Mason and Ethan were nearby, keeping an eye on the building and Noah had doubled back to cover the rear.
With the help of their technical department, Mason had checked the alibi for Elliot Kingman during the attempts on Melody’s life. He’d been at the Chem-Co offices both times. His keycard showed that he hadn’t left until after the attacks and the video feeds proved it.
Grant had really been hoping the man was guilty. Now it appeared one of her employees was the culprit.
They’d done background checks on both women and no red flags popped up. Raine didn’t have so much as a speeding ticket. Deanna had two. Nothing else to indicate that one or both women would resort to violence.
An alert popped up on Grant’s phone. “Show time.” Melody gripped his arm and moved closer to watch the feed from the camera.
She sucked in a breath. “Oh, no, it’s Raine.”
Sure enough, Raine Vickers was unlocking the door and punching in the code on the alarm. He felt bad for Melody. He knew she didn’t want it to be either of her friends, but if she had to choose, she would have rather Deanna be guilty. She and Raine had so much in common.
He’d set up cameras throughout the building and he followed Raine’s progress as she used a flashlight to reach the lab. She opened the door and he felt Melody tense. He grabbed her hand and squeezed, conveying for her to wait before she said or did anything. His phone had just beeped another alert. He switched back to the main door and they watched as Deanna entered. They were in on it together.
Raine heard the noise and spun around. “Hello? Who’s there?”
“Raine? Is that you?”
“Yes. Deanna?” Raine let out a relieved sigh. “Thank goodness. I was afraid it was someone breaking in to vandalize the shop again or something.”
“What are you doing here this late?” Deanna’s tone was pleasant, but Grant understood the unspoken accusation.
“I lost my cell phone. I hope I left it here. Watch your eyes, I’m going to turn on the lights.” She flipped on the overhead lights. Grant and Melody were concealed so they wouldn’t be seen but they could see the two women perfectly.
“Here, I’ll call it.” Deanna punched in numbers and a ringing could be heard nearby. Raine shifted papers on a table and lifted it up in victory. “Thank goodness. I thought it was gone for good.” Then her brows narrowed. “What are you doing here this late?”
“I wanted to get a head start on new brochures that Melody asked me to create. I left all the information here, so I wanted to gather it up and look it over.”
Melody squeezed his hand, indicating that she had never asked the woman to create any brochure.
“Do you want me to stay with you? I was just going to hit a drive-thru and head back home.”
“No! Uh, I mean, I won’t be here long, so it’s not necessary. I just wanted to pick up a few materials to include.”
“Okay, well, don’t stay too late.” With a wave, Raine left.
Deanna watched until she was gone and then she waited a few minutes more, probably making sure she didn’t return. When it remained quiet, she slid a backpack off her shoulders. Alarm bells sounded in Grant’s head, and when he spotted a wire sticking out, they shrieked. “Stay here,” he told Melody.
Deanna’s back was to him, so he whispered out of hiding and grabbed her before she could so much as twitch. In seconds, he’d zip-tied her hands behind her back.
“Ahh! What the hell?” Deanna spun around but Grant had his gun out. Her eyes widened.
Ignoring his instructions to stay put, Melody was practically Velcroed to his back.
“Grant, is the gun necessary?”
He chose not to answer Melody’s question. “What are you doing here, Deanna?”
Her eyes darted around the room. “I was, uh, looking for Raine’s phone. She thought she left it here.”
“Oh, she did. We watched her walk out with it minutes ago.”
“Fine, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay after the scare today.” She turned sideways and indicated her bound arms. “What the hell?”
“What’s in the backpack?” Grant demanded.
Deanna’s eyes narrowed. “That’s none of your business.”
“You won’t mind if I take a look?”
“You touch that and I’ll sue you. That’s private property.”
Grant reached for the bag and she lunged with a feral scream. He caught her easily and forced her to the ground, binding her feet.
“Let me up. I swear to God, I will sue you for brutality. Or assault.”
“Shut up, Deanna,” Melody ordered.
He ignored her threats and carefully peeled the sides of her backpack open. It was just as he feared.
“Oh my God,” Melody cried, looking over his shoulder. “It’s a bomb.”
#
Grant concentrated on not jarring the bag. He didn’t know what kind of trigger was attached to the device and he didn’t want to take chances. “Melody, I need you to get out of here right now. Go.”
Melody glanced from the pipes wrapped with wire to Grant. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“I’m right behind you.”
“You can’t leave me here,” Deanna wailed.
He wanted to ask her why she was doing this, but there would be time for that once they were safely outside.
Melody rushed into the hall but turned and waited for him. Using his knife, he cut the tie around Deanna’s feet and jerked her upright.
“Hey, be careful,” Deanna complained.
Grant ignored her and towed her down the hallway. Just as they entered the showroom, a flash caught his eye. He shoved Deanna down behind the counter and she cried out in surprise. He dove for Melody, tackling her to the ground and covering her body with his as rapid-fire shots rang out and all the front windows shattered into a million tiny pieces. He ducked his head as shards rained down on them.
Tires squealed as the shooter fled and almost instantly, a siren kicked on. The cop they had on standby. He was going after the perp.
