Unbreakable (City Lights, #2)(16)

When my time was up, I fell in place ahead of Wolfman.

“Hey man, Frankie’s a loose cannon,” I said. “You think you can put him somewhere else? Away from the other hostages?”

“I said, no talking.”

He sounded like a regular guy, not some cartoon villain, despite the mask he still wore over his face. I took a risk and stopped. “Listen, I—”

Instantly, Wolfman’s AR-15 came up and his eyes under the mask widened. “The f*ck are you doing?”

My hands shot up. “Nothing, I swear. Just trying to warn you, Frankie’s going to kill someone. You know that, right? Is that part of your grand plan?”

Under his mask, Wolfman was pissed at me, but scared too. Maybe more than a little. “Shut up, turn around, and keep walking.”

I had no choice but to do what he said, but I kept my arms up, to show I meant no harm. For all I knew, Wolfman was just as twitchy on the trigger as Frankie.

Just as we turned the corner to our hallway he said in a low voice, “He’s Drac’s brother.”

I turned my head just enough to glance back. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Wolfman said heavily. “He’s not going anywhere.”

At the office, Frankie didn’t say anything, only snickered a little, and let me move past him. The others took their turn going to the bathroom, and when the door was shut with Frankie safely on the other side, Alex took my arm.

“He’s got it out for you,” she whispered.

“I noticed.”

“No, I’m serious. He’s planning something. I saw it in his face when you left, and just now again, when you came back. When your back was turned.”

“I’ll be careful.”

She huffed irritably. “Be more than careful. Don’t say a word to him. No matter what happens. No matter what he does—”

“I’m not going to let him touch you, Alex,” I said with more intensity than I’d intended. The others were watching. “You, or anyone else,” I added, louder.

Roy rolled his eyes. “Oh joy of joys. I knew you were going to play the hero.”

“Shut up, Roy,” Carol snapped but the big man barreled on as if he hadn’t heard.

“You talk tough, Bishop, but they’ve got the guns. You don’t.”

“He’s right,” Alex said. “And Frankie’s waiting for a chance to use his, Cory. I can see it.”

I shrugged. They didn’t get it. Roy sure as shit didn’t, and neither did Alex. But that was okay. She didn’t have to get it. She just had to live.

I looked down to find her watching me through narrowed eyes, picking apart my silence. “I can take care of myself,” she said finally.

“I don’t doubt that,” I replied, somehow not surprised that she read me so well. “But if he touches you again I’m going to break his fingers.”

Alex sat back against the wall, taking that in, studying me again with those sky blue eyes of hers. “I’ve never heard a man say something like that and actually mean it. Not just bluster.”

I shrugged again.

She sighed irritably. “Don’t get yourself killed, Cory. Please.”

“I don’t intend to.”

And that was truth. But Pops once told me that a life without integrity wasn’t worth living. And sometimes, especially these last couple of years, it felt like integrity was the only thing I had left.





Chapter Seven


Alex



The hours dragged. The edge of fear became dulled by the slow passage of time. We’d each taken turns passing on to Amita whatever tidbit of information we had on the robbers—which wasn’t much—and our names and information to let our loved ones know we were okay. Amita, in turn, relayed that an expert hostage negotiator was talking to Dracula, but no more than that. They’d told her it wasn’t safe to tell us more.

Everyone’s watches had been confiscated and there were no windows to the outside from where we sat. I guessed it was probably close to nine o’clock at night. Our first basic need satisfied, the small group of people in the room began to shift uncomfortably.

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m hungry,” said Gil Corman, the pharmacist. “And thirsty.”

It was unanimous. Even Carol grudgingly agreed that she could eat, and we all needed water. Everyone waited for someone else to do something about it.

“Okay,” Cory said, and started to rise up.

Anger flashed through me, and I grabbed him, held him back, while shooting dagger glares at the rest of the group. “Again? Have we all forgotten what happened last time?”

“Alex—”

“No! Someone else needs to ask about food. I’d do it but…” But if Frankie tries anything with me, Cory will try to stop him and end up dead. “Someone else. Not Cory.”

“Aw, that’s cute,” Roy said, a sneer under his rust-colored mustaches. “Has true love bloomed in the middle of this crisis?”

“Shut up, you old blowhard,” Carol snapped. “Get off your ass and ask the little punk to feed us.”

Roy harrumphed. “I’m not doing any such thing! I told you, the squeaky wheel...”

“I’ll do it,” Cory said.