by Linzi Baxter
“Zack, settle down. I can take on Antonio myself. I don’t need you fighting my battles.”
Both men grunted.
“When Kat and I were in the parking lot, we saw Sophie bawling. She said she came here to talk to you. What did you say? Kat is trying to calm her down.” Antonio was yelling by the time he was done talking.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I asked her on a date. She said we wouldn’t work and doesn’t want to see me anymore.”
Maybe there was hope after all if she was upset.
“That woman looks like she got her heart ripped out.”
Zack leaned forward. “Sophie broke up with Zane. She thinks she isn’t good enough because she has a medical condition.”
“What’s wrong with her?”
It was nobody business but Sophie’s. I glared at my brother for saying something he had no right to talk about. “It’s nothing life threating. She is still my world. The problem is that she doesn’t want to be in my world.”
“Grow the fuck up and go after your woman. Make her understand that you won’t leave her and will always be by her side.”
Antonio had a point. I needed to figure out a way to make Sophie believe that, no matter what, I would always be by her side.
“I think you have a good point. I’m not giving up.”
Zack stood. “Good. But you need to take care of things in DC first. Then you can fix your love life.” Zack exited the room before I had time to respond.
“Your brother’s an ass, but the stuff in DC does need to be fixed. I’ll watch over Sophie until you get back. Get better, man. You have a battle in front of you.”
That I did. I would get her back. It wouldn’t be right away, but she would be in my life again.
19
Sophie
Three weeks, four days, and six hours. That was how long it had been since I walked out on the love of my life. It was the hardest decision I had ever made. I thought that if I broke it off before it started, it would be easier. But my heart felt like it had been run over by a dump truck.
Nothing seemed to bring me joy. The heartache was so bad that it had caused me to be sick every morning. For the last couple of weeks, I couldn’t keep anything down. The smell of coffee made me gag. The only joy I seemed to find was when I held Antonio Jr. in my arms.
I reached for my phone, willing it to the ring, if only to hear his voice for a few seconds. I asked Brock and Antonio how Zane was. I got the same response from them both. They told me to pick up the phone and call him myself. They both seemed mad at me for leaving Zane.
When Kat had shown up at my car in the hospital parking lot, I told her everything. She had said I needed to get over myself and go apologize to the man. Didn’t these people understand that I wanted Zane to have everything in life?
Bridget swung my door open and came in, followed by Jessica. Inwardly, I groaned. It looked like both of them were in lecture mode. I wasn’t in the mood.
“Looks like she’s feeling sorry for herself,” Bridget said sarcastically. “If only there was a way to make her feel better.”
Every day for the last three weeks, Jessica and Bridget had come into my office to encourage me to contact Zane. The first week, they were sympathetic and listened to me. The second week, they gave me their tamed-down opinions. This week they held nothing back. The filter was gone.
“It’s not like he’s called me,” I snapped.
Jessica played with a plastic bag in her hands. “You left him. Why should he call you?”
Needing a couple seconds to come up with a reply, I clicked the power button on my laptop and waited for it to boot up.
“Have you seen pictures of the man? He’s at a different charity event each night. And, at each event, he has a different woman hanging off his arm. I highly doubt he remembers me.”
A week after I left Zane, I had been sitting at home eating ice cream, trying to wash my sorrow away. I flicked on TMZ to see a picture of the man I cared about flash across the screen. He had a woman on his arm. He looked a lot better than I did.
Bridget leaned forward and rested her elbows on the desk. “You really think he moved on, or is he running a mission?”
“Doesn’t matter. We’re done.”
Jessica threw the bag in her hand at me. “No, you’re not. Go take that.”
I opened the bag. Inside was a pregnancy test. How could my two trusted friends be so cruel as to throw this at me? They both knew I couldn’t have kids.
“Is this some sick joke?” I couldn’t hold the tears at bay.
Bridget got up, rounded the desk, and threw her arms around me. “No. You said the doctor said you more than likely wouldn’t have kids. There is a slim chance you could.”
It was true. At my last checkup, I had asked what the chances were of getting pregnant, and he said, with the damage I suffered, around five percent. But I still didn’t understand what giving me a test and talking about it meant.
“So, I have a five percent chance of pregnancy. Why are you giving me a test?”
Bridget turned to Jessica. “She can’t be serious right. Everyone knows.”
“I guess not everyone,” Jessica replied.
“What am I missing?”
Both women turned toward me and said at the same time, “You're pregnant.”
“That’s not…”
Over the last couple weeks, I had had a hard time keeping anything down. When food wasn’t making me vomit, the smell of it gave my stomach a tumble. Could it be possible? My hands went straight to my stomach. The thought of carrying a little Zane put a smile on my face. But what if I got my hopes up and then was crushed because it wasn’t true.
No better way to find out than to take a test. I grabbed the bag and headed down the hallway. I could hear the hurried clacking of heels behind me. When I went to close the door, Bridget was trying to force her way in.
“I will tell you when I find out. You stay on that side of the door.”
