Page 136 of Deadly Revenge

Jenna’s breath caught. “What are you talking about?”

Junior shot her a puzzled look. “You were there the other night when I asked him to help get rid of a couple of dams those confounded beaver had built.”

Max exchanged glances with Jenna.

“I totally forgot it.” She jerked out her phone. “He served with Sam in the Gulf War.” She punched in numbers, and when Sam answered, Jenna put the phone on speaker. “What was Todd Donelson’s job when you two served together?”

“What are you talking about?”

Jenna repeated her question. “We need to know, right now!”

“Demolition expert, but why?”

“I’ll explain later.” She clicked off the phone. “You heard him.”

Max’s jaw hardened. “He’s going to blow the dam.” He turned to Mark. “Is Gem a bomb dog?”

Mark nodded. “She’s trained in explosive detection.”

“We have to find that bomb,” Max said, his voice tight. “They’re shooting the fireworks from a boat near the dam—they could all die if he blows it up. Come with me.”

Mark gave the command for Gem to come. “We’ll be right behind you.”

“I’m coming too,” Jenna said.

Max shook his head. “I need you to find Donelson. I guarantee he’s here at the park somewhere—he’ll want to see his handiwork, maybe even use the chaos the bomb will cause to take out Carter.”

His heart cinched at the fear in her eyes. Max had felt the same way last night when she entered the cabin. “It’s going to be all right.”

Jenna hesitated and then nodded. “Be safe.”

73

Donelson wiped sweat from his eyes. He hadn’t figured on the treehouse being so hot. Once again he parted the flap enough to see through the small opening at the side of the window, and a breeze cooled his face. So far everything looked normal.

He’d had trouble breathing when he saw Mark Lassiter and his dog, but then he reminded himself that without a piece of his clothing, the dog wouldn’t find him.

He checked his watch. Carter would be speaking soon. Donelson touched the cell phone, then sighted the podium with his scope, lining the crosshairs in the center.

Ten minutes and the dam would be history.

74

Once Max left, Jenna alerted Alex to what was going on, then she turned to Junior. “You know Donelson—what’s he thinking right now? Will he kill Carter?”

“That’s a hard one.” The big man looked at her and shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought he’d kill Joe and Katherine, or Paul. He must’ve lost it.”

Jenna’s cell phone pinged with a text. “Alex found his truck parked behind the bank. So he has to be here somewhere. And she can’t get Carter to forgo his speech—he doesn’t believe he’s in danger.”

Junior snorted. “Sounds about like the Harrison Carter I know.”

“If Donelson set a bomb, how would he set it off?”

Junior scratched his head. “Funny you ask that. He used dynamite on one of the beaver dams, but the other one, he used C-4 and a cell phone.”

So Max probably wasn’t dealing with a timer ... maybe a cell phone to set it off. She scanned the park. Donelson had to be hiding in plain sight. But where? He was a hunter ... and she wasn’t. Jenna liked to hear the dogs run, but that was the extentof her hunting desire. She turned to Junior. “If you were going to shoot Carter, where would you do it from?”

“Somewhere high—that way I’d have a clear line of sight. Maybe a tree or—”

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