Guns 'N' Tulips

Chapter One

But that was a lifetime ago. Lily hated him now, maybe for good.

Pushing down the emotions clogging his throat, he nodded to Owen, raised his gun and charged inside. “Everyone, listen up! Get face down on the ground with your hands above your heads. Now!”

A security guard and the bank patrons, three women and two men, stared back at him. One of the women, a lady in her sixties, screamed. Another rushed forward, white-faced and tight-lipped, and helped the older woman get on the floor. Connor felt two inches tall as he continued to point the MP5 at them while shouting instructions.

Owen rushed over to the tellers. “Move it!” he bellowed, gesturing with his weapon for them to join the others in the lobby.

Out of the corner of his eye, Connor spotted a teller reaching below the counter as she turned to exit the restricted area. Good woman. At least the cops would be alerted. Whether Captain Morris would be able to get here in time was another question. If he recalled correctly, their original target was smack-dab in the middle of the parade action. He should have paid more attention, should have investigated the location, and put two and two together. If he died in this bank, bleeding out on the mud-streaked tile, he’d deserve it. But he wouldn’t fold without giving it his best shot.

When Rourke’s informant called, Neil was going down.

Rourke and Frank added their voices to the chaos while Neil guarded the door. Like a bull on steroids, Frank charged through the lobby to help Owen herd the staff from behind the counter. But Rourke split off and weaved his way to the back offices, no doubt looking for the loan manager. Ever since his mortgage refinancing had been turned down and he’d lost his home and business, Rourke had a hard-on for loan managers. In the last six months, every bank the Bandits had hit, the loan manager had eaten a bullet.

That more than anything is what had convinced Connor to accept this undercover assignment. Robbery was one thing; murder was another. Thank God, Lily was just a teller. Besides, she was safe in Schaumburg.

The security guard lying on the floor to his left slowly inched his hand toward the gun holster on his hip. Connor stepped forward, pointing his weapon at the man’s head. “Don’t even think about it,” he growled. He admired the man’s courage, but it would only get him and maybe a few other innocents killed.

Pale faced, the guard returned his hand to its former position above his head. Connor took the man’s gun, shoving it into the back of his jeans. He swept his gaze around the room. “That goes for the rest of you. No heroics.”

A commotion coming from the offices interrupted the whimpering of the women lying near the counter. Connor’s heart sank. Rourke must have found the loan manager. Seconds later, Rourke appeared in the lobby, shoving a woman in front of him. The strawberry-blonde hair hiding her face reminded him of Lily. Christ, he missed her. Not seeing her everyday had been the single most difficult part of this assignment.

“Let me go, you Neanderthal,” the loan manager shouted as she struggled to wrest her arm from Rourke’s hold. The woman’s voice turned every drop of blood in Connor’s body to ice. He stood frozen, unable to move, unable to believe.

It can’t be.

She raised her head, and all the oxygen was sucked out of his chest, as if he’d plunged into Lake Michigan, the cold water closing in over his head, cutting off light, cutting of sound, cutting off escape.

Lily wasn’t supposed to be here. Lily was supposed to be in Schaumburg. Lily was supposed to be safe.

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