Page 80 of Freeing Savannah

“‘Don’t forget to bow.’”

“What the hell does that mean?” Eggs asked.

“It means we’re not done yet,” Sawyer stated. For a moment, she wondered what he meant, and then it hit her. There was another bomb. She thought about the word in the message. If she were to bow, she’d have to stand up.Oh, God!There was a bomb in the piano bench she sat on.

She assumed Sawyer came to the same conclusion since he dropped to the floor beside the bench. “Shit. There’s another one.”

“Can you defuse it?” Eggs asked.

“Let me have a look,” one of the bomb squad members said. Sawyer moved out of the way so the guy could see it. “This one’s a little different from the other one. Just a few snips should do it.”

“Oh, God,” she shuddered. She didn’t like that he’d used the word “should.” Sawyer, still on his knees beside her, grabbed her aching hand and held it tightly in his.

“Three minutes,” said Eggs once more letting them know how much time was left.

“I got this. Don’t worry.” Even as the bomb tech assured her, she still sent a prayer up that he did, in fact, have this.

The other bomb squad members worked on the first bomb while the one helping them grabbed a pair of wire snippers. “Only has two wires,” he said, then, “Done.”

In a flash, Sawyer was on his feet, lifted Savannah into his arms and sprinted from the stage through the house, before bursting outside into the fresh air. He didn’t stop until they were far enough away to feel it was safe to set her down.

He plopped himself down in the grass with her on his lap and held her tight. She was crying and barely able to hear him as he murmured to her, “It’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

“Oh, God, Sawyer. What the hellwasthat? I’ve never been so scared.” Her body shook. She couldn’t stop it.

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.”

CHAPTER 35

The red glowof the Kennedy Center’s emergency lights cast long, eerie shadows across the marble plaza. The kaleidoscope of lights from emergency vehicles that crowded 25thStreet flashed off the side of the building. Sirens wailed in the distance. Somewhere behind him, medics checked on the audience members who needed them.

In his arms Savannah remained rattled, but safe. But Voodoo’s blood was a firestorm, his every nerve locked on a single purpose.

“Talk to me, Haley,” Voodoo barked. “Who did this?”

“Working on it,” she said, typing furiously on her end. “Signal originated through a remote routing protocol—masked under four VPN layers, but Jester left me a wormhole.”

“Why does this guy keep helping us?” Eggs wondered startling Voodoo since he hadn’t realized his teammates had followed him out of the building and were standing nearby.

“You trust it?”

“Don’t have time not to.”

Her keyboard clacked faster. “The signal’s bouncing off Shanghai, Prague, New Delhi… The U.S. East Coast. D.C.”

“He’s close?”

A pause.

“Real close. He’s either inside the building, which you’d think would be stupid if it was wired to blow. Or he’s nearby. Two hundred-yard radius max.”

“He’s outside. Probably in his car in the parking garage.” The parking garage was underground and away from the Center itself. It was probably the safest place on the campus.

Shit. He suddenly felt torn. He didn’t want to leave Savi, but there was a burning need to find this guy.

“Go. I’m okay.”

“I got her,” Daphne said, appearing out of nowhere.

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