Page 49 of Burning Truth

There was a pop from inside the van, and he adjusted the binoculars against his eyes. Another one of the balloons had just burst. He needed to be closer, but he didn’t want to get caught. And right now, he was in the perfect position to watch her face.

Even distraught, she was beautiful. The urge to go to her was so strong...

No, not just yet. He needed her alone and vulnerable when he moved in. And if he took the two men closest to her, she would need to be taken in hand and supported.

He panned back to the van. It was rocking, strangely. The interior was blazing, and he breathed shallow, his ears straining.

Instead, the driver’s side door slammed wide and Jake, the cameraman, lurched out. Then the bodyguard, Severn, jumped out of the van, almost on top of Jake. His pants were smoking, but he looked fine. His eyes were wide and he was panting, but the fire had missed her chance to take him.

Addison ran toward the men, and he could have cursed. That wasn’t what was supposed to happen. They were supposed to die and make her vulnerable to his approach.

Fuck.

He didn’t curse often, but this seemed like the appropriate time.

Sirens were wailing in the distance, and he knew he needed to get out of here before somebody spotted him. Dropping the binoculars in the backpack he carried, he swung it to his shoulders and lowered himself over the edge of the deer stand. He glanced at the platform to make sure he hadn’t left any evidence, but it looked clear. He lowered himself another step, then another. It was on the third step down that his foot slipped.

So quick he had no idea he was falling, he hit the ground, knocking the wind from himself. For a second, he stared up at the waning evening sky, trying to remember how to breathe. Then he rolled to his knees and pushed to his feet. He had to get out of here. The sirens were drawing closer and there was a very good chance someone would see him. Panic pushed at him, and he ran from the woods.

Severn could feelhis legs burning as he pushed Jake out of the truck, but he had to get them as far away as possible, just in case the van blew. Gripping Jake under the arms, he moved him backtoward his own truck, trying not to drop the small package in his right hand.

Finally, he dropped to the ground and started slapping at his pants legs. They were smoking, but not actually burning. The heavier fabric of the BDUs had probably just saved his legs.

Then Addie was there, her hands running over him top to bottom to make sure he was okay. She felt the warmth in his legs. “Do you need to take these off?”

Severn shook his head. “No. They’re cooling down.”

Then, he didn’t know who reached for who, but she was in his arms, squeezing the breath out of him. “I’m okay,” he said, over and over again, and he knew it was for both of them.

Finally, she drew back, looking him in the eye. Hers were overflowing with tears, and it shocked him a little. When he’d been blown up in Afghanistan, he’d had no one at home to mourn what had happened to him, and that had been one of the hardest parts of his recovery. His parents had come out eventually, but they’d left again, knowing he was in the best, most capable hands to care for him.

There had been a moment when he didn’t think he’d make it out of that burning van. He’d had several close calls over the years, but that had been one of the closest. And in the back of his mind, he’d wondered if Addie would mourn him if he was killed.

The look on her face, and in her beautiful eyes, told him that she would have, and his heart cracked. He pulled her to him again, and she very happily held him tight.

Then the firemen were there, pulling him up and away from the scene. He told them about the gasoline and the balloons, and they moved in with extinguishers. Water wouldn’t put out a gasoline fire. The bomb squad pulled in behind them, and he very carefully handed over the rag wrapped package.

“Looks like C4. Sorry I couldn’t grab the whole device.”

The sergeant, a man Severn had talked to before, unwrapped the rag and nodded. “Yes, it looks like C4. Hopefully, the fire guys will be able to salvage the box. You think this was the same guy?”

Severn nodded, his arm around Addie’s shoulders. “Most definitely.”

Another officer held open a metal box, and the sergeant placed the gray material inside the cushion, then shut and locked the box. C4 was fairly stable, but it was good to take precautions.

Addie walked him over to a waiting ambulance, and he agreed to be checked out. His lungs were tight from the smoke, and he allowed them to give him some oxygen. He had some scar tissue in his lungs from when he’d been burned, and pure oxygen was a relief.

By the time Johnson arrived, the fire was mostly out and the emergency had eased.

“How are you feeling,” she asked him, her face furrowed with concern.

Severn was still sitting on the ambulance gurney, sucking in oxygen. “Not bad,” he said through the mask.

Addie still had her hand wrapped around his, and he felt the detective’s gaze on them. It didn’t technically matter what they did, but it would be frowned upon in professional circles.

“Tell me what happened,” she said, drawing out a notepad.

Severn related all the details of what he’d done. “He definitely planned to take us both out. But he wanted to have fun when he did it. That gave me time to unarm the bomb and get Jake out of there.”

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