Page 97 of First Touch

“I’m sorry, buddy.” That’s all I can utter before we both start ripping the tape from his body, pulling the bag from his back. His blood-curdling screams burst our eardrums, but we keep going. We can’t stop, we’re too close. We rip and rip, taking skin with us as we go. It’s nasty and I know it’s unbelievably painful, but if we get through this at least he’ll be alive.

“Twenty seconds,” the voice from the radio warns.

“Finally,” Malec utters, ripping the last of the tape free. “I got it. Go, Jesse.”

“No.” I pull my side free and Curtis falls to his knees in front of us, on the verge of passing out. “Take him, I’ve got the bag.” I snatch the backpack before he can argue, racing towards the closest dumpster just inside the alley. My responsibility.

“Ten seconds.”

I open the top hatch, placing the bag gently inside, not wanting to risk an early detonation but bracing for it regardless. When it doesn’t immediately explode, I slam the lid shut and take off back towards the street.

“Five… Four… Three…” The countdown drowns out as I reach Malec dragging Curtis’ dead weight across the double yellow lines. I loop my arm under him too, only making it a few steps before we’re knocked off our feet. We collide hard with the pavement as the blast detonates, my head bouncing off the curb and making my ears ring.

One minute the world around me was moving at warp speed, then the next, everything was black.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Thea

No matter how often I run public races, I forget the electricity that surrounds me. The runners who are flying past everyone else, booking it to the finish line. The runners who are participating in their first event and filled with an air of accomplishment. The runners who aren’t really into it, but are glad to spend the morning with their friends regardless. It’s a community like no other.

So, I’m confused as I approach the final stretch and don’t hear the roar of the onlookers cheering and cowbells jingling. Instead of seeing the winners being praised with applause and ribbons being passed around, I see scared faces and utter chaos. Deputies are directing the mass of people right across the race line, pushing them towards the other side and down the side street.

My heart picks up speed, even worse than from the miles I just ran. Something is very wrong and I don’t see Jesse. I push my way through throngs of people, trying to get closer to the spot I last saw him before the race. He wouldn’t leave without me, he’s here somewhere.

When I see him, or the top of his head rather, my heart eases a little. He’s separated from the crowd, standing in the middle of Main Street, but he’s not alone. I recognize his “friend” from the library and bar.

I’m trying to find a way through when my heart stops altogether. They aren’t just standing alone, they’re being steered away from. Everyone running around me is being evacuated from them.

I work my way diagonally across the fleeing sea of people, needing to get to Jesse and get him out of there. I don’t pay attention to the bodies colliding with mine, I ignore the annoyed remarks until a few murmured words reach my ears. Bomb… Backpack… Bomb…

A bomb?

That’s what he was worried about. This is why he mentioned there would be a strong police presence. No wonder he was stressed about his undercover operation, he was dealing with crazy-ass bomb makers!

He promised me that he was done with the risks, he was ready to be done. For me. Why is he doing this?

I know the answer. It’s who he is. He protects people. He proves time and time again that he’s not like his father. It’s unnecessary and it doesn’t stop me from being mad as hell right now because I just got him back.

He reaches for the backpack just as I’m to the deputies at the barricade. “JESSE! NO!” I scream, begging him to see me and come with me instead. His eyes find mine and they’re blown wide with panic.

“THEA, GO!” He yells back, but it doesn’t even begin to falter my steps. If he’s staying here then I am too. If he dies today then I die too.

Before my foot can make contact with the ground again, I’m lurched out of thin air, colliding with a hard body. The steel band around my waist feels like a death sentence. I can’t get to him.

“NO!!” I scream in agony.

“Thea, stop fighting me. STOP!” Nathan yells, sucking all the fight from my body. If he’s given up on Jesse, then why won’t he give me up too? I can’t go back to my life before, I can’t.

“Thea, please. Jesse knows what he’s doing. Malec has the bomb squad coming,” Callie assures me, holding both sides of my face, and forcing me to look at her.

“I can’t lose him,” I cry, feeling the enormous weight of helplessness pressing down on me. “Please,” I utter to no one in particular.

“I’m going in.” I hear the words spoken from somewhere behind me, but I don’t look to see who said it. The only thing keeping me from collapsing where I stand is Nathan’s arm around me.

“Bomb squad?” Nathan asks without finishing his sentence. The silence that answers him tells me all I need to know. They aren’t coming. It’s really the end.

This is all my fault. If I didn’t sign up for this race then Jesse wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t be standing with a maniac about to be blown up.

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