When Evan reached Tim, he wasn’t conscious and his legs and back were riddled with gunshot wounds. He was bleeding badly. Evan grabbed him beneath his shoulders and began to pull him back toward safety.
Davis rushed to them and helped get the man behind the police line. The gunshots stopped and an eerie silence fell over the site.
“We need to get him into the ambulance right away,” Davis said.
Evan motioned for the EMTs who were standing by with an ambulance, and they got the wounded man loaded on a gurney. Minutes later the emergency vehicle pulled away with sirens screaming.
“I doubt he’s going to make it,” Davis said grimly. “He took a lot of bullets.”
“Damn it!” Evan exclaimed. He stared toward the brick building as an icy chill filled him. Jacob—or somebody in there—had just shot one of their own. The odds just got worse that Annalise and those girls were going to get out of there alive.
ANNALISE’S HEART BEAT so fast she thought she was going to pass out. The amount of gunfire...the sound of a man screaming from outside and Jacob cursing and firing his weapon out the window had scared not only the children, but also her.
Something had happened...something bad, but she didn’t know what it was or what it might mean for these precious girls and herself.
They were all back against the wall for the night after spending the day working at their desks. When Jacob stormed out of the room, Annalise raced for her phone. Her fingers trembled as she texted Evan, asking what had just happened.
Annalise tried to keep it together for the girls, but tears raced down her cheeks. She was frightened, and she wanted her students to be anywhere but here.
After several minutes she received a text back from Evan, telling her that everything was okay. He said that there had been an exchange of gunfire, and one of Jacob’s men was shot. He once again told her to stay strong and that he was doing all he could to get them out.
She quickly wiped away her tears, not only for herself, but also for the four girls holed up next to her and terrified. She had to stay strong for herself, but more so she had to stay strong for her students.
She heard Jacob’s voice getting closer to the room, and she quickly disconnected from the phone and slid it beneath her thigh.
“They’re either with me or against me,” Jacob yelled as he and Gretchen stormed back into the room. “And if they’re against me, then they will all pay the price.”
He paced back and forth in front of the girls. “I won’t stand for traitors. I won’t stand for it.”
“Calm down, Jacob. You’re still the man in control,” Gretchen said.
Jacob stopped in front of Annalise. “What’s that?”
Annalise looked down and to her horror saw that the last rays of light coming in through the window shone off the edge of her cell phone that hadn’t been tucked completely under her thigh. She froze, her heart beating fast and furiously.
“Yeah, what is that?” Gretchen leaned over and grabbed the cell phone. “What have we here?” She backhanded Annalise, the blow causing Annalise’s head to hit the wall behind her. Her ears rang and her face stung from the blow.
“Stop it!” Sadie exclaimed. “Don’t hurt her. Please Mr. Jacob, don’t let her hurt Miss Annalise.”
“Hush, Sadie,” Annalise said, not wanting their anger turned on the child.
“I should shoot you,” Gretchen said, her pale blue eyes cold as ice.
“Give me the phone,” Jacob said. “Let’s see who she’s been talking to.”
Annalise’s heart continued to pound as Jacob thumbed through her messages. Thankfully most of her interaction with Evan had been by phone and FaceTime, and there was no recording of those.
Jacob dropped the phone to the floor and then ground it beneath the heel of his boot. All the while his dark eyes remained locked on Annalise.
Her breath caught in her chest, and every muscle in her body tensed. The girls were crying on either side of her, and she felt like throwing up as she waited for her consequences.
“I just shot a traitor,” Jacob said with eyes narrowed.
“Let me take her out,” Gretchen said. “I don’t like her.”
“You don’t even know me,” Annalise replied, pleased by the strength in her voice.
“I don’t want to know you.” She turned to her husband. “She’s just another one of those girls who looked down on me all my life.”
Jacob frowned. “We got more important things to do. Go check in with the men. And you,” he said to Annalise. “Shut those girls up.”
Annalise breathed a sigh of relief as Gretchen left the room. She quickly shushed the girls as her heartbeat resumed a more normal pace.
Within minutes complete darkness claimed the room. Jacob left the classroom and could be heard down the hallway talking loudly with his men.
Something was going to happen. Annalise could feel it in her bones, but she couldn’t guess what it might be. Were they all finally going to give up?
She desperately wanted that to happen. She wanted them to give up peacefully. She wanted the girls to be out of here. She wished she had her phone. Evan had stopped talking on the bullhorn, and she wondered if he was planning to storm the building.
Being cut off from the outside world—from Evan—was terrifying as the night deepened and the tension inside of the school grew more intense. Jacob returned to his chair, and men came in and out of the room and whispered feverishly with him.
The girls finally fell asleep and Annalise closed her eyes, as well. Her thoughts went to the girls on either side of her. Emily was a sweet girl who was always the first to give a hug or offer encouragement to others. Tanya was a jokester and loved to make her friends giggle. Amanda was quiet and thoughtful.
