Page 24 of Fatal Love
“Slash?” Cal’s voice cut through the mental chatter. “You there?”
Connor wiped sweat from his forehead and eyed the device on the corner of the house. “Working on it, sir.”
A small box, barely bigger than a brick, was attached at the base of the house. He stepped closer and his already narrow window of time got smaller.
Tiny red numbers flashed on the top of the box.
A timer.
Counting down with less than seven minutes on it.
Sorry, Billie. No time to call in that expert.
They had to go out the front. Connor hadn’t heard any sounds suggesting Hunter had incapacitated the men in the van. Hunter hadn’t commented on the bomb predicament either. Was he dead or simply not in a spot to speak without being overheard?
Connor hoped it was the latter.
But how the hell was he going to get Cal and Beatrice, not to mention the midwife, out of the house before that bomb went off?
Beatrice was in labor. Cal was injured, probably pretty badly even though he wasn’t copping to it.
The oak tree above Connor swayed in the breeze, sending a shadow over the house. Connor glanced up and saw a large branch, as big around as he was, stretching toward the roof.
Six minutes and counting.
In the distance, he heard the distinctpop-pop-popof fireworks.
Now or never. He hit the stop watch button on his phone, hustled over to the tree, and started climbing.
