Gary angled himself behind her. “Do you think he could hit me and not you through this glass?”

“Yes.” Her lip trembled.

Malcolm took several steps back, the fury in his eyes evident even across the distance.

“Guess not,” Gary said, pushing her toward the sliding glass door. “This changes our plans, now doesn’t it?” He shoved harder with the gun, and she winced. “Draw the blinds shut. Now.”

Roscoe whimpered behind her. “Let me put him outside,” Dana said. Then Malcolm could get the dog some help.

“No.” Gary sighed. “Here’s the deal. You shut these blinds, or I’m going to shoot you in the knee. It won’t kill you, but it’ll hurt like hell, and you won’t even get a chance to run. Don’t you at least want a chance to run?” he crooned, dropping his head to whisper in her ear.

The thought of the baby inside her nearly dropped her to the floor. She had to stay alive. Malcolm knew Gary was there; he’d get the rest of the team. All she had to do was stay alive. “Okay.” She drew the blinds closed, instantly feeling cut off as Malcolm disappeared.

Gary nudged her toward the keypad. “Engage the alarm.”

She punched in the code and then pushed him. “It’s locked and we’re secured. Will you please let me put the dog out on the front porch? Malcolm is out back, so I can do it without him seeing.” She had to save Roscoe. Maybe she’d get a chance to run, too.

“No.” Gary maneuvered them to the living room and shoved her onto the sofa. “You move, and I’ll shoot you.” His smile revealed one too-long canine. “In the knee, of course. We want time to play, don’t we?”

She looked around the room for something to use as a weapon if the chance arose, but there was nothing. How could she get through to him? She thought back to a television show she’d watched a while ago, trying to concentrate. “You saw me at the golf course the other day, right?”

Gary lifted the blinds to check the darkened road. “Yeah.”

“I was there with my family.” She remembered an investigator on the show telling people to personalize themselves to bad guys. “I have three sisters. Do you have any?”

“No.”

Tires screeched outside. Gary nodded. “Backup has arrived. That was quick—must’ve been in the neighborhood.” He let the blinds fall back together and turned to face her, looking like one solid lump of muscle.