She awoke suddenly, unsure what had roused her. Darkness still filled the room and she heard the heavy, deep breathing of Jacob. She released a deep sigh. Not only had love not been enough to keep her and Evan together, but now she had to face the real possibility that she’d have no future...the possibility that she wouldn’t get out of here alive.
HEARING ANNALISE’S VOICE filled with such fear had shot arrows of pain through Evan. Hearing her voice had also renewed the deep ache he’d felt when she had left him. It had taken him a very long time to get over her. If he was honest with himself, there were days and nights he still didn’t think he was quite over her.
But he couldn’t focus on the past. Still, for the past nearly three years he’d been haunted by the what-ifs. Regrets? Hell yes he had regrets. He spent the rest of the night thinking about those regrets as he also processed the information she’d given him...information that might help bring this situation to an end.
It was good that there was a limited food source, and it was definitely good if the hostage takers were fighting among themselves.
While he waited for the darkness of night to pass, he gathered his thoughts for the emotional assault he intended to launch at daybreak.
He could have used the bullhorn and bellowed at them all night long, but he hadn’t trusted Jacob not to lose it completely. He’d threatened to toss out dead little girls when a phone had rung all night. Evan didn’t want to give him a reason to go off about being shouted at all night long.
Meanwhile, Chief Cummings was badgering him for an all-out attack on the building, something Evan feared might result in the injury or death of the hostages if not also official personnel. He finally had a name and some information about the group to use, and he also believed the hunger issue might bring this all to an end before force needed to be used.
Was his hesitancy with the option of using force to go in because he knew Annalise was inside? Was he allowing that fact to influence the decisions he needed to make? No, it didn’t matter who was in that building; force was always the very last option used in any hostage case.
Evan could be very patient. He knew that was one of his strengths as a negotiator. He’d rather get this done right than get it done fast. Chief Cummings was just going to have to live with the decisions made. If he tried to do anything behind Evan’s back, Evan would see the man brought up on charges.
He hoped Annalise would get an opportunity to speak to him again, but the rest of the night passed without any more contact. As always, one of his fears was that she had or would get caught with the phone.
The standoff had begun on a Tuesday with the locals, and within hours it was going to be Thursday morning. That meant the armed men had been in the building for two nights and days with only snack food to eat. Surely that food was running out. It wouldn’t feed grown men for an indefinite amount of time.
Regina Sandhurst had arrived at the scene earlier in the evening. She was a petite brunette whose main residence was in New York, but she also had a condo in Pearson and had assured them that she would remain here until the hostages were free.
She had tried to be as helpful as possible, but she had no clue what the people in the school might be after. She brought with her a list of all the deliveries that were made on a regular basis to the school, along with a list of everyone on staff. She’d left for her condo at dusk with the promise to be back this morning.
He heard from Hendrick once again with information about some of the financials of the group. So far everything appeared to be aboveboard, but the tech guru was still chasing down a few things. Evan knew if anything was hidden, Hendrick would find it. The man matched Evan in his passion and commitment to his job.
It was just after dawn when he picked up the bullhorn once again. “Jacob Noble and men in the school. I understand the goal of the Brotherhood of Jacob is to end world hunger. That’s a wonderful goal to be pursuing.”
“Is this the part where you try to be my friend so I’ll give up?” Jacob yelled out the window. “Sorry, Agent Duran, I’m not buying what you’re selling. I don’t want to be your friend.”
In another circumstance Evan might have unarmed himself as a show of good faith, and he would attempt to walk to the building for an up close and personal meeting with Jacob.
But the fact that he was so quick to fire his weapon indiscriminately with no provocation at all kept Evan from attempting it. As Davis had reminded him earlier, a dead hostage negotiator certainly wouldn’t help matters.
“I want you to scale down and back up the police presence, and I need a bulletproof van for our use,” Jacob yelled.
“It would take me some time to arrange something like that,” Evan replied. “How about you let all the hostages go, and I’ll see what I can do to accommodate you.”
“You accommodate me, and then we’ll talk about letting the hostages go. This conversation is now over.” He fired a burst of bullets out the window.
“Big surprise that he wants a bulletproof van to get out of here,” Nick said. He was a good man with a family of his own. Evan had worked with him several times before and admired the man’s dedication to his wife and kids and the job.
“Don’t they all,” Evan replied dryly. “But sooner or later they’re going to
