Explosive Situation

by Terri Reed

  His jaw firmed. “Olivia, think about—”

  “No.” She jumped out and hurried up the walkway to the building’s entrance.

  Henry and Cody caught up to her. Cody’s nose twitched and he skidded to a halt. The dog sat on the stoop and stared up at his partner.

  “He’s alerting.”

  There were no waiting packages or anything out of the ordinary. The planter with the bonsai tree that the superintendent maintained appeared undisturbed. As did the welcome mat. “Where’s the explosive?”

  He drew her and Cody away from the entrance to where the officers and other emergency personnel stood. To the superintendent, Henry asked, “Did you come out through the front entrance?”

  “I did a couple of hours ago,” the balding man replied. “I just returned from the hardware store when these officers rolled up.”

  “We didn’t see anyone suspicious around the building,” one of the officers said.

  “The front door could be wired. Opening it might trigger the bomb.”

  Urgency made Olivia’s heart rate double. “There are people inside. What if one of them decides to come out the front door? And Kitty! We have to get them out.”

  Henry nodded. “Is there a rear exit?”

  “Yes, through the laundry room.” The superintendent handed over his keys.

  “Keep anyone from approaching the front entrance,” Henry told the officers. To the emergency squad, he said, “Come with me.”

  “I’ll show you the way,” Olivia said, not about to let him sideline her. She led the way around the back of the building to a short staircase and the door leading into the laundry room. She and the others hung back while Henry let Cody sniff around the door and surrounding area. The dog didn’t alert. Henry gave the all clear.

  They raced inside with Cody in the lead. They moved through the building, banging on doors as they went, telling the few people home during the middle of the day to leave through the back exit.

  Olivia opened the door to her apartment and rushed inside. “Kitty, Kitty!”

  Cody entered, sniffing, made a beeline for her front window and sat staring at them.

  “He’s alerting,” Henry declared. “The explosive is attached to your apartment window. We have to get out of here!”

  “Not without my cat!” Panic fueled her. She ran to her bedroom where Kitty liked to hang out. The feline was curled on Olivia’s pillow. Grabbing the cat, Olivia ignored its howling protest and ran with Henry and Cody. They relayed the bomb’s location to the emergency personnel.

  The officers had ushered the residents to a safe distance upwind of the building.

  Henry conferred with the bomb squad technicians, one of whom was dressed in an explosive ordnance disposal suit. The other technician then brought out a bomb disposal robot and used a hand controller to send the robot across the sidewalk toward Olivia’s front window.

  Henry urged her forward to join her neighbors. They’d only made it a few steps when Henry’s cell phone dinged, stopping them both in their tracks. Dread gripped Olivia as she pressed close to Henry to read the incoming text.

  KaBOOM!

  No sooner had the words registered than the window of Olivia’s apartment exploded in a deafening bang, spitting glass a good ten feet.

  Henry folded Olivia and Kitty into his arms away from the blast, while keeping Cody safely in front of him. Olivia burrowed into Henry’s chest. Despite the fear, she felt safe in his arms. Unexpected, thrilling and terrifying all at once.

  The last echo of the explosion left the world muffled. Henry leaned back to meet her gaze. “Are you okay?”

  Her knees were wobbly. “I am. You?”

  She remembered the last time they’d been in this position and though he’d reassured her about his state of being after the garbage can exploded, in actuality he had been injured. She inspected him carefully and saw no new wounds. Thankfully, the one on his scalp was healing.

  Olivia turned to see that her front window had been blown out. The rest of the building looked unharmed. The bomb disposal robot appeared undamaged. After a careful inspection to make sure there were no additional explosive, the technicians and emergency personnel rushed forward.

  Henry and Olivia moved out of the way to allow the others to work.

  “I don’t get it.” Henry rubbed a hand over his jaw. “If this has something to do with Davey Carrell’s injuries, why would the person come after you?”

