Susan Sleeman - Silent Night Standoff

Vulnerable. The word shot into his brain as a chill iced him over. She’d been training for a position like this when he’d met her, but as a woman in a largely male field, and with only three years as a detective under her belt, he never really thought she’d get the job. Or maybe the real issue was he’d avoided thinking about the danger a negotiator’s job involved to keep his fears at bay.

She didn’t act afraid. She appeared calm and in control, her attention fixed on Clyde, who had his gun sighted on her.

It seemed as if the room collectively drew in, then held a breath, waiting for their sniper to take Clyde out. No response. No crack of a rifle disturbing the peace.

“Can’t you people do something?” Logan asked, surprised that his voice was as panicked as a scared little girl. “Clyde’s not averse to killing.”

Marsh eyed him. “Skyler knows to give us a signal if she’s in danger.”

Or not. “She’s not a negotiator now. She’s a hostage just like the others. She might have sound training, but the stress she’s under means she’s not 100 percent in there.”

“I’ve got it covered,” Marsh said calmly. “If I think lives are in danger, I won’t wait for Skyler’s signal. I’ll give the go-ahead for Brady to fire.”

Logan appreciated Marsh’s calm approach and his willingness to step in if Skyler faltered, but it did nothing to relieve Logan’s helpless feeling. He wanted to control the team. Make them act when seeing one of their own in danger didn’t seem to faze them.

The atmosphere was tense, the space closing in on him, the air disappearing, and they just stood. Calmly. Watching it happen. A necessary trait for a squad called to respond to all sorts of emergencies, but Logan wouldn’t—couldn’t—do the same thing.

Not now. Not when Skyler’s life was on the line.

TWO

Skyler ignored Clyde’s bruising grip on her arm as he dragged her across the space and out of view of the others. He released her arm, and she sagged to the floor.

“Are you sure about this?” Bonnie yelled from the other side of the room where she continued to guard hostages.

“Positive.” Clyde glared at Skyler. “We’re better off with her alive. For now, anyway. She’s friends with the cops. We can use her connections to get out of here.” He grabbed her purse and started pawing through it.

Praising God for the reprieve, Skyler gulped in deep breaths, but the sun’s warm rays beating through the window ratcheted up the tension already sizzling through the room, making it hard to breathe. To think. To act. For her and the robbers. Especially Bonnie. She was losing it, barking orders at the other hostages, her voice high and shrill. With every second that passed, she behaved more erratically and was clearly heading for a meltdown.

“Oh, yeah! Better than I thought.” Clyde pulled his hand out and held up her deputy’s shield and gun for Bonnie to see. “She’s one of them. Her name’s Skyler Brennan. Dep-u-tee Skyler Brennan.”

Bonnie shot across the room, her gaze darting about, her expression that of a trapped animal. She stopped next to Clyde where they could keep an eye on Skyler and the other hostages at the same time.

“I don’t like this, Marty,” Bonnie whispered loudly enough for Skyler to hear.

Marty? His name’s Marty?

“Relax, Nicole,” Marty whispered back, though he danced on the balls of the feet, proving he wasn’t the least bit relaxed himself.

Good. They didn’t think Skyler could hear them. Now she knew both of their names. Not that she’d use them now. It would spook them more. But if they somehow managed to evade capture and Skyler got out of there alive, detectives would have a solid lead to go on.

“Brennan’s our ticket out of here,” Marty continued, louder now. “They’ll never try to hurt us with her as our hostage.”

Ha! Shows what they know. If Skyler gave FRS sniper Brady Owens the signal, he would fire. Didn’t matter if she was threatened. Didn’t matter if she might die in the process. He was trained to shoot the moment she tugged on her earlobe. Jake was the only person who could override the signal.

“So let’s get on with it, then.” Nicole turned to go back to her post.

Skyler couldn’t let Nicole walk away and miss this opportunity to encourage their surrender. “There’s another solution,” Skyler offered calmly.

Nicole snorted. “Like we’d listen to you.”

Skyler infused her tone with sincerity. “Despite what you think, I care about your safety and don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“We won’t,” Nicole fired back. “Not with you as our shield.”

“See, there’s where you’re wrong. I can’t protect both of you from all sides. You’ve always gotta worry about a bullet from some rogue cop trying to make a name for himself by bringing in Bonnie and Clyde. Or even a panicked rookie. Surrendering right now is the only way to guarantee you won’t get hurt.”

Nicole clapped her hands over her ears. “Shut up. Just shut up already.” She scrunched her eyes closed for a long moment, then opened them and lowered her hands. “C’mon, Clyde. We gotta move before the cops get better organized.”

“Start Brennan heading to the back door. I’ll get the bag.” He jogged to the counter.

Nicole raised her weapon and stepped forward. “Over there, Brennan. Next to preggers.”

Skyler didn’t think Nicole really planned to shoot her, but as time passed, she’d become shaky and sweaty. Likely her drugs were wearing off. With the bank surrounded by law enforcement, she was desperate. Unstable. Skyler had best do as asked.

“It’s not too late to surrender,” Skyler suggested as she started to rise. “I’ll make sure you get a fair hearing.”

“Ha!” Nicole’s eyes flashed in anger. “I’m not going to jail. Not when we have you. We’ll head out the back just like L.A.”

Skyler remembered hearing about L.A., where the hostages were killed in a shoot-out with the police. “That didn’t end so well.”

“We came out just fine. Didn’t we, Bonnie?” Marty winked at Nicole.

She nodded. “And we will again. It’s better than waiting here for your buddies to storm the bank.”

“Okay.” Marty hefted the bag onto his shoulder. “Let’s do it.”

Skyler needed to try one more time to stop them. “Don’t do this. Listen to me. If you surrender now, I can guarantee you won’t be shot, but in the alley I—”

“Shut up!” Nicole screamed, her eyes wide as she charged at Skyler. “We know what we’re doing. I’ve had about enough of your double-talk. We don’t need your help. Just.” She raised her gun and poked the barrel into Skyler’s forehead, and she could almost smell Nicole’s desperation. “Shut.” She moved closer. “Up.”

She’d lost control. Skyler shot a quick look at Marty, hoping for his help in calming Nicole.

A gunshot split the quiet. The window shattered. Glass exploded through the air.

The gun jerked from Skyler’s head. She turned her gaze back to Nicole, but heard a loud thump even before she saw Nicole lying on the floor, a fatal gunshot wound to her head. Brady.

“No!” Marty screamed. “Nicole!” He dropped the bag and raced to Nicole. He checked her pulse though there was no way she could’ve survived.

Jake must’ve thought Nicole planned to kill her and given Brady the order to take the shot. It was an order he rarely gave, and one that haunted him every time.

“This is your fault.” Marty glared at Skyler. “You did this. You killed her. If you hadn’t made that call...” His eyes were wild now. Crazy and panicked. Breathing hard, his gaze darted around the space. He jumped to his feet, grabbed Skyler’s hair and dragged them both out of sniper range.