Still they didn’t move, just stared back.
Her mother’s gaze grew even frostier. Linc finally sighed. “Come on, Mom . . .”
She didn’t waver.
Linc’s jaw tightened, but he nodded. “Fine. Let’s go, Blake.”
“No.”
Chloe sucked in a breath. Another one. Shivers hit her in spite of the heavier coat she’d put on. Fire flowed through her forearm. She desperately wanted to adjust her hold, but didn’t dare. She wasn’t comfortable with pretty sure. Come on, come on, guys.
Linc backed up while Blake continued to stare down her mother. “Blake—”
“She has no authority over me. I’m staying.”
Chloe winced.
“Clear!”
The call came. Mitch came around the side of the building. “You can let go now.”
Chloe tried to.
And couldn’t.
“Chloe?” Blake stepped forward and placed his hand on hers. “You can let go.”
She caught his eye. “You’re sure?” Her gaze slid to Mitch. “You’re absolutely sure?”
“Yes.” He’d pulled his head gear off and his compassionate green eyes held hers. “I’m one hundred percent sure.”
Chloe slowly let go of the knob.
When the plunger settled back into place, the explosion knocked her to her knees.
Blake yelled, something slammed into her, and Chloe found herself facedown on the wooden porch with a heavy body on top of hers. Stunned, unable to move for a brief second, she finally gathered her wits and her breath. “Blake,” she managed to gasp, “are you all right?”
For a moment, he didn’t answer. Smoke swirled around them.
“Blake?”
“Yeah.” He coughed. “I’m okay. Ears are ringing, but okay.”
“Good, then get off of me, please.”
He rolled and she helped him with a shove to his shoulders. When he landed beside her, he dragged in a long breath and stayed still. “You’re okay? You’re sure?” she asked.
“I think so.”
Chloe looked to see her mother rising to her feet. One of the officers had tackled her too. “Sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just reacted. I’m really sorry. I—”
She patted his arm and raked a hand through her now mussed hair. “You’re forgiven. As long as you’re not hurt.”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good.” She locked her eyes on Chloe’s. “You’re okay?”
Chloe pulled herself to her feet. “I’m fine, I think.” Mitch lay on the other end of the porch. Chloe went to him, Blake on her heels. She dropped to her knees beside him. “Mitch?”
He groaned and sat up rubbing his ears. “What happened?”
“You said it was clear.”
“It was clear.” He stood, blinking. Grabbed the rail. “I’ll find out what happened. Is everyone okay? Anyone hurt?”
“Not on our end. Not sure about your guy if he’s still in the building.”
Mitch went to the door. “Not a very big blast. Door is still there.”
“Felt big enough to me,” Chloe muttered.
Mitch examined the area that had been blown out by the explosion. He tried the door, then shook his head. “Deadbolts are still holding. The door is solid. That blow was meant to scare someone off and keep the door still in one piece. Kind of like a flash bang. Really masterful, if you ask me.”
“Masterful,” Chloe muttered. “Nice.”
Brad rounded the corner, looking dusty, but still in one piece. “Sorry about that. He had the inside rigged as well. Just that small part where the plunger fits. When the plunger slid back into its resting place, it triggered the small blast. It wasn’t meant to maim or kill, just to scare someone off. Just so you know, I ran the X-ray over the area. It didn’t look like bomb material.” He dropped his gaze. “It was so small, I never saw it.”
“Not your fault,” Chloe said. “Like you said, it was small. Big enough to scare, but not enough to do much damage.”
Her mother approached once again and hugged Chloe. “Who’s responsible for this?” she asked when she pulled away.
“A guy by the name of Ethan Wright.”
She nodded. “Where is he?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
She turned to Linc. “Get a warrant and search this place from top to bottom. Then find this joker and charge him with attempted murder.”
Chloe realized the incident had shaken her mother. Badly.
“We’ll find him, Mom,” she said. “We need him found for more than one reason.”
From the corner of her eye she spotted Brad talking to Linc. He nodded and approached. “Get away from the building. One of the other dogs alerted to the back.”
They moved fast, heading toward the road where the other emergency vehicles were pulling back to a safe distance. Linc stopped Mitch. “Tell us what you find.”
“Will do. Stay near your radio.”
Sitting in the back of one of the ambulances, Blake massaged Chloe’s arm while they waited.
Minutes crept past and Chloe closed her eyes while his fingers soothed her sore muscles.
Linc straightened and listened.
“What is it?” Blake asked.
“They managed to get some eyes inside,” he said. “Brad just said the building is loaded with explosives. And drugs. There’s enough street dope in there to fund a small city. My guess is he’s holding it for someone.”
“Drugs, human trafficking, probably weapons,” Chloe said. She shook her head. “It never ends. No matter how hard we try, they just keep coming.”
“Yeah,” Blake said, “but this is going to put a hurt on someone.”
“Probably Ethan Wright if he isn’t already dead,” Linc said. “When the owners of these drugs find out they’ve been confiscated, Ethan might just wind up a dead man.”
Blake drew in a deep breath. “Then we need to find him first. Rachel’s life may depend on it.”
Rachel ate the apple slowly, savoring the sweetness on her tongue even as her gaze swept the small room she had yet to leave. When the man she could identify only by his voice had left, she’d sat up, used the restroom that was attached to the bedroom, and tried the door.
Locked.
Of course.
Instead of panicking, she’d sat on the bed, thinking. Planning. Praying. Wondering where Lindsey was and how she was faring. She prayed her friend was still alive.
When the lock had nicked open, she’d immediately lain back down on the bed and shut her eyes.
When she opened them—after being sure the person was gone—she’d seen the lunch tray. A chicken salad sandwich, two apples, a bag of chips—and a blood sugar monitor. She sighed and used the monitor. Her blood sugar was a little high, but she figured it was about right with all the stress running through her right now.
Starving, she’d polished off the sandwich, then the chips, and finally the apple. The second apple she decided to save for later. Halfway through the apple, the thought occurred to her that the food could be drugged, but she felt no effects so far, so she was going to assume she was fine.
The door opened midbite.
Rachel left the bite and lowered the apple.
Dark eyes glittered at her from behind the ski mask. “Looks like we’re going to need you to move after all,” he said.
“Move?”
“Back to the cages for now.”
The food churned in her belly, but protest would be fruitless. They would just drug her or beat her into submission. Rachel reached for the other apple and slid it into the pocket of her jacket. She had no idea how she came to be wearing it, but it was warm, so she left it on.
She stood. “Okay.”
Surprise flickered in the eyes. “If you’re not going to give me any trouble, I’ll let you walk.”
“I won’t give you any trouble.” Yet.
“Good. Then walk.”
Rachel walked. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she let him, proud of herself for not flinching away from him, as was her first inclination.
Out of the room, they walked down a hallway, through a kitchen, and down a set of stairs leading off from that kitchen.
A cement-walled basement. Probably soundproof.