When Aaron’s head finally started to clear, his security expertise clicked back on. “We need to get everyone out of here. We could have a second bomb.”
The officer directed personnel as he cleared out the space directly under the gaping hole. “You sure that’s what this was? I mean, it sure looks like it, but according to the report from your men when they called us, it sounds like you’ve been having a tough time with recon for the last few hours.”
“That’s a bigger understatement than you can imagine, but yes. I can’t see what else could cause this much damage.” The only question for Aaron was the identity of the triggerman…or woman.
“And make that sound.” Risa slipped her hand into his.
Her gentle touch in the midst of all this chaos and destruction fueled him. It felt right. He’d never been one to need comfort, but he now understood why Royal talked about finding it with Gail.
“My ears are still ringing.” As a result, everything sounded muffled.
Risa shook her head. “I’ve never heard anything like that. It kept roaring. I thought something was coming for the building and would trample it. I guess a tornado or hurricane feels like that.”
“Any idea who did this?” the officer asked.
Aaron had a short list. It included six names, some more obvious and logical than others. He had the puzzle pieces, but they didn’t fit together in any meaningful way. This operation had the earmarks of skill and planning as well as signs of amateur fumbling.
The explosion didn’t match with the fake kidnapping. There could be more than one thing going on, but it didn’t matter how many there were. He would take it all apart and figure it out. The kid upstairs would turn. Someone in that room would talk. He’d untie this mess somehow.
“Someone in that room upstairs should know,” he told the officer.
And very soon, so would Aaron.
* * *
ANGIE TRIED TO OPEN HER eyes, but she couldn’t see anything. She blinked again and tied to lift herself off the floor. Something crunched underneath her, and her wrist thumped with a pain that ran from her arm straight to the headache pounding in her temples.
She had no idea what had happened. One second Lowell was counting and next the world crashed in on them. She searched her memory for an explanation, but none came to her. She hadn’t passed out, at least she didn’t think so. But the world was definitely not the same as it had been even five minutes ago.
After a few more tries and a bout of eye rubbing, she opened them. A gray haze had fallen over the room. The air looked like the sky the minute before a storm blew in. But they were inside, so the sudden darkness made no sense.
Using her uninjured hand, she pushed up to a sitting position. The world swayed and bobbed, but then it settled again.
Mark lay next to her with wide-open eyes. She started to talk to him until she realized his neck was cocked at an odd angle.
“He’s dead.” Palmer said the horrible words as he rose to his knees in front of her.
Palmer’s jacket was ripped open to expose his bleeding shoulder. He had cuts all over him as he cradled his arm in front of him. Somehow he still held on to that gun.
“What happened?” She touched a hand to her head in an attempt to calm the thudding inside.
“If I had to guess, I’d say a bomb went off in the ballroom. It took out a lot of this floor and we were right in the blast zone.”
His information didn’t make any sense. She didn’t plant a bomb or pay anyone else to do it. She didn’t even
know anything about the devices. For her it was too risky. So many things could go wrong in the timing and execution.
She had no idea why someone would use one now to get to Lowell. There were easier ways to kill a man, many of which didn’t have the potential of bringing a building down on your head.
This had started out as a simple test. She’d gauge Lowell’s loyalty and investment in her, maybe make some extra cash. How that had turned into this mess, she didn’t know.
And if any of this traced back to her, she be on the hook for far more than a harmless scam between lovers. That was something she could make disappear with a little blackmail. Surely Lowell would sooner have her keep quiet about their bedroom secrets than turn her in. But this had blown into something bigger, something with the potential for actual damage. She wouldn’t be able to con her way out of this.
“What about those people at the party?” She couldn’t have those deaths on her watch.
“I hope they got out,” Palmer replied.
“When and how? Was there some sort of mass exodus we don’t know about?”
“The wall is gone. We can see more now than we’ve been able to for hours. Obviously, there’s no concern about a lockdown now, but the need for vigilance remains. We still don’t know who survived the explosion and what they want.” Palmer pointed behind her.
For the first time she turned around and saw the extent of the destruction. She could see down the hall through the broken wall. Where there once was furniture and a closure, now there was a pile of something that looked like dust.
“Where’s my father?” Brandon roamed around, stumbling as if he were drunk.
Angie saw the head wound and the blood running down his face and knew the kid was in trouble. Then the impact of his question sank in.
Palmer and Angie got to their feet and followed Brandon around what was left of the room. Palmer turned over a body, but it was Max. After a quick check, Palmer shook his head.
A movement in the far corner had them all racing to get there. After lifting some debris, they found a table balanced over Lowell’s body. He lay there covered in ash.
He rocked his head from side to side, as if checking to see if he could still move.
“Dad?”
Lowell wiped his arm across his eyes, then shot them an unblinking stare. “Well?”
Palmer frowned. “Sir?”
“I’m still waiting for an answer.” Lowell’s gaze scanned his audience as he spoke.
