Explosive Attraction

chapter Twelve



“You’ve got to give me a better reading than that.” Rafe clutched his cell phone against his ear. He stood on the sidewalk watching the crowds of tourists while he waited for a better GPS reading from dispatch. The Bridge of Lions was visible just down the street. Sailboats lazily navigated the water on the other side of the Spanish fort in the historic district. All these tourists, enjoying the summer day, none of them realizing a serial bomber was in their midst.

“That’s the best I can do,” the voice came through on the phone. “There’s some kind of interference. The signal just disappeared.”

“How could you lose the signal?” He waved at one of the uniformed officers who was helping with the search and held the phone away from his mouth. “Check the marina. Maybe someone over there saw something.” The officer took off running. Rafe held the phone back to his mouth. “What could cause that kind of interference?”

“Lots of things. Buildings are the worst, something with concrete or brick walls.”

Rafe eyed the coquina and stone walls of Castillo de San Marcos, a hundred yards in front of him. The walls were several feet thick. He started walking toward the fort. “What about stone?”

“Oh, yeah, that would do it.”

He started running. “If you get the signal back, call me.” He hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket.

A shrill scream filled the air. Rafe froze, trying to pinpoint where it had come from. Two officers who were close by stopped as well, turning, like him.

The front entrance to the fort suddenly filled with people. They poured out onto the lawn as if a mass evacuation had been ordered. The scream stopped, as though someone had been cut off in midscream. The hairs on Rafe’s arms stood on end. He motioned to the two uniformed officers and pointed toward the fort as he took off running again.

When he reached the drawbridge, he grabbed the arm of a man rushing past him. “Why is everyone running out?”

The man’s eyes were wide with fear. “Someone got stabbed in there.”

“Who?” When the man didn’t answer, Rafe shook him. “Who got stabbed? Is the perpetrator still inside?”

“I don’t know. Let me go.” He yanked his arm out of Rafe’s grasp and took off.

Rafe stood to the side, helpless to stop the flood of people exiting the fort. He waved one of the cops over. “Crowd control. Stop as many of these people as you can and collect them on the green over there. Someone’s been stabbed, and one of these people could be the perp.” He yanked his gun out of his holster and held it down at his side. “Get the other uniforms over here and secure the area. I’m going in.”

He shoved past the last of the people running out of the fort. His stomach sank and he slid to a halt. Darby was running toward him through the courtyard, her shirt soaked in blood.

No, no, no. Please. He didn’t know what he was praying for. All he knew was he wanted her to be okay.

He shoved his gun in his holster and ran toward her. She met him halfway, her eyes wide and searching.

“You’ve got to help him, Rafe. Come on.” She grabbed his hand and tugged, but he didn’t budge.

He grabbed her by the shoulders. “Where are you hurt?”

She twisted out of his arms. “It’s not my blood. It’s not...” She shuddered and swallowed. “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and this time he didn’t resist. He let her pull him behind her.

They rounded the stone wall and he drew up short, yanking Darby to a halt. No, not this. He swore and pulled her back to the entryway. “Where’s the perp?”

“Perp? I don’t under—”

“The person who did this. Where is he?”

“I don’t know. I never saw him.”

“There are some police officers outside. Tell them to get an ambulance, and to get the bomb squad out here.”

She nodded and ran through the entryway.

Rafe turned back around and rushed to the opening of the nearest cell. Jake was lying half in the cell and half on the courtyard grass. Rafe crouched beside him. There was so much blood he wasn’t even sure where Jake was injured, or if he was even alive.

Jake’s eyes fluttered open. “Darby, is she—”

“She’s fine. Where are you cut?”

“Abdomen. I heard someone behind me and started to turn around when he knifed me in the gut. All I got was a glimpse of a ball cap pulled low over his face. I couldn’t even tell you how tall he was because I was doubled over.” He grimaced, and Rafe wasn’t sure if it was because Jake was in pain or because he was disgusted that he couldn’t identify his attacker.

“I told you on the phone the bomber sent me your picture. Why weren’t you on alert? How did you let this happen?”

