Page 22 of Hacker Salvation

I was hoping for more information about the tall giant who seemed to growl at me more than smile. He didn’t like that I kept wanting to put myself in danger, and for the first time, I wished I had listened to him.

“How mad do you think he’s going to be at me for leaving?”

Daisy twisted her hair. “Oh, he’s going to be mad. John is overprotective. He talked to Brock for an hour last night about how dangerous it is to let you come along on the mission. But I think Brock is trying to play matchmaker. We all love John to death and see the way you look at each other.”

I didn’t need a mirror to know my face was bright red. “You think he likes me?”

“Yes. But you are going to make the first move.” Daisy scanned the parking lot. “How do you think they put the bomb in so fast?”

“I don’t know. It’s almost like it had to be done before we left the house. How did the bomb just now engage?”

I knew little about technology, but I knew no one had snuck into the driveway. Neal, one of Daisy’s fiancés, kept the front yard and house locked down better than most government security facilities. Hell, the government used his technology to help protect Langley. The only other option was that someone had followed us when we left the house and had planted the bomb when we went in the store.

I looked around as much as I could without moving. “Do you see any cameras?” Maybe we could catch a break and find out who was trying to kill me.

Daisy stepped back from the car. I wanted to turn and watch, but I was too scared to move a muscle. My body ached from sitting ramrod straight in the same position. I could feel a trickle of sweat dripping down my face. More droplets fell with each second that passed. Five minutes felt like six hours.

“I didn’t see any—” Daisy’s words were cut off by the squeal of tires. “Gabriel is here.”

My body loosened a little now that someone was there who could help me. But my mind went back to John. I wanted to know if he was hurt, and if so, how bad.

I heard a car door slam followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. With each tick of the clock, I heard another step. Time crept by as I waited for the man named Gabriel to come diffuse the bomb.

A tall man stood next to me. He had to duck down to see into the car. His hair was cut in a short military style, not long like John’s. His eyes were dark brown, almost black. “Hi, Annabella. I’m Gabriel. I was hoping to meet you on better terms tonight, but let’s take a look at this bomb.”

“Oh, you mean better terms as in trying to help me flee the country to find the man I’m being accused of killing?”

The younger man let out a bark of laughter. “True. Let’s see what we’re working with.” Gabriel leaned into the SUV and looked between my legs at the bomb under my seat. Any other time, I might be excited to have a young man between my legs. But at that moment, I wanted John by my side and the bomb under my seat gone.

Gabriel stood up and ran his hand through his hair. “Okay, Annabella, I’m going to grab the tools I need from the truck and come back in a second.”

I reached out and grabbed his shirt. “Wait. Is John coming?”

He looked back toward his truck. “Let’s get this bomb taken care of.” Gabriel was jogging to his SUV before I could ask another question.

With each second that ticked by, I wondered if I would ever be able to see John again. If I made it out of this mess, I wanted to plant a big kiss on John. Even if we found Nate, I didn’t plan on marrying him. Hell, I didn’t know if I even wanted to be friends with him again. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the headrest, not understanding how we ended up this way. A few days ago, I was planning a wedding to my best friend and starring in my next blockbuster hit. Now I was wanted for murder and sitting on a bomb.

The bomb expert, Gabriel, returned with a bag. In the movie I had starred in that had the bomb under my seat, the person who’d pretended to be disarming it had worn a full-body bomb suit. Gabriel was dressed in a black T-shirt and dark jeans.

“Shouldn’t you be in a bomb suit?” I asked as I wiped my sweaty hands down my jeans.

“If we were back in Ft. Lauderdale, where I have my stuff, then yes. But I don’t travel with a bomb suit. Okay, let me get this diffused. We’re down to thirty minutes, and this might take me a while.”

“Then why don’t we call the police? They should have bomb people. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Gabriel leaned his hip against the open door. “With what happened to John and Neal, we aren’t sure we can trust the police.”

“Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on. Are John and Neal okay?”

“John will be okay. Now let me do my job so he doesn’t kick my ass for not getting this bomb diffused.” Gabriel lay down on the passenger side floor. His arm brushed against my leg, causing me to jump.

I held my breath for a few seconds, waiting for the bomb to go off. When nothing happened, I exhaled. “How’s it going down there?” I asked while I watched Daisy pace outside the car with her phone attached to her ear.

“I’ve seen this type of bomb before. I should have it diffused in a couple more minutes.”

With no one telling me how John was, I slowly reached out and grabbed my phone from my purse. The screen flashed with a low battery signal when I unlocked it. The battery was at one percent when I clicked on the phone icon, and my phone died. I leaned back and closed my eyes, when I heard another car pulling up. Daisy ran to the newcomer. I couldn’t see who it was unless I twisted in my seat.

Aaron stood next to the door.

---