Angie feared a concussion. He acted as if the bomb had never gone off and continued with the conversation he’d started before. “We need to get you a doctor.”
“I’m fine.” His voice sounded clear, but Angie wasn’t convinced.
“Then what are you talking about?” Palmer asked.
“I want to know who’s behind this.” Lowell still hadn’t moved anything but his head. “We’re not leaving until I do.”
Angie sat back on her haunches as a mix of confusion and relief washed over her. He was alive, but he was still a bastard.
Brandon paced and frowned, faltering more with each step. “He’s lost his mind.”
Lowell’s sharp gaze swept over Brandon. The usual harsh frown he wore when he saw his son slipped and Lowell closed his eyes.
Palmer reached out to check Lowell’s pulse. “Mr. Craft?”
When Lowell opened his eyes again, the arrogance that wrapped around him as easily as the expensive clothing he wore was firmly back in place. “I believe I had made it to number one in my countdown.”
His comment quieted the room.
Then he passed out.
Chapter Thirteen
Risa never thought she’d be so excited to see the inside of a hospital. The smell of antiseptic and the beep of the machines. She almost cried in relief when an announcement blared over the loudspeaker.
Nurses rushed in and out. She’d had her vitals taken and her bandages changed. Each of them had offered her food, but her stomach churned at every suggestion.
She drew the covers up closer to her neck and shut her eyes. Snuggling down and settling in sounded good. Sleeping seemed like heaven.
She dragged in a gulp of semifresh breath for the first time in hours and inhaled the smell of freedom. When she opened her eyes again, she saw the fluorescent light above her and the ceiling tiles. A memory tickled at the back of her mind. Despite the safety now, something was very wrong.
She
jackknifed to a sitting position. “Aaron?”
“Right here.” His voice was groggy and more than a little grumpy.
She dropped back against the pile of pillows, letting the relief energize her. Exhaustion tugged at her, but she fought it back. Being with Aaron without bullets flying and walls falling was worth a few more minutes of straining to keep her eyes open. The need to see him overwhelmed her.
Her gaze shot to the side of the bed, and there he was. All disheveled with his hair messed up and the edges of his shirt burned. The tie was gone and the top buttons undone. His lean fingers hung over the side of the armrest, and his legs were stretched out in front of him.
He looked as if he hadn’t slept in a month, yet he’d never looked tastier. Or less in control. His eyelids drooped as he sprawled in a chair pulled up tight against her bed.
Seeing him now compared to his usual state, no one would believe he’d held off bad guys and rescued her. The poor man didn’t look as if he could lift a screwdriver without help.
“You’re here.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he reached out and slid his fingers through hers. “Where else would I be?”
Tears stung her eyes again. There was so much she wanted to say, so many things she’d figured out as her priorities had shifted in place on the floor of that lobby.
She settled for the other question on her mind, the one she dreaded asking. “How’s Royal?”
“Luckiest man alive.” Aaron blew out a rough breath. “Well, he probably won’t think so tomorrow when he wakes up and can barely move but he’s going to be fine.”
She didn’t know she’d been holding her breath until it rushed out of her. “That’s great news. I didn’t think…Well, he looked…”
“I know.” Some of the sleepiness cleared from Aaron’s
eyes as he pushed his body up straighter, wincing with every small movement.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Banged up and bruised but fine.”
She remembered his unexpected fall in the lobby. It would be weeks before she didn’t see that every time she closed her eyes. “Your leg?”
“Messed-up knee, but I can walk. Royal is much worse. He’s looking at broken ribs and a collapsed lung. All minor compared to some of the injuries he had in the army, but he’ll be out for a few days.”
Risa took in the information as she nibbled on her bottom lip. “Is his wife here?”
“Hovering and worrying.” Aaron smiled as he said it. “She was concerned about you and me. She peeked her head in, but you were sleeping and she didn’t want to bother you. I assured her we’re fine and that you’d meet with her as soon as you could actually sit up without falling over.”
The news had Risa’s mind scrambling. “She doesn’t even know me.”
“That sort of thing doesn’t stop her. That’s who she is. She a nice lady who would do anything for you.”
“So, like Royal.”
“Except for being female and much prettier.”
Aaron leaned forward and closed Risa’s hand between both of his. “I’m just happy you’re okay.”
A lightness filled Risa when he opened up like this. He generally talked about work, what she now knew to be his fake job and general things. He didn’t usually mention people. When it came to Royal and Gail, it was clear Aaron felt a connection.
For some reason that gave her hope; he could form that bond with other people, too. Like maybe with the woman he claimed to be dating.
“You like Royal’s wife.”
Aaron lifted her hand and kissed each knuckle. “I like you.”
With that, her heart tumbled. Just took a spin and left her fighting to breathe.
Feeling suddenly self-conscious, she tried to run a hand through her hair but stopped when she snagged on something. No need to think about what was in there. She’d wash her hair fifteen times if she had to.
“I look like I’ve been hit by a train. A train that smacked into me, backed up and took a second run at me.”