“It’s not like I just stood there and let him do this,” Jake snarled.

Rafe took off his shirt and bunched it into a wad. It was hard to tell where to press, and he had to be careful so he wouldn’t move the vest strapped over Jake’s shoulders. He pressed the cloth against the largest spot of blood he saw. From the way Jake sucked in his breath, Rafe figured he had the right place.

“I thought I’d killed the bomber,” Jake said. “Three days ago. I didn’t think there was any danger anymore. What the hell is going on?”

Rafe shook his head. “I don’t know. But right now, we’ve got a bigger problem.”

Jake’s mouth curved in a rueful grin. “Yeah, you got that right.”

Rafe held the cloth pressed tightly against Jake’s stomach, trying to stanch the flow of blood so he could focus on his next task.

Disabling the bomb strapped to Jake’s chest.

* * *

THE SOUND OF SOMEONE running had Rafe turning. His mouth fell open in stunned disbelief.

Darby skidded to a halt beside him.

“Get out of here!” Rafe leaped to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulders. He turned her around. “Go on, run!”

She shook her head violently back and forth, her hair flying around her face. “No, I’m not leaving.” She shoved his hands off her shoulders and dropped to the grass beside Jake. “This is my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Rafe knelt down beside her. “Darby—”

Her mouth set in a hard, determined line. “I did exactly what you told me to do. I told those cops outside what had happened. And you know what they did?”

Jake laughed, then started coughing. Bright red blood sprayed out of his mouth, onto the vest.

“Be still, you fool.” Rafe pressed his shirt back against the wound.

“They told you,” Jake said, his voice barely above a whisper. “They told you to stay back, wait for the bomb squad. After the all clear, then they’ll send in the medics, right?”

“Exactly! They’re all morons!” Darby reached across Rafe and swatted his hand away from the shirt. “You can’t disable a bomb and stop the bleeding at the same time. And since all your sissy cop friends are too scared to help, here I am.”

Rafe clenched his teeth together. If he wasn’t so frustrated and worried about Darby’s safety, he’d be laughing right now. “My fellow sissy-cop bomb techs will be here in a few minutes, just as soon as the truck arrives with equipment.”

“Fine. When they get here, I’ll leave.” Her eyes were overbright with unshed tears. “I’m not abandoning him. This is my fault. I thought Jake was trying to hurt me. I ran. That’s the only reason someone was able to surprise him. I’m not abandoning him.” Her voice broke on the last word. She bit down on her bottom lip and turned the shirt, pressing the dry side against the wound. “Go on, do whatever you bomb guys do. Save your friend.”



“It’s not your fault, you know,” Jake said, his voice low and weak. “I should have just gone up to you when I saw you on St. George Street instead of following you. I scared you.”

“Why did you follow me?”

Rafe gave up trying to get her to leave. He took out his pocketknife. It wasn’t much, but it was the only tool he had. He palmed it in one hand while he gently felt along the straps of the vest, searching for how it was secured, feeling for trip wires. If he could get the vest off Jake without blowing all three of them up, he could worry about disabling the bomb later.

“I wanted to warn you,” Jake said. “About Rafe.”

Rafe hesitated. He already knew what Jake would say. This was the part where he normally left whatever room he and Jake were in at the time. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Not today.

“What do you mean, warn me?”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

Darby’s startled gaze shot to Rafe.

“The same way he looked at my sister. He sees something he wants, and he takes it. No matter the cost.” Jake coughed, frothy bright red blood bubbling from his lips.

Rafe did his best to hold him still. “Shut up. This isn’t the time or place—”

“It’s exactly the time and place.” He grabbed Darby’s arm. “He cheated on her. He broke her heart, and then he was a coward, and he let her die. Stay away from him if you don’t want to get hurt.”

Rafe risked a quick glance up to see the effect of Jake’s tired accusations. But whatever Darby was thinking, it didn’t show on her face.

She twisted the cloth against the wound. “We need help. He’s losing too much blood.”

“No one but the bomb squad comes in until the bomb is disabled...or until it explodes,” Jake said. “No one wants to be a pink cloud.” He grabbed Darby’s arm again. “You should go. There’s no reason for you to die, too.”