Grant eased off Melody. “Honey, are you okay? Melody?”
“Catching…breath.”
He shook off chunks of glass and then brushed the strays from her back before carefully rolling her to her side.
“Does anything feel broken?”
“No. Just had the wind knocked out of me. I’m okay. I think the vest helped.”
“Good.” Grant had insisted she wear a bullet-proof vest any time she left the house after the first attempt on her life. They’d saved many of his coworkers and he wasn’t taking chances with Melody’s life.
Mason dropped down beside them. “Is everyone okay in here?”
“We’re good.”
“Noah got hit. He was coming in to help with the bomb.”
“How bad?”
“Conscious. That’s all I know. Ethan’s with him. I came to check on you two.”
Grant jerked his head towards the counter as he helped Melody to her feet. “Deanna is back there. We need to get out of here.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake,” Deanna huffed, pushing to her feet, her hands still bound behind her back. “You should be more worried about the shooter returning. I’m not a threat. It’s not even a real bom—”
Before she could get the word out, the ground shook and then the world exploded.
Chapter Nineteen
Grant came to as noises penetrated his consciousness. They sounded as if they were from a great distance. His brain was fuzzy and when he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness. The scent of fire crawled up his nose and he remembered—a bomb.
He’d been tossed through the air when the blast went off and slammed into the brick wall. His body ached, but he did a quick check, finding no broken bones.
Melody!
Debris rained off him when he pushed to his knees. He reached out in the dark and when he felt a small foot, he crawled forward. “Melody? Are you okay?”
She groan
ed. “Grant? What happened?”
“Bomb exploded. I need to get you out of here. Are you hurt?”
“Don’t think so.”
He scooped her up in his arms, ignoring the various aches in his body, and made it to the sidewalk and fresh air. He almost crashed into Ethan Addison.
“What the hell, man? Are you two okay?”
“Yeah. Noah?”
“I’m fine,” he said appearing behind his brother. One arm was soaked in blood and he cradled it against his body.
“Can you take her? I need to go back for Mason.”
“I’ll get him,” Ethan volunteered.
“I know where he is.”
He handed Melody over as sirens wailed. He dashed back inside the burning building. Heat from the fire was intense and the inside was rapidly filling with smoke. “Mason!” No response. He took out his flashlight and scanned the area. He spotted his coworker lying on the ground, covered with bits of brick and drywall.
“Mason.” He dropped down and checked his pulse, relieved to find one beating strong. Blood trickled down from a cut along his hairline. The scent of smoke was strong and if he didn’t get Mason out soon, he’d die of smoke inhalation. He did a quick examination to make sure he didn’t feel any broken bones and then slid him up and lifted him in a fireman’s carry. Normally, carrying the big man wouldn’t be a problem, but his legs didn’t seem to want to work. He’d taken one step when a groan made him stop. Deanna. He’d forgotten about her.
“Help. Me.”
Mason was his priority. He was an innocent victim. Deanna was anything but. She had brought the bomb that caused the destruction. “I’ll be back to get you.”
It was precarious navigating the fallen debris in the dark. He was close to the door when Ethan rushed inside to help with Mason.
“Melody?”
“Wanted, no ordered, me to put her down.”
For the first time all night, Grant smiled.
Two firemen met them at the door. He absently wondered if it was the same crew who battled the blaze at Melody’s house earlier in the day. “There’s a woman inside. On the right about twenty feet, under some debris. Semi-conscious. When you bring her out, make sure to find a cop to arrest her. She’s the bomber.”
The firemen nodded, tugged down their masks and rushed inside. Two paramedics met them with a gurney. They carefully loaded Mason on and they whisked him away. He still hadn’t woken up.
He heard a commotion and glanced up to see Noah arguing about going to the hospital. Melody marched over and with a pointed finger, ordered him inside the ambulance. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he wisely zipped his lips and climbed inside.
Melody spotted him and rushed over. “Grant, are you okay? You’re bleeding.”
“Just a few minor cuts.”
She turned him around to check out his backside. He started to make a snide comment, but she screeched, “That’s too much blood for just a cut.”
She grabbed for the buttons on his cargo pants, but he stilled her fingers. “Mel, honey, we’re in public. I mean, I’m not against a little PDA—”
“You’re bleeding,” she growled. “You might have been shot.”
He patted around on his right butt cheek and winced when something stabbed his palm. “Not a bullet. It’s a shard of glass.” Damn. First the road rash and now this. It’d been a bad week for his gluteus maximus. He was going to have a hell of a time sitting down.
“Leave it,” she ordered when he started to pull it out. “It’s plugging the hole. You need to get to the hospital now.”
“As do you, babe.”
“Do you know Noah was shot five times. Five! His Kevlar vest caught four bullets, but one went all the way through his arm.”
“The perp had an automatic, probably an AK-47. They spray bullets at a rapid clip.”
“What if he’d aimed higher?” Her voice broke on the last word and he eased her into his arms, resting his cheek against the top of her head.
“He didn’t, Mel. Noah’s going to be just fine. You can’t think that way.”
She sniffled against his chest. “A bomb, Grant. Deanna blew up my shop.”
