to know what was happening. The faster they could get patients calm and safe, the better.

A shot ricocheted off a metal door and imbedded in the ceiling above them. Allen and Danny pressed against the wall. There were no areas to take cover in a hospital hallway. All the doors were locked with security cards.

Allen and Danny slowly sidestepped down the hall, closer to Eric. There was a desk for registration about halfway between the exit at the other end of the hall and where Allen stood. That had to be where Eric and Aaron had taken cover.

He didn’t want to shoot up a hospital, but there weren’t many ways he was going to be able to safely apprehend these two. It was clear their agenda had changed. Men who didn’t care about dying meant they might take others along with them.

Danny ventured out a step to peer down the hallway, then backed against the wall again. “As far as I can see, they have no visual on us. They’ve ducked for cover, or they’ve moved.”

Down the hall, the exit sign glowed red above the door Heather had peered through to get the information she’d given him. Eric could exit without a security card, but he wouldn’t be able to get back in and he’d walk right into a waiting net of armed men.

The trouble with that plan was that Heather was out there, and he wanted to avoid sending Eric that way if possible. “We need to cut off their escape,” Allen whispered.

Danny radioed the men outside and called for backup at the door. A few seconds later, light flashed at the end of the hallway. Officers were now stationed in the stairwell between the exits. There was no escape.

“Eric. We have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up,” Allen called from his position.

Without the intel Heather had given them, they wouldn’t be there. He thanked God for her wisdom in getting herself out and getting the information she had. Danny aimed down the hall, covering Allen.

“I’m not coming out. You’ll have to come get me,” Eric said from his hiding spot.

“What do you hope to get out of this? You’re going to jail.”

Eric made a noise that could only be described as fury. “I didn’t do anything illegal. I tried to get the zoning changed.”

“Maybe you forgot about murder, kidnapping, conspiracy...” Allen pointed out some of the long list of crimes Eric and his team had committed.

“I didn’t kill anyone. Aaron did that,” Eric yelled.

“Don’t pin that on me,” Aaron shouted. “That was all your idea. You only came to me for help.”

If he could turn the two men against each other, that might be enough of a distraction to get in there and arrest them. “Eric, I witnessed you shoot the shop clerk. You were seen at the kidnapping by Oliver, Aaron’s father.” That was a stretch, but Heather had drawn his picture.

“I told you not to get your father involved.” Eric shoved Aaron out into the hallway and drew a gun from his pocket, cocking it loudly. “This would’ve been easy, but you kept wanting to get more and more people involved. I told you not to. I warned you.”

Eric raised his gun at Aaron, and Allen pulled the trigger to stop him.

Eric dropped to his knees, holding his side. Aaron took one look down the hall at them, then raced for the exit. He barely got the door open before he raised his hands, giving up. Allen took a deep breath and thanked God they’d been able to get both of them without police or civilian injury.

A cold gun barrel pressed to his neck. “Tell them all to back off.” Micha’s cold, raspy voice breathed over his ear. “I’m not joking, and I don’t care if I kill you.”

Danny had already run to check on Eric, leaving Allen to deal with Micha, who’d clearly been there for a while, biding his time. Allen raised his hands but didn’t reach for his radio. “What would Mom say about this? How would she treat you if you killed the son she’s never had the chance to meet?”

“I don’t care. I won’t tell her I killed you.”

“You don’t think she’ll know? There are thirty officers out there. If you take me, they’ll descend on you like an eagle after a trout.”

Allen felt him back off a step and he pushed his advantage. “She’s sick. If you shock her right now, she’ll die. Is that what you want? Are you so angry with me that you’d rob her of life?” He wanted to meet her, to tell her he wished he’d had the chance to know her.

“I hate you,” Micha muttered.

With a quick twist at the waist, Allen dropped his elbow and jabbed Micha’s side. His opponent gasped for breath as Allen turned and gripped his wrist, turning him away and trapping his hands behind him. He took the gun from Micha’s hand and cuffed him as a medical team came from upstairs to tend to Eric.

Allen moved Micha against the wall and then took a deep breath, letting the satisfaction of a finished job wash over him. “I’ll take care of Mom. She won’t be alone without you.”

Micha rested his forehead against the wall and didn’t respond. A gentle hand on his arm drew his attention away from Micha. He turned to find Heather by his side, right where she belonged.

“I’ve never seen a more appealing sight in all my life.” He pulled her into his embrace.

“I’ve never felt more at home,” she answered.

Not that long ago, he was happy to be alone with his dog. Now he wanted Heather at his side forever. He wanted his father to stay sober and come with him to church. His mother, a woman he never thought he’d meet, would get to know him soon. He just prayed he’d get to speak to her before she died.

“I’ve had enough of hospitals. Let’s go home,” Heather said into his chest.

He finger-combed her hair. “I can’t think of a better thing right now. I love you, Heather.” It wasn’t a tentative thought anymore. It was absolute.

“I do too.” She grinned up at him. “And now we’ll both have family we never thought we’d have again.”