“What about Rafe?” she asked. “Aren’t you worried about him, too?”

The anger in her voice surprised Rafe.

Jake’s lack of a reply didn’t.

He twisted his knife against the cheap lock holding the vest on one side. A loud click sounded. Darby jerked against him.

“It’s okay,” Rafe reassured her. “That was the lock giving way, but I can’t get the other one. It’s wired to explode. Help me work his left arm through here and we might be able to pull it over his head.” Hopefully without triggering the bomb.



Darby let go of the cloth. Fresh blood welled up. “What about his cut?”

“We don’t have a choice. We have to get the vest off now.”

He held the bomb in place while she worked the half-open vest over Jake’s arm. Jake’s face turned a sickly gray and he surrendered to unconsciousness.

As soon as the vest was over Jake’s head, Rafe gently lifted it and set it on the ground. He jumped to his feet and tugged Darby up. “Go on, run, get out of here.”

“Not unless you come with me.”

“I’m right behind you. Go!”

She took off for the exit.

Rafe knelt down and grabbed Jake’s arm to lift him onto his shoulders in a dead-man hold. Jake was nearly as tall as him, and just as heavy. Rafe grunted with exertion as he hoisted Jake’s body over his shoulder.

He risked a quick glance at the digital timer on the underside of the vest, the timer he’d been careful to conceal from Darby. When he saw the numbers counting down, a sick feeling shot through him.

He stumbled to his feet, but even as he lunged forward, he already knew.

He wasn’t going to make it.

* * *

DARBY RACED ACROSS the drawbridge toward the large group of police officers standing on the grass outside the fort. When she skidded to a stop in front of them, one of the officers grabbed her arm, steadying her.

“Whoa, there. You’re Dr. Steele, right?” he asked, as two more officers surrounded her.

“Yes.” She twisted her arm out of his grasp and turned around to watch Rafe and Jake. The drawbridge was clear. Rafe wasn’t running across it. Had he already come out and had taken Jake to one of the waiting ambulances parked on the grass?

“You okay, Dr. Steele? Are you hurt?” One of the officers was staring at her shirt.

She glanced down and sucked in a surprised breath at the amount of blood. “It’s not my blood. Where’s Rafe? I mean, Detective Morgan. He was right behind me.”

He exchanged a glance with the other officers. “You’re the only one who came out. Detective Morgan is still inside, defusing the bomb.” He gestured to some men dressed in heavy-looking, thick dark suits. “The bomb techs are going in now. Why don’t you sit—”

An explosion sounded from inside the fort. Everyone dove to the ground. One of the officers dragged Darby down with him, covering her with his body. Everything went silent. No one moved.

Then suddenly everyone was shouting and moving at the same time.

The officer jumped to his feet and helped Darby up.

“Dr. Steele, are you okay?”

She couldn’t answer. She was too horrified to speak. Black, angry smoke rose over the top of the stone walls of the fort. And Rafe was nowhere to be seen.

She slumped to the grass, hugging her middle, numbly staring at the fort. She shook off the officer’s hands when he tried to help her up again. He mumbled something to one of the other men and they stepped a few feet away, giving her space.

The smoke quickly cleared, and a group of policemen and bomb techs moved as one across the drawbridge. Their faces were drawn and sober, telling Darby what she already knew. They’d just lost one of their own—no, two. Rafe and Jake had both been killed.

Hot tears splashed down onto her hands, and it was then that she realized she was crying. She covered her face and gave in to the deep, racking sobs welling up inside her. She should have been weeping for both men, but she knew that was a lie. She was crying for Rafe because she’d just now realized she cared about him. He was the bravest man she’d ever met, risking his life every day to protect people he barely knew.

To protect her.

Damn him for working his way into her heart, for making her care.

Somewhere behind her a radio crackled to life. Someone calling for a gurney. The police must have reached the bodies.

The squeak of wheels rolling across the grass had her opening her eyes. Two EMTs ran across the lawn, then across the drawbridge, rolling a gurney between them. One of them had a red box sitting on top of the gurney and he held on to it as he and the other EMT raced into the fort.

