Page 153 of Smoke Screen
Maddy.
Terror mounted inside. A tsunami, sending his brain into full-on fight-or-flight mode.
Get the gun.
Pistol trained on the guard, now facedown on the floor with an unmoving Maddy sprawled on top of him, Phin rushed them.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.He’d done this to her. Agreed to bring her along. She had no damned business here, and it was his fault.
If she was dead, he’d never forgive himself.
“Maddy!”
Used her real name.Think, moron.
Gun trained on the guard, he reached her, still motionless. He touched her with his free hand and—whoa!
She sprang up, hands swinging. He leaped back, lowering the gun in case she walloped him. Relief dropped on him so hard he nearly buckled.
“Honey,” he said, trying like hell to keep his voice steady. “You’re safe now. Are you hit?”
No blood. Not that he could see. Excellent.
She stared at him, her gaze all wide-eyed and clearly spooked. Had she even heard him?
“Hey!” he said, his voice sharp enough to slice through a tree. “Look at me!”
She blinked once. Then again.Come on, Maddy.Snap out of it.
Quickly, he checked the guard, still down, then came back to Maddy. “Are. You.Hit?”
“Hit?” She sucked in a hard breath, her shoulders pinning back and—bam—something must have registered. Her gaze was still on him, but this time? Total focus.
“Maddy, are you hit?”
“No. Oh, my God!”
Still on his belly, the guard lifted his head. Phin aimed straight at his skull. “Don’t move. We don’t want to hurt you.”
Overhead light glinted off the guard’s utility belt. Metal.
Handcuffs.
“Honey,” Phin said, refusing to use Maddy’s name again. “Get his handcuffs. On his belt. And his keys.”
She bobbed her head, tentatively shuffled closer, bent down, and lifted the cuffs and keys.
“Good.” Phin nudged his chin at the guard. “You. Push your weapons away from you. The rifle and the sidearm.”
Phin waited while the guard slowly unstrapped the rifle and slid it across the cement floor. Next came his sidearm.
“On your feet.” He peered at Maddy. “Give him the cuffs and come by me.”
Her hand trembled, the chain rattling as she handed them off.
Phin kept his weapon on the guard. “Cuff yourself to that rail. Do it.”
Once the guy got hooked on, Phin nudged his chin again. “Tug on it.”
