Page 123 of Deception

Madison stumbled to the counter and grabbed the butcher knife he’d threatened to use on Dani. Seconds later she cut Dani’s ties. “Cut the others loose and then get out of here!”

“We can’t—he said if somehow we managed to get loose, he’d be waiting to kill us as we came out. Said he rigged the front door with another bomb as well. It’ll go off if we open the door.”

Madison pressed her hands to her head. “Cut their ties and get everyone out the window in your bedroom—you’ll have to use the key to open the bars on the window. It’s on the windowsill.”

Dani cut the bindings on Nadine’s and Bri’s hands, then she herded them to the hallway. Seconds later Bri ran back. “The key isn’t there.”

An iron fist gripped Madison’s stomach. Steven had covered all his bases. He’d pick them off if they tried to go out the back. The windows on the second floor had no bars—but there was no way to get Terri or Nadine to the ground.

She turned to the timer. Ninety seconds. Her mouth dried. Somehow they had to defuse the bomb.

Clayton groaned, and Madison dropped beside him. Blood ran down the side of his head where he’d been grazed. “You know how to disarm a bomb?”

“Took a class ... a long time ago. Help me up.” She helped him to sit up. “Where is Steven?”

“He’s gone. And there’s no way out of the house.”

65

Madison’s face was the color of chalk. His heart almost stopped when she quickly filled him in. She was right. They had to defuse the bomb. “Help me to stand.”

Once he was on his feet, he lurched to the counter. Sixty-five seconds. Sweat popped out on his face as he studied the small, square box with C-4 attached to an electronic timer that relentlessly counted down. Fifty-five seconds.

Madison stood beside him. “If it’s electronic, will the jammer keep it from going off?”

“No. It’s battery operated. And I don’t know which wire to cut. We have to get out.”

“Not without Terri.”

Forty seconds. “Help me to get her to her feet. Maybe I can carry her fireman style.”

“Our only way out is through one of the upstairs windows, and you’ll never get her up the steps.”

They’d never make it. “I have to try. The rest—go! Tie sheets together, anything, but get out of this house!”

“I can help.”

He turned as Terri tried to roll over on her side. Blood soaked the front of her shirt. She struggled to sit up but fell back. The circle of blood on her shirt turned darker with fresh blood. “Ididn’t know Steven—” She closed her eyes. “And I didn’t see the bomb. Describe it.”

He described it down to the four wires attached from the C-4 to the timer.

“What color?”

“Red, yellow, white, and black.” Clayton wiped blood from the side of his face. “And we have thirty seconds.”

“Got to see it.”

If he moved her, the bleeding would get worse. If he didn’t, they’d all die. He slipped his arms under her body and lifted her. His head swam and he focused on a spot on the wall until it stopped.

“Seven seconds,” Madison said.

Clayton staggered to the counter and set Terri on her feet. She leaned in to examine the bomb. “Cut the black one.”

Madison slapped a pair of scissors into his hands. He bent over the timer. Sweat ran down into his eyes as he isolated the black wire. “You sure?”

“Four seconds.” Madison’s voice shook.

“Yes,” Terri whispered.

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