  “Remember what my attacker at the museum said? I’m supposed to find you guilty,” Olivia reminded him. “This was just to show that he could get to me as easily as he could get to you. He seems bent on destruction rather than harm.”

  He shot her a look filled with disbelief. “Remember the kids at Coney Island? They only suffered minor injuries and one broken bone, but still, it could have gone very differently if we hadn’t arrived in time.”

  “True.” Her stomach curdled. “But the bomber gave you time, just as he did here. He could have blown the window when we were on the building’s stoop.” And been cut up by flying glass.

  “He may not intend to kill, but he certainly is intending harm,” Henry said. “And given that you’re pregnant...”

  She sucked in a breath and held up a hand. “What makes you say that?” She’d known he suspected it but for him to state the fact was an entirely different matter. She’d tried too hard to conceal her growing abdomen.

  “I heard your sister ask you about the baby.” He shrugged. “I’ve noticed other things, as well.”

  Resigning herself to him knowing her secret, she said, “My family knows, but I haven’t said anything to anyone else. My doctor cleared me for duty. I don’t want anyone treating me differently because I’m expecting.”

  “I would imagine it’s a bittersweet blessing,” he said.

  “It was definitely unexpected.” Not wanting him to think she resented her baby, she added, “And a blessing. I know God has a plan. For me and this child. I just have to have enough faith to see it through.”

  “He always does have a plan,” Henry said. “I love the verse Jeremiah 29:11, about God knowing the plans He has for us. I repeated it often after my father’s death. Though sometimes the plan is uncomfortable and even painful.”

  They shared a common bond of loss. Somehow that seemed to tether her to him in unexplainable ways. She adjusted Kitty in her arms. “Roger and I were on the verge of a divorce and I had pretty much given up my hope of motherhood.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said.

  “I never imagined life would turn out so upside down. For so long, I tried to keep my marriage together, be the good wife. But nothing seemed to please Roger. He always found fault. I couldn’t measure up to his ideal.”

  Henry frowned. “Why should you have had to measure up? That’s not how love works.”

  Tears misted in her eyes. She blinked them back. Was Henry a man who would accept the woman he loved as she was, without expecting her to change to meet his wants and needs? Her heart throbbed with a longing that took her breath away.

  “How far along are you?”

  Pulling her composure around her like a cloak to ward off the flood of emotions clogging her throat, she forced out the words. “Nearly four months. I found out a month after Roger’s death.” She gave a wry twist of her lips. “I thought my morning sickness was stress and grief.” And anger, but she didn’t like what that said about her. “My mom convinced me to go to the doctor.”

  “That must have been a surprise.”

  “Yes.” She nuzzled Kitty. “I have to admit the idea of raising a child by myself is daunting.”

  “You have your family for support and God to guide you,” he said.

  “True.” She met his gaze. “But he or she will be my sole responsibility.”

  He reached forward to stroke Kitty
’s head. “I have complete faith you can do this, Olivia.”

  His words seeped into her, filling all the bruised places. She’d always wanted a family of her own, including a husband who would love her without conditions. If only Henry could be that man. But that couldn’t happen. Even if she wasn’t investigating him and they were free to pursue a relationship, he’d already made it clear he wasn’t interested in being a parent again.

  She really needed to find a way to put some distance between them. And not just physically, but emotionally, as well.

  Henry’s gaze moved to the building. “Did you live here with your late husband?”

  It was a fair question. “After Roger’s death, I couldn’t stand to be in the home we’d shared. I had movers box up everything and sent Roger’s items to his parents in Maine. I sold the apartment and rented this place.”

  Empathy softened the hard angles of Henry’s handsome face. He touched her arm in a soothing gesture that made her want to lean on him for support. She refrained. Distance, remember?

  “You can’t remain here, obviously,” Henry pointed out. “You’ll come stay with Riley and me. Until this guy is caught.”