Those two minutes were the longest of my life. A little white stick held my future on it. Could it be possible the man of my dreams had super swimmers? Two lines appeared across the small screen. I was pregnant. I couldn't believe it. I reached into the bag and grabbed another test. I took six tests before it really sank in.
The need to see Zane was overwhelming. Would he take me back, or would he not want anything to do with me because of my actions? I pulled up my phone. There was an afternoon flight to DC. With a couple clicks, I was on my way.
When I opened the door, Jessica and Bridget had smiles across their faces. They both rushed in and gave me a hug.
“I’m heading to DC.” For the first time in weeks, a calm set over me.
Jessica cheered. “About time!”
The flight I had booked was in a couple hours. I needed to run home and grab some things before I left.
“I will call you tonight.”
Not waiting for an answer, I rushed back to my office, grabbed my things, and headed for the door.
By the time I reached my car, apprehension began setting in. What if he’d moved on?
I got into my car. As soon as I sat, I heard an audible click, followed by a ticking sound. This can’t be happening! I just found out the best news of my life, and now I’m gonna die.
Reaching for my phone. I dialed the one person I wanted to say goodbye to. The line picked up after one ring.
“Sophie.” His velvety voice came across the speakers in the car.
I couldn’t hold in the sob. It broke free. “I’m sorry.”
“Red, stop crying. We can work everything out.”
He was in DC. If I hadn’t pushed him away, he would have been here, and I would have gotten to kiss him goodbye. Instead, I was going to blow up in a fucking car.
“No, it won’t work.” I heard a growl come from the line. “They put a bomb in my car, and it is ticking.”
A stream of cuss words blasted across the phone line. “Where are you?”
&nb
sp; “At work.” The ticking was wearing on my nerves. I couldn’t see a countdown anywhere, I just heard a steady ticking noise.
“I’m on my way. Let me call Brock and Antonio. We will be there shortly. Hold on!”
DC was a few hours away by plane. He wouldn’t make in time. “If I don’t make it, I’m sorry, Zane. I love you.”
“You will make it, Red. I love you. Hold on. I will call you right back.”
The phone went silent. I was left with my thoughts about how I had pushed away from the man I loved. Losing my baby would be devastating.
Zane
It had been hard to be away from Sophie for the past three weeks. Antonio gave me a report each day about how she was depressed and sick. But I promised my brother I would help find the rogue agents.
For the past three weeks, I had been going to charity events and working the halls of Langley to take down all the dirty politicians and agents. The women I’d taken as dates were trusted agents helping me with my case. As of yesterday, we had the information we needed to take down the last dirty politician on the list.
We could never clean up Washington completely. But, we had made a large dent. After the arrests were made, I jumped on the first flight to Ft. Lauderdale. When I landed, I wanted to knock on Sophie's door and demand she listen. But, it had been three o’clock in the morning, and Antonio’s words about her being sick ran through my head.
I had planned to surprise her at home the next evening. I had sweet-talked her landlord into letting me in. At first, Betty was suspicious. But when I told her my plan, she gave me access. I was going to cook Sophie a romantic dinner and demand we be together.
I had been baking a caramel cake when my phone vibrated in my pocket. At the sight of Sophie’s name on my phone, hope filtered through my mind.
Hope turned to dread when Sophie mentioned the ticking noise coming from her seat. Brock had a bomb expert on his team. John was known for being able to dismantle anything. Ft. Lauderdale police called on him from time to time to help when they were dealing with bombs, and he taught classes on explosives for the FBI and CIA.
I clicked Brock’s name in my contact list, and he answered immediately.
“How’s the cooking going?”
Over the past few days, Brock and I had been talking. He had been helping me come up with a plan for winning Sophie back. The woman would have to learn that I loved her no matter what.
“Sophie called. She got in her car, sat down, heard a click, and now something is ticking. I need you to send John there right away.”
A long pause on the other side had me thinking the phone was disconnected. “John is out of the country on assignment. I’ll meet you there. We can FaceTime him, and he can walk us through this.”
I made it to White Hat Security’s parking lot in record time. I could see Sophie in her black sports car. She was talking to herself, and tears were streaming down her face. When her eyes landed on me, there was a look of shock.
“Hey, Red.” When I leaned in to kiss her forehead, I could hear the ticking noise coming from inside the car.
“You came.” She tried to smile through her watery tears.
Needing to see what we were dealing with, I squatted down to see under Sophie’s seat. A timing device was attached to enough C-4 to blow up the parking lot. The timer was counting down, and we didn’t have much time left. It had hit the five-minute mark.
The running footsteps behind me were an indicator that Brock and Antonio had made it.
“How long?” Brock demanded.
Getting up so Brock could take a look, I said, “Five minutes.”
Sophie gasped. “You all need to leave. Get everyone out of here”
No one would leave her to deal with a bomb strapped to her seat. Brock was pointing his phone under the seat so John could take a look.
“It’s hard to see without being there. From what I can see, you need to cut the green and purple wires carefully. Twist them together, and then cut the blue. When you cut the green wire, the countdown will go down quick. You don’t have much time, so you need to be fast.”