Darby brushed the tears out of her eyes and climbed to her feet. EMTs wouldn’t run like that to retrieve a dead body, would they?

Hope uncurled inside her. She rushed forward, but a policeman grabbed her and held her back.

“Sorry, ma’am. You have to wait out here.”

“Can you tell me what’s going on? Is there a survivor?”

“I’m not sure yet, ma’am, but I need you to back up.”

Buresh was suddenly beside her, looking pale and exhausted, but dressed in a suit and obviously determined to be a part of what was going on. “Dr. Steele, you shouldn’t be out here where the bomber could find you.” He motioned another officer over. “Officer Watkins will take you back to the station.”

A commotion had them all looking toward the fort. The EMTs raced across the drawbridge again with a body strapped to the gurney and a contingent of police officers clearing a path through the crowd.

Darby tried to see who was on the gurney, but there were too many people in the way.

“What are you waiting for, Watkins? Get her out of here,” Buresh yelled.

“No,” Darby cried. “I need to wait and see—”

“Go on,” Buresh interrupted her. “Get out of here. You’re just putting more people in danger by hanging around. Go.”

Darby stiffened at his words, but this time she didn’t resist when Watkins pulled her toward the street.

* * *

NO MATTER WHERE Darby stood, or where she sat at the police station, she seemed to be in the way. The squad room was in chaos. People ran in and out. Phones rang constantly.

Watkins finally shoved her into Buresh’s office with strict instructions not to call anyone and not to leave. Going home wasn’t an option. Telling her what was going on apparently wasn’t an option, either, because so far no one had told her anything.

She curled into the only comfortable chair in Buresh’s tiny office, the leather chair behind his desk, and rested her head on her drawn-up knees. Her nerves were strung so tight she felt ready to snap. Who had been on the gurney? Was it Rafe, or Jake? Whoever it was, was he alive? What had happened after she ran out of the fort? Why hadn’t Rafe followed her?

The answer had her heart pounding in her chest.

He hadn’t followed her because there hadn’t been enough time.

Even as tall and muscular as Rafe was, he couldn’t easily run with two hundred pounds of deadweight in his arms. The bomb had blown less than a minute after Darby ran across the drawbridge, too soon for Rafe to make it to safety. So what had happened? Who was on the gurney?

She fisted her hands in frustration and rolled her head back and forth across her knees. The sound of the door opening had her jerking her head up.

Buresh stood in the doorway, his brows raised in surprise. Darby supposed he wasn’t used to seeing someone else sitting at his desk. She uncurled her legs and stood, moving out of his way.

She gripped the edge of the desk, facing him. He gingerly lowered himself into his chair, his face lined with pain, reminding her of his injuries. A hundred questions rushed through her, but she held them back, trying to give him the time he obviously needed to pull himself together.

He let out a long breath. “I’m sorry you had to wait. I had to take care of that mess at the fort, then go to the hospital, then make arrangements to put you in protective custody until we find the bastard who did this.” Another pained expression crossed his face.

Darby couldn’t wait a second longer. “Who was on the gurney? Who went to the hospital?”

His brows drew down and he frowned. “Detective Young. I thought you knew that. Detective Morgan saved his life. Jake is in for a long recovery, but the doctors think he’ll make it.”

Young was at the hospital. Jake Young.

Not Rafe.

She stumbled to the chair beside Buresh’s desk. Air. She needed air. She dropped her head in her hands and struggled just to breathe. Despair unlike anything she’d ever known slammed into her.

Wait, he hadn’t said Rafe was dead. Maybe she just hadn’t asked the right question. A small spark of hope surged through her. “And did...Detective Morgan go to the hospital, too?”

“No.” His voice sounded confused. “There wasn’t any reason to take him to the hospital.”

Darby nodded miserably, grief welling up inside her again. There’d been no reason to take Rafe to the hospital because he was already gone. “I’m so sorry. So very, very sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” a deep voice called out from the doorway. “None of this is your fault.”