  The idea of living under the same roof as Henry sent her pulse jumping. That was one sure way for them both to get fired. Her investigation would be beyond compromised. “No way. It would be a conflict of interest for me to room with you and your sister. I’ll be fine at a hotel for a few days.”

  The screech of tires on pavement drew Olivia’s gaze. A police cruiser stopped and her father climbed out. Tall, with broad shoulders, Captain Alonso Vance scanned the crowd, his gaze locking on his daughter like a missile.

  Grimacing, Olivia muttered, “Uh-oh. Brace yourself.”

  TEN

  Olivia’s father’s long legs carried him to her side and he engulfed her in a hug. She inhaled the spicy scent of her father’s aftershave and melted against him. Kitty meowed and squirmed to be set free.

  After a moment, he stepped back. “Are you hurt?”

  “No, Papa,” she said, using her childhood nickname for him. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to be his little girl and know he would make the world right.

  “Thank you, God. I prayed the whole way over. I needed to make sure you were okay.” Her father reached past her to offer Henry his hand. “Detective Roarke. Thank you for sending word.”

  Henry shook his hand. “Of course, Captain Vance.”

  “Wait, what?” She stared at Henry.

  His matter-of-fact expression let her know he had no remorse for contacting her father. “While you were giving your statement, I had someone let your dad know what was happening.”

  Her emotions bounced between betrayal and being touched by the gesture. She didn’t need anyone rescuing her. She wasn’t some princess in a tower. She was an officer of the law. And Henry’s superior. He shouldn’t have taken it upon himself to alert her father.

  “This is unacceptable, Olivia,” her father said. “This suspect has to be caught.”

  Like she had any control of the situation? “We’re working on it, Papa.”

  Her father’s dark eyebrows rose. “Is that so? Since when does IA investigate bombings?”

  “When the one targeted is the subject of an investigation. And now I’ve been targeted, as well.” There was a heat in her tone that she’d rarely used with her father. But at the moment, she wasn’t going to let her father or anyone else make her feel bad for doing her job. “This situation ties into the assault charge brought against Detective Roarke.”

  Her father’s brown-eyed gaze vaulted from her to Henry. “I see.”

  Olivia frowned, not sure she liked the assessing look in her father’s eyes. What exactly did he “see”?

  “Detective Roarke, I will leave it to you to make sure the lieutenant is delivered safely to her family home. I’d do it myself but I have to return to the precinct.”

  “Yes, sir,” Henry replied, surprised evident in his eyes.

  Gaping at her father, Olivia couldn’t believe what she’d just heard. “Excuse me. I’m right here. I’ll stay in a hotel.”

  “Uh, no. Your mother would be livid,” her dad stated. “You’ll be safest at home.” He reached to pet Kitty. “Both of you.”

  Though she hated to admit it, her father was right. Her parents’ house was a fortress in many ways, with a state-of-the-art security system her father had installed a few years ago. Every inch of the property was covered with video cameras and motion detectors. Her father was beyond cautious. “Fine, but I can get myself home, thank you.”

  Her father leveled a stern look on her. “Not tonight. You aren’t to be alone until this maniac is apprehended.” Turning back to Henry, he continued, “You’re welcome to stay for dinner. The whole family’s coming. And Simone is making empanadas and arroz con gandules.”

  Since when did Mama make her specialty dishes when it wasn’t a holiday?

  Henry grinned. “I can’t leave my sister to fend for herself.”

  “The more the merrier,” her father said. He turned back to her. “I’ll let your mother know you’re all right and will be coming to stay at the house.” He walked away.

  Olivia stared after him. What just happened? Why on earth would her father invite Henry over for dinner?

  Her dad would be first in line of those who’d want to lecture her on keeping her work separate from her personal life. Especially when it involved someone she was officially investigating.

  Her brain was muddled with confusion. Maybe she had sustained a blow to the head after all during the explosion to her apartment window. Or she was just hormonal. Pregnancy could do that to a woman, right?