Brock reached for his cutters.
“No,” I said. “You both have wives and kids. Let me do this. Go make sure everyone is far away in case I fail.”
Both men protested, but ultimately left. We didn’t have time to debate.
Needing to touch her one more time before I jeopardized both of our lives, I leaned on the door frame. Her lips were inches away from mine. It was intoxicating being so close.
We were still for a moment, then I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck and leaned down. She leaned forward to meet me partway.
I couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped my lips. She tasted so sweet. I leaned in, needing more. The ticking of the bomb brought me back. When I pulled away, Sophie whined at the loss of our connection.
“I love you, Red.” Not waiting for a reply, I ducked down to work on the bomb.
I ground my teeth as I slowly raised the cutters to the wire. It was now or never. I took a deep breath and cut the purple and green wires. The time rapidly decreased. My hands were shaking so bad that it was hard to get the two wires to connect. Once the purple and green wires were connected, I cut the blue wire. Nothing stopped. The timer was still going.
“How’s it going down there?”
“Peachy.”
Thirty seconds left, and two wires. One might send us to our death, and one might save us. Orange or red? Those were my choices. I didn’t have time to call John back. Red reminded me of the woman sitting in the car, so I reached up and clipped the red wire.
20
Sophie
At the sound of the last snip, I held my breath. The ticking should’ve have stopped. It continued.
“How it is going down there?”
It was a stupid question to ask. Nothing else came to mind.
Zane’s reply was a quick snap. “Peachy.” His voice was strained.
The shakiness of his response didn’t leave me feeling comfortable about us getting out of this alive. I heard the clipping of the wire cutters again. I held my breath, waiting for the explosion. The clicking stopped and it was quiet.
Zane was still crouched down beside the car. I could hear him release the breath he had been holding. He hadn’t had much faith he could disarm the bomb, from the sound of his relief.
“Can I get out?”
I reached over to unbuckle my seatbelt, wanting to get as far away from my car as possible. I never wanted to see the thing again. From this moment on, I pledged to ride a bike for the rest of my life. It only rained in Florida around three o’clock. If I planned my days right, I would be fine riding a bike.
“No.”
What does he mean by “no?” I want to get the fuck out of the car. Does that mean there is another bomb?
“I don’t understand. The ticking stopped.”
Zane looked me in the eyes and ran his hand through his hair. He had a sheen of sweat running down the side of his face. “There could be a second trigger. Brock has the Ft. Lauderdale bomb squad on the way. They should be here any second.”
I could hear the sirens in the distance. They were getting closer. When they pulled into the parking lot, it caused a commotion, and people stopped to stare. The SWAT team that showed up had Bomb Squad printed on the side of the truck. Didn’t these people understand the danger they were in? Why weren’t they running for their lives?
A man dressed from head to toe in body armor showed up next to the car.
“I need you to step away from the car, sir.” His voice came out sounding like Darth Vader.
Zane took two steps back. He gave the armored man enough room to look at the bomb and do his job.
When the bomb guy reached for his kit, he noticed Zane was still standing close by.
“Sir, you need to get back.”
“I’m not moving. Just do your job, dude. When Sophie is safe, I will move.” Zane’s jaw was locked tight. The
re was no room for argument.
When the guy went to protest again, I put a stop to the nonsense. “Bomb dude, that is the most stubborn man around. He’s not going to leave. Can we get this bomb removed so I can get out?”
“Dave.”
“Sorry, what was that.”
This man needed to do his job and stop chit-chatting. I’m glad he wasn’t around while the bomb was ticking down. He sure was taking his sweet time disarming the fucker from the bottom of my seat.
“My name is Dave. Not Bomb Dude or Dude. It's Dave.”
“Okay, Dave, can we get a move on? I want to get out.”
He pulled out a mirror and, for the next five minutes, poked around my seat. When he rose and whispered to Zane, I knew it wasn’t good.
“Bomb’s under my seat, not his. Time to tell me what is going on.”
When Dave turned to face me, his eyes held sympathy. “There is another trigger. To deactivate the trigger, I’m going to have to reactivate the bomb and short the other circuit.”
Zane had walked over and was having a conversation with Antonio and Brock. They both looked upset by the information.
“How about option two? You pull me out of here as fast as you can?”
He shook his head. “Won’t work. I think I can do this.”
No fucking way. What person trying to save your life says, “I think I can do this?” No, you say, “I can do this,” and hope you don’t blow yourself up along the way.
“Really? You think you can do this? You need to work on your bomb-side manners. Repeat after me. ‘I can disarm this bomb with no issues.’”
“Red, I will be right here the whole time.” Zane had come back while I was giving the bomb tech a pep talk on talking to people trapped with bombs.
If I made it out of this stupid bomb predicament, I would spend the rest of my life making it up to Zane for walking out on him when he was in the hospital.
“No. Please go, seriously. Just go.”
“Not going to happen. This bomb expert will finish disarming the bomb, and then I will pull you into my arms, take you home, and make love to you all night long.”
