and he’d sooner lose the first edition Arthur had given him than lose his personal copy.”
It took Bones and Kaylin a moment to comprehend the full implications of the statement, but then Bones whooped and pumped his fist.
“The stolen book is the first edition given to him by Conan Doyle!”
“So the real book is still out there somewhere.” Dane thought about it for a while. “Let’s take Benjamin’s advice and look up this Wainwright fellow.”
They had scarcely passed through the exit doors when Kaylin glanced up and her face went pale. “That’s one of the guys who kidnapped Thomas. I’m sure of it.”
Dane looked up to see a tall, thick man with ash blond hair striding toward them. “Bones, get Kay out of here right now. Go!”
Bones didn’t have to be told twice. He took Kaylin by the arm and ducked back into the building.
The man was almost on top of Dane, and as he reached inside his jacket, Dane sprang into action. He leapt in close and drove an uppercut into the man’s chin just as he was drawing a pistol from underneath his jacket. The man grunted and stumbled back, but Dane stayed on him. Grabbing the man’s wrist in both hands, Dane drove his forehead hard into the taller man’s mouth, and heard the satisfying crack of breaking teeth. Still controlling his wrist, Dane swept his legs out from under him, and rode him to the ground. He punched him once, twice in the temple, and banged his head on the pavement for good measure. The gun slipped from the stunned man’s limp fingers. Dane picked it up, tucked it his belt, then relieved the man of his wallet before getting to his feet and giving him a solid kick in the temple to keep him down. Keeping an eye open for more potential attackers, he untucked his shirt in order to hide the gun.
“Say! Did that bloke just pull a gun on you?” A paunchy man in a suit stood at the corner, looking at Dane as if he was radioactive. He held a cell phone, but appeared uncertain if he should use it.
“Yes, he did. Call the police.” Not waiting for the man to grow bolder, Dane turned and dashed back inside the building after Bones and Kaylin.
“Did you happen to see which way my friends went?” he asked the frightened desk clerk. “The blonde girl and the tall Indian.”
“Through that door.” The man pointed a shaky finger down the hall. “And another man came in after them while you were… fighting outside.”
As he dashed through the door the clerk had indicated, he heard a loud crash, and turned a corner just in time to see Bones punch a man in the throat, grab him by the back of the head, and drive a knee into his face. Kaylin, her face pale, but her expression resolute, hurried out and took Dane’s hand.
“What was the crash?” Dane asked as they turned away from the front desk and headed down a narrow hallway, following the sign that read ‘Emergency Exit.’
“Bones knocked down some books.” Kaylin raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know why.”
“I was trying to push the freakin’ bookshelf over on the dude.” Bones sounded defensive, almost hurt by her criticism.
“Those are huge shelves, and they’re anchored to the floor. You can’t just push one over.” Dane couldn’t help but grin, despite their perilous situation.
“In the movies, one shove and the whole library goes down like a bunch of dominoes.”
“Yes, Bones,” Kaylin said in a patient voice, as if speaking to a child, “but real life isn’t always like the movies.”
“Sure, you tell me that now,” he said in a sullen voice, “after I almost got us killed. We could see the guy through the shelf. He had a gun, and looked like he was up to something, so I tried to knock the shelf over on him. All I managed to do was hit him in the side with a few books.”
“Some of them were big books,” Kaylin said, “with lots of pages. Who knows? Maybe he got a paper cut.”
Bones muttered something Dane was certain was obscene, but Kaylin owed Bones
It took Bones and Kaylin a moment to comprehend the full implications of the statement, but then Bones whooped and pumped his fist.
“The stolen book is the first edition given to him by Conan Doyle!”
“So the real book is still out there somewhere.” Dane thought about it for a while. “Let’s take Benjamin’s advice and look up this Wainwright fellow.”
They had scarcely passed through the exit doors when Kaylin glanced up and her face went pale. “That’s one of the guys who kidnapped Thomas. I’m sure of it.”
Dane looked up to see a tall, thick man with ash blond hair striding toward them. “Bones, get Kay out of here right now. Go!”
Bones didn’t have to be told twice. He took Kaylin by the arm and ducked back into the building.
The man was almost on top of Dane, and as he reached inside his jacket, Dane sprang into action. He leapt in close and drove an uppercut into the man’s chin just as he was drawing a pistol from underneath his jacket. The man grunted and stumbled back, but Dane stayed on him. Grabbing the man’s wrist in both hands, Dane drove his forehead hard into the taller man’s mouth, and heard the satisfying crack of breaking teeth. Still controlling his wrist, Dane swept his legs out from under him, and rode him to the ground. He punched him once, twice in the temple, and banged his head on the pavement for good measure. The gun slipped from the stunned man’s limp fingers. Dane picked it up, tucked it his belt, then relieved the man of his wallet before getting to his feet and giving him a solid kick in the temple to keep him down. Keeping an eye open for more potential attackers, he untucked his shirt in order to hide the gun.
“Say! Did that bloke just pull a gun on you?” A paunchy man in a suit stood at the corner, looking at Dane as if he was radioactive. He held a cell phone, but appeared uncertain if he should use it.
“Yes, he did. Call the police.” Not waiting for the man to grow bolder, Dane turned and dashed back inside the building after Bones and Kaylin.
“Did you happen to see which way my friends went?” he asked the frightened desk clerk. “The blonde girl and the tall Indian.”
“Through that door.” The man pointed a shaky finger down the hall. “And another man came in after them while you were… fighting outside.”
As he dashed through the door the clerk had indicated, he heard a loud crash, and turned a corner just in time to see Bones punch a man in the throat, grab him by the back of the head, and drive a knee into his face. Kaylin, her face pale, but her expression resolute, hurried out and took Dane’s hand.
“What was the crash?” Dane asked as they turned away from the front desk and headed down a narrow hallway, following the sign that read ‘Emergency Exit.’
“Bones knocked down some books.” Kaylin raised her eyebrows. “I don’t know why.”
“I was trying to push the freakin’ bookshelf over on the dude.” Bones sounded defensive, almost hurt by her criticism.
“Those are huge shelves, and they’re anchored to the floor. You can’t just push one over.” Dane couldn’t help but grin, despite their perilous situation.
“In the movies, one shove and the whole library goes down like a bunch of dominoes.”
“Yes, Bones,” Kaylin said in a patient voice, as if speaking to a child, “but real life isn’t always like the movies.”
“Sure, you tell me that now,” he said in a sullen voice, “after I almost got us killed. We could see the guy through the shelf. He had a gun, and looked like he was up to something, so I tried to knock the shelf over on him. All I managed to do was hit him in the side with a few books.”
“Some of them were big books,” Kaylin said, “with lots of pages. Who knows? Maybe he got a paper cut.”
Bones muttered something Dane was certain was obscene, but Kaylin owed Bones
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