Page 22 of The Norcross Rescue

“Maybe whoever is out there is the cop,” Pig said.

Wolf shook his head. “The badge was by the windows. Whoever it belonged to couldn’t have gotten out once we came in.” His cold gaze scanned the room. “The cop is still here.”

“Maybe you should cut your losses,” Brynn suggested. “Get out before the police arrive.”

“No one asked you,” Pig snapped.

Wolf lifted the radio. “To the asshole who’s detained my people, set them free, now.”

The radio crackled. “Leave now and I won’t take you down.”

Vander’s lethal voice slithered right down her spine.

Pig gasped and the other thieves all traded glances.

“Free my men,” Wolf said. “Otherwise, I’m going to kill a hostage. Starting with the cop.”

Brynn’s stomach curdled. She willed her husband to stay silent.

“Looks like you’re going down, Wolf.”

She closed her eyes.

“This isn’t fucking Die Hard,” Wolf growled. “Who are you?”

“The man who’s going to stop your idiotic play tonight. You’ve got nothing on Hans Gruber.”

Wolf’s hand tightened on the radio. “I will find you and I will make you pay.”

“Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker,” Vander drawled.

Despite the situation, Brynn fought the urge to laugh. She bit her lip and clamped her fingers together. He’d have a plan, and his team would be on their way. She had no doubt. She just had to wait and do her bit to make sure no one else got hurt.

“He has to be a guest,” Horse muttered from nearby.

Wolf cocked his head. “Maybe he didn’t come alone.”

Her chest twisted.

“First, let’s find the cop.” Wolf looked at his watch. “Twenty minutes left, Ms. Stewart. Clock’s ticking.”

Carolyn’s face was pale, except for the red handprint on her cheek, and the dried blood on her lip. She turned her head and her gaze met Brynn’s through the glass. She tried to give the woman a reassuring look.

“All right.” Wolf strode into the middle of the atrium. Guests shifted out of his way, giving the thief a wide berth. “Listen up. In twenty minutes, if our demands haven’t been met, we start killing.”

There were several horrified cries and a lady started sobbing.

“I was planning to start with Ms. Stewart’s husband.”

From the floor, David Stewart swallowed. He was holding his bleeding leg, his face mostly blank, but he couldn’t quite hide his fear.

“I know someone here is a cop.” Wolf held up Brynn’s badge. “I’m going to start with them. So, whoever works for the San Francisco PD, now’s your time to be a hero.”

Brynn rested her hands on her stomach, on the life growing inside her. She already loved her child fiercely and there was no way she’d let anything happen to that precious life.

“No? Okay, then we’re going to have to go through the crowd and work out who the hell it is.” He wandered, pulling the handgun from his waistband. “Now, who can help me?” He made a sound, then grabbed a young woman with a fall of red hair and an aquamarine dress. She let out a cry as he almost pulled her off her feet.

Yanking her in front of him, he pressed the gun to her neck and dragged it upward. She let out a whimper, her eyes wide and panicked. The gun drifted downward, past her chest, her hip, to her stomach. “C’mon, cop. Come out, come out, wherever you are, or our lovely redhead is going to get a bullet in the gut.”