Time Bomb(66)

Rashid glanced at Frankie, then at Z. “Get out of here. I’ll be right behind you,” he said quietly, stepping forward yet again as Diana followed his movements with the gun. But his eyes were on the red backpack dangling from her hand. Would the bomb inside go off if she dropped it? Please don’t let it go off.

His eyes watered. His throat burned. Still, he kept his eyes focused on Diana and moved forward again, closing the space between them, keeping her attention on him.

The gun.

The bag and the bomb.

The trembling girl.

He had never been so scared.

Sweat dripped down his forehead.

The gun was only ten feet away from him. Close enough for her to hit what she aimed for. If she fired, he would die. If he rushed at her and she dropped the bag, he could die.

“You can let them go. They don’t need to die, Diana. You already got what you wanted,” he said, hoping that was true.

Behind the gun, she was breathing hard. Her back was pressed to the wall. Her eyes flicked from person to person before resting on the bag.

“Let them go, Diana. Killing them won’t change anything. Letting them live will, though.”

Her eyes flicked to him. “How?”

He glanced down at Tad, lying on the floor. His breathing was shallow. His eyes were wide with fear and shock.

“Think about it,” he said. “You understand how this works better than anyone. Everybody will want to hear their story, and every time they tell it, people will talk about what you did here.” Keeping his eyes on Diana, he waved his hand behind him and quietly said, “Z, Frankie, I’ll get Tad. It’s time for the two of you to get out of here. Go now.”

He heard the guys scramble. Frankie swore. Rashid could hear them moving, but he couldn’t look back to see how fast they were going. He had to keep her attention. Just for a few seconds. Diana looked as if she was going to shoot, then dropped the barrel of the gun just an inch. Enough to let him know she didn’t want to fire but there was still the bag and the bomb inside it.

“I don’t believe you wanted to kill people with these bombs,” he told her, hoping it was true. He had seen the way her face drained of color each time she had looked at Kaitlin. The horror she had felt was real. It had to have been.

She shook her head. “The first bomb was supposed to go off later. Everyone should have been out of the building by then. It was a mistake. It had to be a mistake.” She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter now. None of it matters.”

“It all matters,” he said. “And it means you don’t want to do this. You don’t want to kill them. I don’t think you want to kill me.”

Diana held up the red backpack. “I set the timer. This bomb is going to go off.”

Don’t panic. Keep calm. No fear.

“I don’t know you,” he said. He heard footsteps going down the hall and wanted to look to see where they were, but he had to focus on Diana. Just a few more seconds so the others could get around the corner, where they’d have some protection from a blast. “I’ve never spoken to you until today,” he said, trying to find something to say. Anything. “I’ve never really thought about you, and I don’t think you’ve ever really thought about me. Have you?”

“Have I what?” Diana blinked and tilted her head as she studied him over the gun.

“Have you thought about me?” he asked, edging a little closer.

She barely moved as she looked at him with glassy eyes. “No.”

“None of your friends made fun of my clothes or my beard or whispered about me when I came down the hall?”

“Do you want an apology?” Diana asked dully.

“What I want is to get out of here without anyone else getting hurt. This has to end.” No more fire or fear.

“To end . . .” Diana shook her head. “This isn’t the way it was supposed to end. I just wanted for my father to see . . .”

“Your father would want you to stop the bomb.” He took a deep breath and wiped his palms on his pant legs. “You don’t have to do this anymore.” Desperation twisted Diana’s face. Rashid took a step closer so the bag with the bomb was only a few steps away. If he could get it, maybe he could stop the timer or put it somewhere it would cause the least amount of damage. “I don’t know what your life is like. I only know what it looks like. But I know you don’t have to do this. You can walk out of here with us.”

She frowned. Tears glistened in her eyes. One ran down her face as she looked from Rashid down to Tad. “No, I can’t. This was my one chance.”

“We all have lots of chances. Look at Cas. She thought her chance was over, but now she gets another one. You can have another one too. You just have to stop the bomb and help me get Tad out of here. You’re strong enough to do this.”

The gun in Diana’s hand shook. She looked back at Tad and then up at Rashid. “You’re wrong about what my father would want. He’ll be better off if I’m dead. And even if that wasn’t true, I’m not that strong.” She walked backwards down the hall away from him, her eyes now clear and free of tears. The bag tight in one hand. The gun in the other. “You’d better hurry. You only have a few minutes before the bomb goes off.” Her voice was flat. Calm. Terrifying. “Tell Cas you were right. It does take courage.”