His hands rubbed comforting circles against her back. “I know, babe. I’m sorry.”
Detective Frank Hurley approached him with a grim look. “We caught the shooter after a brief chase.”
Melody spun around, dislodging his head and causing it to jerk back. She clung to his side, one hand fisted in his shirt. “You got him?”
“He crashed his car and tried to flee. The pursuing officers managed to catch up to him and subdue him. After they cuffed him, they were leading him back to their squad car when a sniper took him out with a single tap to the forehead. Blew out his…uh, he’s dead.”
“Damn. I was hoping to get the chance to question him.” Not so much question as beat the hell out of him for trying to harm his girl. “Did you get a name?”
“Andrew Polk.”
The same guy who tried to run her over and he would bet his life savings the same man who ran her off the road and totaled her car. “Did they catch the sniper?”
“No. He’s in the wind.”
#
Melody drug her gaze around the area. It looked like a war zone. Pieces of glass and debris littered the sidewalk and street. Windows had been blown out of the surrounding buildings from the force of the blast. The bomb hadn’t gotten her windows though, an AK-47 had shattered them. Smoke hovered over the block like thick fog. The streets had been blocked off and emergency personnel were buzzing around the scene. Medics were working on people from neighboring buildings who had been injured in the explosion. Thankfully no one currently resided in the apartment above her shop.
Earlier, the firemen had carried Deanna outside on a backboard and placed her on a waiting gurney. Grant and Melody walked over as the paramedics worked on her. She was covered in blood and soot. She didn’t look good.
One of the firemen lifted his mask. “I don’t think you have to worry about arresting her,” he’d said in a low voice.
Melody’s heart had twisted. Deanna might have tried to ruin her business, but she’d been her friend once. She wanted her in prison, not the cemetery.
Deanna’s eyes had blinked open and she mouthed Melody’s name. Melody moved closer.
“S-sorry,” Deanna slurred. “Wasn’t supposed to be real.” Blood burbled out of her mouth, coating her teeth and lips red.
“What wasn’t supposed to be real,” Melody asked her. “The bomb?”
“Y-yes. Fake. Told me it was faaaake.” Her eyes rolled back and her head lulled to the side.
“She’s coding,” one of the medics called out.
Grant had grabbed her arms and pulled her to him as they whisked her to the waiting ambulance and sped away.
Now as she stood looking at what remained of her business, she felt numb. She wasn’t sad, she wasn’t angry. She felt nothing at all. That should probably worry her, but she didn’t have the energy to care. All her stock, supplies, ingredients, it was all gone. Incinerated in the fire caused by the bomb. Any additional supplies had been stored in her house, mostly in the garage, now a pile of rubble and ash. She had nothing.
It would take time to rebuild. The grand opening would have to be canceled and there was no way the infomercial could run when she had no bottles to sell.
Elliot Kingman’s offer flitted through her mind. Chem-Co had the resources and the supplies. They had personnel to assist. Elliot had said she would be completely in charge of the project. If she put a rush order on the packaging, she could be up and running again within the week. The infomercial could run as planned and she would still be on track.
Grant wrapped an arm around her and she melted into his embrace. He could’ve been killed tonight.
“What did she say to you?”
Melody refocused on the scene in front of her. “She said she was sorry and that the bomb wasn’t supposed to be real. She was told it was
a fake.”
“Did she say who told her that?”
“She passed out before she could say anything else. Do you think she’s the one who set my house on fire, too?”
“Could be. Or maybe the person who gave her the bomb and told her it was bogus.”
“What if that was a lie?”
“She was in pretty bad shape. Most people confess when they know they’re dying. I believe she was in too much pain to lie to you.”
Ethan came charging over. “One ambulance, no waiting. Come-on, both of you. Time to go to the hospital.”
Mason, Noah and Deanna had already been carted away, along with two other people who’d been injured by the bomb. Grant helped her inside, and she scooted over on the gurney so he could sit next to her, but when he climbed in, he paused. She patted the mattress.
He scratched his chin. “I can’t really sit.”
She jumped to her feet, having forgotten about the shard of glass. “Lie down.”
He eased to his stomach and she moved to the bench. The paramedic clambered in and after securing a strap around Grant, he made sure she buckled up before the ambulance took off.
#
Grant hated hospitals. The smell, the sounds, everything worked together to make him want to run as far away as fast as possible. He’d been poked and prodded and stitched up, but no major damage. A numb butt was a new experience. They’d given him a shot to stitch it up. That’d been real fun. His behind had to look like a disaster zone. That made him chuckle. Perhaps they’d given him some happy juice in his IV. He’d have to remember to tell that one to Kai…dis-ass-ter zone. Though, his brows scrunched, Taylor would probably slug him for saying ass in front of the ten-year-old.
He wanted to get up and leave but Dr. Amelia Howell had insisted he have an IV to replace fluids. He was currently lying on his side, bored out of his mind, worried for Mason and waiting for Amelia to return and release him.
“Grant?”
“In here.”
Melody snuck behind the curtain and his heart picked up speed. She looked exhausted but so damn beautiful it took his breath. “How do you feel?”
Say Goodbye to Melody Page 16
