"Come on," Tiel said, impatiently motioning them through the door. She was frantic to know how Sabra was faring.
Juan went first, limping noticeably. He hesitated on the threshold, his eyes darting to various points on the parking lot. Two, she noticed, was practically on Juan's heels, standing belly to butt as though using the other man as a shield. They stepped through the door.
Tiel had turned to speak to Ronnie when suddenly the front of the store was seared with blinding light. The SWAT team, looking like black beetles, came scurrying from every conceivable hiding place. Their number amazed her. She hadn't seen a third of them when she'd gone out to confer with Galloway.
Ronnie cursed and ducked behind the counter. Tiel screamed, but from outrage, not fear. She was too livid to be afraid.
Oddly, however, the tactical officers surrounded Juan and Two, ordering them to lie facedown on the ground.
The injured Juan had no choice but to comply. He practically crumpled.
Heedless of the warnings shouted at him, Two took off at a dead run but was almost immediately tackled and knocked to the concrete. Before Tiel could assimilate what had happened, it was over. The two men were shackled and dragged away by the SWAT team.
The lights went out as suddenly as they'd come on.
"Ronnie?" His name was bellowed through a bullhorn.
"Ronnie? Ms. McCoy?" It was Galloway. "Don't be alarmed. You've been in the company of some very dangerous men. We saw them on the videotape and recognized them. They're wanted by the authorities here and in Mexico. That's why they were so eager to escape. But they're in our custody now. It's safe for you to come out."
Far from being calmed by this information, Tiel was furious.
How dare they not warn her of the potential danger!
But she couldn't vent her anger now. She would take it up with Galloway and company later.
With as much composure as she could muster, she said to Ronnie, "You heard him. Everything's okay. The lights, the SWAT team had nothing to do with you. Let's go."
He still looked afraid and uncertain. In any case, he didn't move from behind the counter.
God, please don't let me make a deadly mistake now, Tiel prayed. She couldn't push him too hard, but she had to push hard enough to get him moving.
"I think it would be best if you left the pistols here, don't you? Lay them there on the counter. Then you can walk out with your hands up, and they'll know that you're sincere in wanting to work things out." He didn't move. "Right?"
He looked tired, depleted, defeated. No, no, not defeated, she corrected. If he looked upon this as a defeat, he might not leave. He might take what would seem to him the easier way out.
"You did an exceptionally brave thing, Ronnie," she said conversationally. "Standing up to Russell Dendy. The FBI. You've won. What you and Sabra wanted all along was an audience, someone to listen and play fair with you.
And you've got them to agree to do just that. That's quite an achievement."
His eyes strayed to her. She smiled, hoping it didn't look as phony and wooden as it felt-indeed, as it was.
"Set the guns down and let's go. I'll hold your hand if you like."
"No. No. I'll go out by myself." He placed the two pistols on the counter, and as he wiped his damp palms on the legs of his jeans, Tiel exhaled the breath she'd been holding.
"Go ahead. I'm right behind you."
She hesitated, worried about the handguns, which were still within his reach. Was his seeming compliance a trick?
"Okay. I'm going. Coming?"
He licked his bruised lips. "Yeah."
Nervously she turned toward the door, opened it, and stepped through. The sky was no longer black, she noticed, but dark gray, so that the silhouettes of all the vehicles and people showed up against it. The air was already hot and dry. There was a light wind, carrying sand that abraded her skin as it blew across her.
She took a few steps before glancing back. Ronnie had his hand on the door, ready to push it open. There was no sign of a weapon in his hand. Don't do anything harmful now, Ronnie. You're home free.
Ahead, waiting for her, she could make out Galloway.