He pretended to assess the face in front of him, then shrugged. “Sort of.”
“You could be more supportive.”
“How about, you look like you got hit only once by that train?”
“Maybe you just like the smashed type.”
The amusement dancing in his eyes cooled. “Is there anyone I should call? I called my dad—”
Shock filled her. “Dad?”
“How did you think I got here?”
She tried to beat back the blush warming her cheeks. “I just don’t think of you with parents.”
His eyes widened. “Wow.”
“I know that sounds ridiculous.” But something as normal as parents didn’t fit with her superhuman image of him.
“My mom died a long time ago, but I definitely have a dad who insists on calls when there’s a hospital stay involved. I figured you might have the same issue. That you might need to make some calls.”
That was easy. “No.”
“I know you’re new to the job, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have work people, friends and family.” He cleared his throat. “You mentioned something about a boyfriend. Should I get him here with you?”
“An ex.” She brushed her fingers against his palm. “And I lost my parents long ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
There would be time for those discussion later, so she skipped to her point. “With starting over and being new to the job, right now you are my people. The two of us are dating, remember?”
He shot her the full-on sexy smile this time. “Yeah, but I wanted to make sure you did. Women can be fickle about these things. They wake from an explosion and want someone other than the guy they’re with. Wasn’t that a movie?”
Even with the cut at the corner of his mouth and the faint hint of a bruise around his eye, he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. She didn’t know if that was objectively true, but when a guy threw his body on top of yours to save your life…well, was there anything sexier than that?
“So, now what do we do?”
He pushed out of the chair and sat on the bed facing her. The mattress dipped under his weight, pulling her in closer to his body.
His hand caressed her jaw as his thumb traced her bottom lip. “I promised you a kiss.”
That traitorous heart of hers went back into free fall. She felt every thump, heard every heartbeat in her ears. “You’re not too tired?”
“For this?” His mouth hovered right above hers. “Never.”
While his whisper still danced across her cheek, his head dipped and her lips pressed against hers. He skipped the tasting and the testing and went right for hot. His lips were warm, his tongue searching. The kiss exploded, sending a fire raging through her every cell.
She felt the kiss in her skin and to her toes. It heated her from the inside out and then sent a fine tremor through her. All control abandoned her as her head fell back into his waiting hand.
When she thought he’d break away, he pressed in.
When she wrapped her arms around his neck, he pulled her in closer.
They touched everywhere their bodies could press, and still their mouths kept searching. The kiss went on until her breathing came in pants and her brain signaled her common sense to pack for vacation. She’d just decided to drag him down to the mattress with her when a loudspeaker announcement broke the moment.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “Was that thing louder this time? I swear she was talking to us. Kind of felt like high school there for a second.”
Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. “I’m kind of sick of alarms and sirens and anything that comes out of a speaker.”
“Maybe true, but you haven’t given me your assessment.”
“Of what?”
“Do you still think the anticipation beats the actual kiss?”
Promise kept. “I was an idiot about that theory. Now I know better.”
“Yeah, let’s say you were uneducated.” He pressed a light kiss on her mouth before sitting back and putting a foot of needed air between them. “But I gotta say that one took me by surprise, too. I expected something sexy, but I got a tiny bit of naughty in there, too.”
“Is that bad?”
“Naughty is never bad.”
Sweet-talker. “Imagine what we’ll be able to do when we’re not in a hospital.”
She wanted to call back the words as soon as she’d said them. Yeah, he’d joked about another date, but this was the same guy who’d failed to call. A mercy date was bad enough. One grown out of the joint survival of violence didn’t appeal to her at all.
She tried to laugh it off. “Forget I said that.”
“No way that’s going to happen. I have you down for more kiss testing. Count on me collecting.”
Her gaze flew to his. She could play coy or wait for his next move. She would do all those things the magazine articles tell you to do to catch a man. Those same things she read and laughed about. Funny how they seemed ridiculous when you were in a relationship and maybe not so silly when you weren’t.
But a strong woman said what she wanted. “Technically, you owe me a date.”
“And an apology and several explanations. We’ll talk about all of it. I am not foolish enough to think all is forgiven and forgotten.”
“I’m getting there.”
“Good to know.” He picked a piece of paper out of her hair and let it fall to the floor. “But before I do anything else, I’m going to kiss you again.”
When he lowered his head to hers, she didn’t argue.
Chapter Fourteen
Lowell stood over Brandon’s hospital bed. In sleep, the boy couldn’t cause any trouble. He lay there so quiet and still.
Pressed against the white sheets with tubes sticking in him and machines beeping all around him brought back a memory. Brandon had had surgery as a kid. Both times his dark hair had spread out around him and a pain-relief drip hung nearby.
Lowell didn’t do many parental things, believing that in the family division of labor those fell to Sonya. But medical crises had always been mandatory events for both parents. Right now Brandon’s actions in messing up his job had Lowell furious, but he knew his place was here. Even if he didn’t have this time to waste.
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