  Because nothing was making sense at the moment. Certainly not the excitement and trepidation warring within her over Henry coming home for dinner. On the bright side, maybe having him under her parent’s roof would help to clarify some of his behavior.

  Or make things worse for her.

  So much for keeping her distance from the too-handsome officer.

  * * *

  Apparently, Henry liked playing with fire. Why else would he have agreed so readily to join the Vance family for dinner?

  He really should have begged off attending, but here he was. He glanced at Olivia in the passenger seat next to him. There was no reason for him and Riley to intrude on a family dinner. Olivia would be safe with her siblings and father. He and his sister’s presence would only complicate matters. They would be the outsiders. Riley was already too emotionally involved with Olivia.

  But the fact was, he liked Olivia and wanted to spend time with her and her family.

  The thought tore through him like a bullet, blowing holes in all of his excuses.

  Shaking his head at his own folly, he parked behind an older-model SUV in front of a two-story home in the Randall Manor neighborhood of Staten Island. “Nice place.”

  Riley, sitting in the back, leaned forward to stare out the side window. “This is where you grew up?”

  “Yes, it is nice. A wonderful place to grow up,” Olivia replied. She chewed her bottom lip as she too stared at her childhood home. Kitty lay curled in a borrowed cat carrier at Olivia’s feet, oblivious to her human’s anxiety.

  Olivia hadn’t said much since they’d met with Gavin and filled him in on what had happened at her apartment before leaving the station.

  Henry could tell his boss was stressed. Gavin’s usually unflappable demeanor had cracked slightly as he’d made it clear he wanted Henry and Olivia to be extra careful. He’d even instructed Henry to stick close to Olivia and make sure nothing happened to her. This contradicted his earlier admonishment, but Henry hadn’t pointed that out.

  Instead, Henry had promised he would take every precaution to ensure both of their safety, which earned him a startled glance from the IA lieutenant. He’d expected her t
o protest, but she’d only nodded.

  Now Henry laced his fingers through hers. “If you’d rather we didn’t come in, I’d understand.”

  She turned to look at him, her pretty face softening and the worry dissolving. She tightened her grip around his hand. “I appreciate that. But Dad invited you and he’d be disappointed if you didn’t show up.”

  “What about you?” Henry asked. “Do you want me—uh, us, here?”

  Her lips parted and she inhaled sharply. Then she seemed to relax. Smiling, she said, “Yes. Of course. You and Riley and Cody are welcome.”

  Not exactly what he’d meant, but he’d take it.

  They climbed from the vehicle and he hung back to let Cody wander on the front lawn on leash while Olivia tucked Riley’s arm through hers and led her inside.

  The neighborhood was quiet. Pleasant. Peaceful. Trees lined the sidewalks and family cars sat in driveways of dwellings similar to the Vance home. Henry had never lived in an actual house.

  His parents had lived in a five-story walk-up in midtown until Henry’s mother bailed. Then Henry’s dad had married Susan and moved them to the condo in Brooklyn, where they lived when Riley came along. Something tightened in his chest.

  A yearning for a suburban life like this caught him by surprise. What would it be like to have more space, like a garage with a workbench and storage?

  The thought of her raising her baby alone made his heart ache. But there was nothing he could do for her. He wasn’t prepared to take on the responsibility of parenting again, no matter how tempting it was to think of holding a baby and being there for all the early milestones.

  He’d been too young and self-absorbed at sixteen to get excited about Riley’s first words or steps or the first time she lost a tooth. Now she was his world.

  “Cody, old boy, I think I need a vacation,” Henry muttered.

  “Do you?”

  Henry whipped around to find Olivia a few feet away. She’d changed clothes. She now wore a loose dress that dropped below her knees to reveal nicely defined calves. Strappy sandals graced her feet. The sight of her pink painted toenails captivated him. She was such a contradiction from who he’d first assumed her to be. She could be uptight and rigid, strong and commanding, but she also had a sweetness to her that did funny things to his heart.