Part 25 (1/2)
Forget manners and worrying about offending a congressional aide. ”I want to find Vince and Agent Wilson.”
”I don't think so.” The soulless look in his eyes chilled her clean through.
Lewis turned her, tipping her balance. ”This young man's going to take very good care of you.”
She regained her balance, coming face-to-face with . . . Webber?
Even in khakis and a b.u.t.ton down, she recognized him. His long, dark ponytail draped over one shoulder. His hand seized her arm, FEAR blaring from his knuckles.
She s.h.i.+vered.
”Come with me,” he said softly, his lumbering body too big for his age. ”Lewis has to go back before he's missed.”
Lewis? What did Anthony Lewis have to do with this? Apparently nothing good.
Webber walked faster, a photo security badge clipped to his s.h.i.+rt flapping. No way in h.e.l.l could he have gotten that badge through legal channels. Every instinct she'd honed in her job shouted that something was seriously wrong.
She opened her mouth to shout. To h.e.l.l with causing a scene.
Webber's hand moved forward in a flash. The sharp tip of a knife dug into her side. Painfully.
She gasped. He pressed harder until she could feel the cool steel stabbing a tiny hole through her suit, p.r.i.c.king her side. Not a knife. Anything but a knife.
Oh G.o.d, she was going to be sick.
Somehow he must have palmed the blade. She couldn't even imagine how he had gotten it past security. A moot issue anyway, because somehow he had.
”Really, Miss Ba.s.sett. You need to be quiet, and everything will be okay.”
Miss Ba.s.sett? He had a knife in her side and he was worried about formality? Hysteria boiled inside her.
”Webber.” She stumbled alongside him, terror making her clumsy. ”I don't know what this is all about, but you have to realize-”
”Shhh . . .” He dipped his head, his dark ponytail swinging over his shoulder. ”I don't want you to die.”
Don't want you to die.
Don't want to die.
The cadence of his voice resonated in her memory. Settled in her brain. Scared her to the core.
Webber was her caller.
Webber nudged Miss Ba.s.sett down the hall, watching for any surprises. But thanks to the information Lewis had provided him, the corridor was clear.
Lewis just hadn't known that security hole would be used against him once Webber took charge.
The breach wouldn't last long, though. Even shorter because he'd squeezed his own agenda in along with Lewis's plan. He had to make sure that no matter what happened, Shay and Amber were safe.
If only Shay understood. She'd tried to scream twice already, and he'd been forced to nick her side to shut her up. Her fear of knives was obvious. He hated to use that to his advantage, but it was better than risking her life.
”Webber, listen to me, please. I don't know what Anthony Lewis has to do with this, but you need to listen to me instead of him.” Shay gasped with each hurried step away from the crowd gathered for the hearing.
”Not now. There will be time for you to talk.” He had to hurry before Lewis realized the script had been changed.
Webber checked numbers above the doors. Not much farther. He was supposed to walk out into the lobby with Shay Ba.s.sett, the witness, as his hostage, taking her with him in the big blast. Lewis had a weakness for making his statements with too much of a big deal, like that whole bomb scare idea back at the center. By the time Lewis would see Webber had come alone, it would be too late to do anything about it.
He stopped at the janitor's closet where he was supposed to hide out if things went wrong. He unlocked the door and shoved her inside with the buckets and mops and the stink of floor cleaner. He wasted one valuable second on the thing about this he regretted most.
”Miss Ba.s.sett, I'm really sorry about that old man who died in your car.”
”The guard at the center?”
”Yeah, he was a loser, but he didn't deserve to die.”
She blinked fast. ”Do you think I deserve to die?”
”I tried to help you.” Her perfume smelled nice, but then he realized he could only smell it because she was sweating.
”By putting a bomb in my car?”
The pain in her eyes bothered him, but he could only trust her so far. He wished she could know he wasn't all bad. He'd taken her bag to try to save her life.
Maybe this was his punishment for everything else he'd done. He wouldn't be able to explain his side of things. Why hadn't those special bomb dogs found the explosives like they did in all the movies?
”Webber, why does someone want me dead?”
”I'm already risking a lot for you. Good-bye-”
”No, no, please, just stay for a couple more seconds.” She blinked fast, those eyes of hers so honest, like she cared. ”You don't have to talk about any of this. Let's talk about you. You have important people in your life. People who care about you. Think how they'll be hurt if you die.”
She went on just like she'd done on the phone, trying to help him. It hurt to listen.
With a speed honed on the streets, he whipped a gag over her head, into her mouth, and yanked the slipknot tight. He held the knife high. ”Turn around.”
Her eyes went wide. She shook her head.
”Miss Ba.s.sett, look behind you.”
She backed away, her eyes darting as if searching for a weapon.
”Do it,” he barked.
She tensed, only half turning. Then sagging as she must have finally seen Amber.
Her pretty brown hair sliding down her shoulders, Amber sat crouched in the corner, bound and gagged. It had been the only way he could be sure she was safe as well. Lucky for him, Shay had a soft spot for Amber, too.
”Now kneel down, Miss Ba.s.sett. I'm just going to tie you up like Amber. This will all be over soon.”
She knelt slowly, her eyes nowhere near trusting. He tugged out another slipknot and secured her hands. She would probably work her way free after a while, but he would be done by then. ”Move over there, across from Amber.”