breakroom.”
Amanda said, “Faith, job one is getting those civilians out without alerting Brock.”
“The breakroom has a window that overlooks the warehouse,” Faith said. She had found the blueprints for the building on the county website. “We’ll have to be careful.”
“Every second of this operation should be careful.” Amanda turned to Sara. “Your call, Dr. Linton. We can take him down right now. Tommi can identify him. She would be a compelling witness. We can build a case without a confession.”
Shay Van Dorne. Alexandra McAllister. Rebecca Caterino. Leslie Truong. Callie Zanger. Pia Danske. Theresa Singer. Alice Scott. Joan Feeney …
Sara slipped the purse strap over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
Will helped her down from the van. She held onto his hand. She kissed him on the mouth.
She told him, “We’ll get McDonald’s for dinner.”
He wouldn’t let her lighten the mood. “If he touches you, I will kill him.”
Sara squeezed his fingers before letting go. The farther she walked away from Will, the more numb she felt. A sort of anesthesia spread from her limbs into her chest, so that by the time Sara made it to her car, her movements were robotic. She put on her seatbelt. Started the engine. Selected the gear. Pulled onto the road.
Will and Faith trailed behind her in a black sedan. Sara could see the resigned set to Will’s jaw in her rearview mirror. The half-mile drive to the warehouse stretched out endlessly. Her mind filled with everything and nothing at the same time.
Should she do this? Could she do this? What if Brock didn’t talk? What if he got angry? She had told everyone that Brock would never hurt her, that he could’ve done that long ago if he wanted, but what if the Brock that Sara knew turned into the Brock who took pleasure in the suffering of women? She had seen first-hand evidence of his madness. He hadn’t been content to rape the women. He had destroyed them. Sara was about to push him to the brink. Would he try to destroy her, too?
She tapped down the blinker. She made the turn.
The AllCare warehouse looked the same as it had the day before. Except where it didn’t. SWAT was already on the roof of the building. A glimpse across the street told her that a sniper was covering the front entrance. Sara knew that another sniper would be guarding the rear. Two more black-clad men were on either side of the concrete stairs to the lobby.
If all went as planned, Brock would be waiting for her inside of his cluttered office. Sara had called to tell him she would drop off the key to his storage unit. Brock had sounded delighted that he would get to see her again. He would be eating lunch at his desk. He’d offered to share some cake that he’d brought from home.
Mama’s recipe.
Sara coasted into a parking space by the front door. She should take a moment to breathe, to calm her pounding heart, but the exercise would be futile. Nothing could calm her.
She adjusted the purse on her right shoulder as she got out of the car. Her left hand tucked into the pocket of the cardigan. She held onto the gun so it wouldn’t bump against her hip as she walked toward the entrance.
Two men with rifles were on either side of the concrete stoop. Their backs were to the wall. Their eyes tracked Sara as she climbed the stairs.
Behind her, a car engine turned off. Doors were opened and closed. Sara did not turn to find Will again, but she knew what he was doing as he followed her from a distance. Her lover was an inveterate list maker. He would be mentally cataloging all of the possible outcomes—
1. Brock confesses and gives himself up
2. Brock confesses and doesn’t give himself up
3. Brock takes Sara hostage
4. Will shoots Brock
Sara added her own addendum—
5. Brock explains how this is all a terrible misunderstanding
Inside the empty lobby, Sara adjusted her purse so the camera pointed straight on. The receptionist had put an out to lunch sign on the counter. A plastic clock with adjustable hands read 1 p.m., indicating the time of her return.
Sara drew in a shallow breath. She gripped the strap of her purse. She tightened her hand around the revolver.
She felt lightheaded as she walked down the corridor. She heard Will and Faith enter the lobby. Sara desperately wanted to turn around, but she wasn’t sure she could keep moving forward if she saw