Now, given the events of the past twenty-four hours, she wasn’t too sure.
“And I’d appreciate it if my darling boy would stop making a fuss over nothing. It’s just a few scratches.” Colleen glared at Tyler, who had resumed his attempt to apply a bandage over a deep gash on her forehead.
“It’s not just a few scratches, Ma,” Carol interjected, Dave nodding.
“Paramedics are a bit short-handed, so I’m helping out,” Tyler explained. “Ma wouldn’t let any of them treat her anyway. She made them all leave to go help people who actually needed it, according to her.”
“And do you blame me?” Colleen shot back, gesturing toward City Hall and the pandemonium surrounding them.
A sense of comfort wrapped around Olivia as she listened to their conversation. She needed this. She needed some sense of normalcy. The overbearing, protective son. The level-headed daughter. The feisty, spunky mom. This was her family, and she needed them more than ever right now.
“I suppose not,” Tyler mumbled.
“What do you think caused all this?” Olivia looked at the worrisome expressions on their faces. They didn’t have to ask her where Alexander was. They all knew. No matter how dangerous the situation, he ran toward it, not away. He was brave, strong, and sometimes a bit reckless, especially when it came to his family.
“My guess is a bomb,” Tyler said softly, still diligently patching up Colleen’s face.
“A bomb?” Olivia’s eyes widened. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach, thinking Boston had enough tragedy with bombs to last a lifetime. The city didn’t need another catastrophe to mar it.
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think this was just the result of some gas main explosion.”
Olivia met Tyler’s green eyes, the shade identical to her husband’s. The two men were almost mirror images of each other, with just a few differences. Both were tall with dark hair, strong jaws, and piercing green eyes. But Alexander was slightly more muscular and looked more distinguished than his brother. Even though he was now over thirty, Tyler had retained a sort of boyish look about him. Where Alexander had some harder, more defined facial features, Tyler’s were soft.
“Have you been able to get in touch with your wife?” Olivia asked. “Let her know you’re okay?”
“I can’t,” he sighed, placing the pack of bandages into the first aid kit and stepping away from Colleen.
“Standard protocol after any sort of suspicious explosion,” Dave explained. “You don’t want another bomb going off, so you take the cell towers offline in case that was a trigger.”
Hearing Dave talk about the possibility of another bomb made Olivia dizzy, her knees growing weak. They were in a secure area, but what about everyone still in the vicinity of the initial blast? What about Alexander? Her stomach churned as she peered down the street toward City Hall Plaza and the flashing lights of over a dozen ambulances, bomb squad trucks, and fire engines.
“Don’t worry,” Carol said, approaching Olivia and wrapping her arm around her shoulders. “He’s fine. He’s probably just doing what he does. He’s just being Alex.”
Olivia pulled her lower lip between her teeth and chewed on it, an old nervous tick. She didn’t know how long they expected her to wait, but she needed to do something. Fearing all of this was just a way to distract the FBI from finding her daughter, she grew even more anxious that Melanie was slipping further and further away.
She swallowed through the lump in her throat, her gaze shooting up and down the block, frantically searching for some sign of her husband. Her legs felt like jelly, heat rushing to her head. She was tired and achy, running on pure adrenaline. She wanted to wake up from this nightmare, to hold both her husband and daughter and never let go, never take them for granted again.
“It’ll be okay,” Tyler said, pulling Olivia against his chest.
As she tried to find comfort in Tyler’s encouraging words and reassuring arms, she almost swore she heard Alexander’s voice calling out to her. It was muffled, like a dream.
Then it grew louder, more distinct. She spun from Tyler toward the source of the voice. Her eyes set on a tall figure dressed in a deep gray suit emerging from a cloud of smoke.
Letting out a sob, she darted from the medical tent and leapt into Alexander’s arms, his familiar warmth surrounding her.
“You’re okay,” she cried, tears pouring down her cheeks as she held onto him, never wanting to let go. Relief washed over her, the unease and fear that she had lost Alexander leaving through each unbridled tear. “One second you were with me; the next, I was alone. I…” Avoiding his eyes, she placed a hand over her panicked heart. “I tried to go find you, but they wouldn’t let me. The whole time, all I could think about was—”
“Shh,” Alexander soothed, running his hands up and down her back, kissing her forehead. “It’s okay. I’m okay. Nothing bad is going to happen to me. I promise.”
“But what if it does? I can’t—” She shook her head, burying it against his chest once more, and drew in a long breath, finding comfort in his familiar musky scent. It brought back so many memories of their years together — the ups, the downs, and everything in between. No matter what, Alexander Burnham had always been at her side, supporting her, loving her.
“Olivia, look at me.” His voice was firm and forceful, yet serene. This man was a walking contradiction, and Olivia loved everything about his duplicitous nature. “Please, love. I need to see those beautiful brown eyes of yours.”
She melted into a puddle at his term of endearment. It didn’t matter that they had been together for over a decade. Hearing his voice sent shivers down her spine. So many of their married friends struggled to keep the flame alive. Theirs only grew stronger with each passing day.
Pulling her head away from his chest, she met his gaze.
“I’m sorry I scared you.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I was on autopilot. Once the worst of the blast died down, I glanced behind me to make sure you were okay, then ran off to look for—”
“Did you find her?” Olivia interrupted, her eyes growing wide, her lips parting. She searched his face, desperate to hear that Rayne had survived the blast and was in custody, answering questions.
That she had told them where Melanie was.
That this nightmare was almost over.
Her heart fell when he hung his head.
“She didn’t make it.”
Olivia pinched her lips together, fighting back the helplessness washing over her. They were within arm’s reach of finding Melanie, but the hope had disintegrated in the blink of an eye. She felt cursed, as if no matter how hard they tried, no matter what they did to find her, it wouldn’t matter. Whoever was behind this would have the upper hand. She tried to stay positive, to ward off the negative thoughts circling her head, but it became more and more difficult.