Free Midnight Hero by Diana Duncan Page B

bandanas in neon colors. “The landline phone is dead.” He shrugged. “No surprise. The robbers would have been stupid not to pop the phone lines along with all the other mall systems.” His calm, matter-of-factdemeanor eased her ragged nerves a fraction. No matter what happened, no matter how badly she crumbled, he’d be there to pull her out of the pit. “Tie his ankles. Take his boots off, first. If by some strange phenomenon he escapes, stockinged feet will slow him down. I’ll tie his hands and gag him.”
    When the man was secure, Con hefted him over his shoulder. “Oof. This sucker eats his Wheaties.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do with him?”
    â€œMake him feel at home in a nice, quiet stall in the ladies’ room. Go hide in the toy store until I’m done.”
    â€œActually, I kind of need to…um…when I get nervous…”
    He chuckled. “Come with, then. Let’s roll. We need to move.”
    She accomplished her business while Con dealt with their nemesis in the large handicapped stall at the end of the room. He must have locked the stall from the inside, because his head appeared over the top of the partition, and then he jumped down.
    Con eased the restroom door open. “No sign of company. We might have lucked out.” Outside, he used a tool on his Swiss Army Knife to trip the bolt. Then he pulled a small tube from his pocket. “Superglue from the toy store. It’ll freeze the tumblers. The robbers will have to break down the door to spring him.”
    They returned to Toys Galore. He strode inside, unhooked two backpacks and tossed one to her. “Grab anything useful.”
    Bailey found four flashlights and inserted batteries. She set two on the counter to illuminate the store, tucked one into her pack and handed the other to Con. She lifted two more jump ropes off a rack, and picked up a plastic egg filled with Silly Putty.
    He arched a brow. “Silly Putty?”
    â€œYou never know. It could come in handy.”
    â€œIf you say so.” Con palmed a black plastic squirt gun and whistled. “Looks real. Too real. Some kid got shot last year in the third precinct waving one of these puppies around. It might work. As long as nobody calls my bluff.”
    The thought of him facing loaded Uzis with an empty toy pistol increased her nausea. She picked up a package of markers. Stared at the picture of innocent, smiling children on the box before stuffing it in her pack. Pictures. “Acetic acid!”
    â€œDid you call me a pathetic ass? An empty squirt gun isn’t too impressive, but we have to work with what we’ve got, darlin’.”
    She laughed. “Acetic acid. A chemical used in the stop bath during photo developing. One Hour Photo would have some. It’s a powerful skin irritant, and if shot into someone’s eyes, would sure slow them down.”
    â€œHave I mentioned lately how much I admire your brilliant brain? You’re a better soldier than you think.” He handed her two toy guns. “We’ll each take two. We’ll fill ’em when we’re done.”
    They continued loading items into their packs. Bailey picked up a small notebook and retractable pen from a cartoon stationery display, and began to make meticulous notes.
    He peeked over her shoulder, his face inches from hers. Supercharged energy radiated from his muscled body. His warm lips brushed her cheek in a soft kiss and her nerve endings quivered. “Gonna write a book about our adventures later? How I Spent A Boring New Year’s Eve at the Mall.”
    â€œHa, ha, funny man. I’m logging what we take and how much it costs. The toy store shouldn’t lose money, just because—” Money. She went rigid. The blood drained from her head leaving her dizzy.
    â€œHey.” He turned her to face him. “What’s wrong? You just went lily-white, sweetheart.”
    â€œThe