fear when she spun and saw the man’s silhouette just twenty feet away.
“Lily Garrett.” He uttered her name in a terrible whisper.
All she could think was that he knew her name. “Who are you?”
The sound of a pistol being cocked hit her like a cattle prod. Lily knew nothing about guns, but she’d seen enough shoot-’em-up movies to discern the sound of a bullet being chambered.
Instinct propelled her to the adjacent door. She swept past benches and tables at a dead run. Her shoes pounded the tile as she burst through the door and down the corridor at a dangerous speed. At the elevator, she slammed her fist against the Up button. But there was no time to wait for the car. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the man’s shadow at the cafeteria door.
The gunshot blast rendered her momentarily paralyzed with fear. Plaster flew from the wall less than a foot from where she stood. Dear God, he’s shooting at me! An Exit light over the stairwell door at the end of the hall beckoned. Lily sprinted toward it. Panicked gasps broke from her lips as she ran. Behind her, she heard footfalls and knew he was coming after her.
She swung open the door and hit the steps running, taking two at a time. At the landing she paused to catch her breath. Suddenly, the door below burst open and banged wide. In the glare of the Exit light she saw the silhouette of the man, his face darting toward her, the dark shadow of a gun rising.
Lily spun and clambered up the stairs, terror and utter disbelief ripping through her with each step. All she could think of was her baby. But in order to save her child, she had to first save herself.
The hospital lobby was on the first floor. Even this time of night it would be filled with people. Lily shoved open the door. Dim emergency lighting illuminated the huge atrium.
“Help!” she screamed as she ran toward the information desk. “Gun!”
Startled glances swung her way. Two clerks looked up as she dashed to the counter. Lily set both hands on the Formica top, breathless with adrenaline and fear. “There’s a man with a gun!” she shouted.
One of the clerks grabbed the phone. “I’ll notify security.”
Lily looked toward the stairwell door and the bank of elevators, but the gunman was nowhere in sight. Had he followed her? Was he already amongst the throngs of people in the lobby?
“Where is he?” the second clerk asked.
Lily scanned the atrium. Several groups of people gathered near the potted palms in the center of the room. A few more stood near the gift shop. Beyond the glass revolving door, the lights of an ambulance flashed red and blue.
“I don’t know,” Lily said. “He was in the cafeteria. He had a gun and fired a shot at me. I think he may have followed me up here.”
“Honey, maybe you ought to sit down.”
The older clerk rose and moved around the counter. “I called nine-one-one.”
Lily didn’t think the cops could get there fast enough if the gunman decided to start shooting. She took one more look around the room, but didn’t see the man. “Where’s security?”
“They’re on the way,” said the older clerk. “They’ve been tied up all night with this blackout. People get crazy when it’s dark. Whole city’s gone mad.”
A gunshot shattered the relative peace of the lobby. On instinct, Lily crouched low, shocked the man would open fire with so many people around. In her peripheral vision she saw both clerks duck. To her right, a young security officer ran toward her, his pistol ready in his hand.
“Halt! Security! Drop the weapon now!”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The security officer clutched his shoulder and went down. Lily saw blood on his uniform. She looked around wildly but couldn’t spot the shooter. Screams filled the atrium as people scrambled for cover.
Dropping to her hands and knees, she crawled toward a grouping of furniture and potted plants. She could feel her breaths coming hard and fast. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it might hammer its way right out of her chest.
Setting her hand protectively over her abdomen, she peered over the back of the sofa. The lobby had gone nearly silent, as if holding its breath in anticipation of the next burst of violence. The shooter was nowhere in sight. Had he gone? After her encounter with him in the cafeteria, she was surprised he’d ventured into a crowded area. Unless she was the target.
The notion was ludicrous considering her humdrum lifestyle. These days all she did was work, in anticipation of the birth of her child. She was saving as much money as possible so she could give her baby the security she deserved.
Lily might have believed all of this was random. That she’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then she remembered he’d whispered her name, and she knew this was not indiscriminate. But why on earth would someone target her?
She thought about the security officer who’d been shot. From where she crouched she could see him on the floor. Clutching his shoulder, he spoke into his radio. The need to help him taunted her. If she hadn’t been pregnant, she might have attempted it or at least tried to find an EMT to help her move him out of the line of fire. But she had to think of her child now. That meant staying put until help arrived. Where the hell were the police?
Movement to her right snagged her attention. Adrenaline burst through her when she realized it was the gunman. He walked calmly, brazenly among the frightened, cowering people, pointing his weapon but not shooting. As if he were searching for someone in particular.
Looking for her?
Terror closed over her like a giant, smothering hand. Closing her eyes, Lily fought a rise of panic. From his bulk, she could tell this wasn’t the same man she’d encountered in the basement, which meant there was more than one shooter. What in the name of God was going on here?
Gun drawn, the man systematically searched the atrium. People whimpered as he passed them by. Lily prayed he didn’t shoot. A terrible sense of helplessness descended over her. Crouching lower, she raised her head and peered over the sofa back. The shooter was less than thirty feet away, his eyes narrowed and scanning, the gun ready at his side.
Knowing she had mere seconds before he discovered her hiding place, she looked around for another. The front revolving doors were too far away; she’d have to cover too much open ground to reach them. Behind her, a dark hallway led to the public restrooms and a bank of pay phones. She didn’t get down here often, but she was pretty sure there was an emergency exit at the end. If she could reach the hall, she could sneak out the door undetected. But she had to move. Now.
Never taking her eyes from the man with the gun, she crawled backward toward the darkened corridor. Twenty feet away, he ordered several people facedown on the floor. Lily prayed he spared them, but she didn’t stop moving.
She was midway to her destination when a subtle noise from behind her nearly stopped her heart. She looked over her shoulder to see the dark figure of another man rush her. All she could think was that there was a third shooter, and her pulse went wild. A yelp escaped her an instant before he pressed
