Page 42 of Marked For Revenge

The blast was deafening, and it shot out debris, pelting his back and legs. Harley felt the sting of the impact but not actual pain. Thank God. Maybe it was the same for Ava.

He waited long gut-wrenching moments to make sure there wasn’t a second blast, and when there wasn’t, he lifted himself off Ava enough to check her. She was a little pale and definitely shaken up, but he couldn’t see any visible injuries. That was one prayer answered, but Harley knew they weren’t out of danger just yet.

“Are you okay?” he asked just as Theo called out the same question to them. The sheriff, having hit the ground, too, was only a few feet away from the dead woman.

“I’m not hurt,” Ava assured both of them. “I didn’t land on my stomach. Harley cushioned the blow.”

When he replayed those nightmarish moments in his head, and he would do just that, he’d wish he had gotten to her before she’d tripped the wire. That might have saved her the terror of the blast along with not destroying the hell out of their crime scene. Right now, it was littered with leaves and bits of shrubs and tree bark that had gone flying during the impact.

On the road, Harley could hear the flurry of activity. Both Jesse and Nelline had obviously gotten out of the cruiser, but he was hoping their witness and his parents hadn’t remained on scene. No need for them to see any of this, not when they were already going to have to deal with enough.

“Do you see any other trip wires or devices?” Theo called out to no one in particular. He was certainly checking the ground for both items.

“No,” Jesse answered. “There appears to be a body though.”

“Yes,” Ava verified. “That’s where I was heading when I triggered a bomb.” She groaned and Harley could hear the dread and apology in that simple sound.

“Not your fault,” Harley reminded her. “This is the sick SOB’s doing.”

“There might be something by Harley’s right foot,” Nelline shouted. He glanced up to see the deputy surveilling the area with binoculars. Then Harley looked at his boot.

And he cursed.

Because, undeniably, there was a thin silver wire there. Just inches from him, and he didn’t know where either end of it was. If he moved, he could set it off.

“The bomb squad’s on the way,” Jesse relayed a moment later. “No one move. I’ll get another pair of binoculars and see if I can figure out a safe path to get you out of there.”

This definitely wasn’t an ideal situation, but it was a best-case scenario for the killer. Theo, Ava and he were pinned down, unable to move. Heck, even lifting their weapons to defend themselves could get them all killed. Yeah, definitely not ideal. Because at this moment, the killer could be getting in position to gun them down.

Beneath him, he could feel Ava’s body. Her muscles were tight and knotted, and she was clearly trying to steady her breathing. Hard to do, though, when they were facing death. Harley knew she wasn’t nearly as worried for herself as she was for the baby, and he cursed the killer for putting their child in this kind of danger.

“I see another wire,” Nelline called out. “It’s on the creek bank by the tree with the tire swing.”

That’d been the exact spot Harley had been heading when he’d caught a glimpse of the wire from the corner of his eye. If he’d gone there, he could have ended up blowing them all to smithereens since he’d had no idea how powerful the explosives were. He doubted, though, that there were decoys. No. The killer likely intended for this to be their final resting place. It wouldn’t fit with his MO, but it could be the big finale to the four murders that had already been committed.

Correction: five murders.

Because that body in the woods had to be connected to what was happening now. Maybe another dead woman meant to lure one of them into the wooded area where they’d trip a wire.

“There’s another wire,” Jesse let them know. “Theo, you might not be able to see it, but it’s by the rock at the top of your head. It seems to lead to the—” He stopped and cursed. “The bridge. I’ll move the cruiser with Eli and his folks.”

Yes, and it was more than a precaution since the blast could not only reach the cruiser, it could end up hurting or killing those inside.

“Nelline,” Theo called out again. “Make sure we don’t have any snipers trying to get into position to shoot us.”

Ava didn’t react to that. No doubt because it had already occurred to her that they were basically sitting ducks.

Harley hated not being able to stop anything bad from happening to her. He hated this smothering sense of dread that was pulsing through him. But he forced his heartbeat to calm some so he could stop it from throbbing in his ears. He needed to be able to hear in case someone was trying to sneak up on them.

The air felt so still that it seemed to be holding its breath, waiting. Bracing. Theo’s body was doing the same, and he figured Ava was having a similar reaction. Along with cursing the monster who’d put them in this position so they weren’t able to keep their child safe.

“There’s a timer,” Nelline shouted. “Oh, God. It’s on the one by the tire swing. Theo, it’s ticking down.”

“How much time?” Theo asked.

“One minute and thirty seconds,” Nelline answered, her voice strained to the hilt.

Harley didn’t waste his breath on the profanity that he wanted to snarl. It wouldn’t help. Right now, he had to focus, to figure out the lowest level of risk to get Ava out of there.

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