Chapter 36
Istrapped in, then swung out the window. The rescue team would extract the office worker's body later. Priority one was to get the living out of the building before it collapsed. Which it did the minute I swung free.
It crumbled and imploded on itself in a plume of dust as the helicopter lifted me out of harm's way. Not a moment too soon.
Steel and rebar creaked and groaned.
Onlookers below shrieked in horror.
The winch pulled me up, and I climbed into the cabin with Emily, then disconnected the harness.
The pilot banked the craft around and headed toward the station.
"Thanks, guys," I said. "That was a close one."
"You got nine lives, Wild,” Deputy Polk shouted at me.
I’d been through that many at least.
Jack buzzed my phone. "I’ve been watching the whole thing on TV. You got out of there in the nick of time. You okay?"
“Yeah, we’re all good.”
“I don’t know about you, but this has got me all fired up. The gloves are off. We need to get this bastard any way possible.”
“I’m with you, brother.”
“I knew that you would be. Glad you’re okay.” He paused. “I should have been there.”
“Nothing you could have done. How’s Henrik?”
“He’s good.”
“Keep him out of trouble, and I’ll be back shortly.”
“Affirmative.”
I texted Isabella to rattle her cage and see if she had drummed up any info on our perp.
At the station, we touched down on the helipad, and EMTs triaged us. We were both dirty, dusty, and shaken up. We’d both suffered minor abrasions.
All in all, we were okay.
The EMTs suggested we go to the hospital for a full workup, but I declined. Emily wasn't too enthused about the prospect either. She turned down their offer for a ride in the ambulance.
Once inside, I filled out after-action reports in the conference room. That's when another unknown call buzzed my phone.
"I'm tired of this game," I said when I answered, knowing it could only be one person.
"But you're doing so well. You're still alive after two close calls. It's quite impressive.”
"You lied.”
"I did no such thing. How you interpret the clues is your business."
“You detonated the bomb early again. More people died."
"As we've already established, there are no rules, Deputy. More like guidelines. Suggestions, perhaps.”
"A game without rules isn't fun.”
"Oh, I'm having a tremendous amount of fun. And I suspect you are too.”
I scoffed. "This is anything but fun.”
"You don't mean that. I'll bet you feel more alive than ever. That adrenaline, like a drug, rushing through your veins. You get to play the hero. And the clarity of mind,” he said with envy.
“Nothing to cloud your judgment. When it comes to matters of life and death, survival is the only thing that matters.
It's pure. Unadulterated. You should be thanking me.
Plus, you're getting to spend time with that gorgeous blonde. Have you banged her yet?”
The scumbag had obviously been watching.
I didn’t bother to answer his lurid question. "What's next?"
"See. You’re ready to get back into the action already. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait, Deputy. All things in good time.”
He ended the call.
I forwarded a recording of the call to Special Agent Thompson, then found the sheriff. We chatted about the events.
"Look, I want this guy behind bars yesterday,” he said. “Use all available resources.”
I knew what that meant. “Believe me, I'm doing everything I can.”
"This guy keeps upping the ante every time.” A grim look tightened his face. “It only gets worse from here.” Daniels put a comforting hand on my shoulder before walking off.
I’d come a few feet from getting vaporized. You couldn't get much closer. I know that weighed heavily on him.
Ashton had arrived at the station to pick up Emily. They embraced in the lobby, and Ashton looked over her with worried eyes. "Are you okay?"
Emily nodded.
"What were you doing in that building?”
"I… I don't know. I needed to warn Deputy Wild. There were no comms.”
"That's not your business. You are a scientist, not a first responder. You're not a field agent. I don't mind you consulting on this case, but you are not going back into the field, you hear me?”
"You can't tell me what to do."
An exasperated sigh escaped his mouth. "I'm not telling you what to do.
I'm telling you that I care about you. And I don't want you blown up.
I'm just looking out for you. You can consult on this case from your office.
You don't need to go to an active site. That makes no sense to me. What good can you do there anyway?”
Emily frowned. "I think I can do a lot of good.”
"I’m right, and you know I’m right.”Ashton spotted me and glared. "I blame you for this.”
My face wrinkled. "Me?”
"How could you let her go into that building?”
"I didn’t let her do anything. She did it all on her own.”
"Isn't somebody looking out for her? She's a civilian, for chrissakes.”
I said to Emily, "You really ought to listen to your boyfriend. You should stay out of threat areas.”
Her eyes narrowed at me.
“Fiancé,” Ashton corrected.
“Oh, right. Congratulations!”
I could have dropped a bomb of my own on this guy and probably should have. I was so tempted to ask if the brunette he had dinner with was his sister. If she was, there was something weird going on in that family.
Ashton scowled at me and tugged Emily’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Emily looked over her shoulder as Ashton pulled her away. “I’ll be in touch.”
I watched as they got into an argument in the parking lot. I stayed out of it.
“Ah, young couples in love,” Deputy Hollis said, watching the drama unfold.
I laughed.
Emily and Ashton fought all the way back to his BMW. They hopped inside and kept fighting.
I called for a rideshare and waited in the lobby.
Isabella texted back. [Sorry. I’ve got nothing. He’s covering his tracks well. I’m looking for transactions of equipment and material necessary to construct these types of bombs, but I don’t have anything solid yet. Will keep you in the loop.]
[Thanks.]
A black Lexus SUV pulled up a few minutes later. I hustled outside and climbed into the vehicle. We zipped back to Diver Down, and he dropped me off at the dock.
I walked back to the Avventura and crossed the passerelle. Buddy waited for me, faithful as ever.
Henrik and JD sat in the salon, watching TV. The news coverage was nonstop. The camera did a good job of capturing the devastation, but it wasn't quite the same.
A shiny aluminum cane rested by the sofa. This wasn’t some cheap drugstore device. It was stylish, sleek, and modern.
“Did Emily bring a cane?” I asked.
“No,” JD said. “I picked it up for him. But he won’t use it.”
Henrik made a face.
“I think it looks good.”
Henrik sneered at him.
“Just a little something in case of emergency.”
Henrik wanted to hang on to his independence. To him, the cane was an admission that time had won.
I climbed up to my stateroom, peeled out of my clothes, and took a shower. The dust and grime swirled down the drain, and the hot water soothed my sore muscles. The blast had felt like getting hit with a wrecking ball.
Afterward, I toweled off and got dressed, then rejoined JD and Henrik in the salon. I was hungry, and they were too. We decided to order pizza. I wasn’t in the mood to go anywhere. I’d had enough adventure for one day.
We kept the evening pretty low-key. I texted back and forth with Isabella a few times, trying to come up with something that could identify this guy.
Emily called later in the evening. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
“No. Not at all.”
“I just wanted to apologize for Ashton. He was extremely rude.”
“He’s just concerned.”
“It’s not your fault I was in that building. I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions.”
“Look, it’s none of my business.”
“I know what you’re going to say.”
“No, you really don’t.”
The douchebag’s voice echoed in the background.
“Listen, I’ve got to go,” she said in a hushed tone. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
She ended the call. It was probably for the best. I didn’t need to get involved in that drama.
A few minutes later, my phone rang with a call on an encrypted app. I didn’t recognize the number. Dread knotted my stomach. I had exceeded my BS limit for the day. I swiped the screen and said, “This is Deputy Wild?”