Darby’s head shot up and she stared in disbelief at Rafe standing just a few feet away. Joy and relief warred inside her, and suddenly she was in his arms. She didn’t even remember running to him, but she was standing in front of him, resting her head against his chest with her arms wrapped around his waist.

He stiffened, reminding her how inappropriate her actions were. Embarrassment had her cheeks feeling warm. What had gotten into her? She had no clue. She started to pull away, but he drew her back against him, hugging her just as tightly as she’d been hugging him.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, his lips close to her ear. He rubbed one hand up and down her back in a comforting gesture. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. There’s no reason to be afraid.”

Afraid. He thought she was afraid. She was, but not for the reasons he thought. She’d been terrified that he’d been killed.

The feel of him, the smell of him, was so intoxicating she stayed in the warm cocoon of his arms. Then the silence around her registered, and she opened her eyes.

Buresh was watching her with a thoughtful look on his face. And behind him, a sea of faces in the squad room were staring at her, some of them smiling, some of them looking outright hostile.

She forced herself to let go.

Rafe dropped his arms from around her, and it was all she could do not to touch him one more time, to assure herself he really was okay. She took a couple of steps back so she could look him in the eyes.

“What happened? You said you’d follow me out of the fort, but when I turned around, you weren’t there.” She swallowed hard. “Then there was an explosion. I thought... I thought you...” She shook her head and wrapped her arms around her waist. “What happened?”

Rafe gave her a puzzled look, as if he was trying to figure her out. He glanced at Buresh before answering. “There was a timer on the bomb. I knew there wasn’t enough time to get out of the fort before it blew, so I ran into one of the cells. Two-foot-thick stone walls deflected most of the blast.”

Darby sat down before her shaking legs could buckle beneath her. “Most of the blast?”

“The walls are old, not reinforced. The ones closest to the bomb buckled beneath the force of the explosion. I had to dig Jake and me out from beneath a pile of rubble, but it could have been a whole lot worse. Jake’s main injury was the knife wound, and blood loss.”

“What about you?” she asked. “Were you hurt?”

“Cuts and scrapes. Nothing serious.” His brows drew down. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re shaking.”

Darby’s face flushed with heat again. Why was she always blushing around him? “I’m a little freaked out by all of this, but I’m fine. I don’t understand how this happened. Who is doing all this? Was the bombing today a copycat crime or something?”



“It’s too early to know yet.” Rafe sat in the chair across from her. “But I’m inclined to believe the guy who tried to kill Mindy was hired by the bomber to kidnap and kill her. That’s why there wasn’t a bomb. She wasn’t a primary target. She was just a way to get to you, to hurt you. The real bomber is still out there, and he’s not finished yet. He has a vendetta against a specific list of people. We know you’re on the list. And now we know Jake is on the list.”

“So are you.” Buresh opened his top drawer, took out a photograph and pitched it on his desk. “This is a copy. The original is in evidence. This came from another courier right after you left the station to search for Jake. No timer this time, just the photograph with one word on the back.”

“Let me guess,” Rafe said, eyeing the picture of himself. “Boom.”

Darby curled her fingers around the arms of her chair.

“This sicko is playing a game with all of us,” Buresh said. “We need to figure out who else is on his list. But first things first. Both of you are in danger, and you’re dangerous to everyone around you. Get out of here. Hide out together until this all blows over.”

“What’s the plan?” Rafe asked. “I need to be involved in this investigation. You can’t bench your best detective with this guy spiraling out of control. Everyone’s in danger now, not just me or Darby.”

“Take a laptop with you. Dial in remotely and snoop through the case files. You can give us a list of people you want interviewed and we’ll do the legwork here. That’s the best I can offer. Stop in administration on your way out. Have them set you up with a fake ID, some credit cards, cash, a new burn phone. Leave your old phone here, your badge.”

“Aren’t you going a bit overboard? I already have a burn phone. And no one’s going to search me, looking for my badge.”

Buresh glanced at Darby. “Dr. Steele, can you give us a minute, please? Just stand right outside the office where we can see you.”



She blinked in surprise, but did what he asked.