It was a trap.
He dropped his head back and looked up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. What he saw above him made his heart stutter and stop. A ton of C-4 packs were attached to the metal beams above.
Twenty-one seconds.
“Damn!” He shoved the chair back and surged to his feet, finally able to move again. He wasn’t going to get out of here in time. He ran into the hall, looked at the narrow stairs. It would take too long. His head flicked in the other direction. There was a window at the end of the hall about fifteen feet away. Emery approached the window and looked down. There was a giant vat of water below the window.
With a grim smile he jogged back to the end of the hall and without another thought he ran straight at the window. A second before he reached it, he jumped, tucking his body into a protective crouch as he shattered through the window. Glass and wood from the panes sliced through him and he ducked his head and raised his arms, clenching his eyes shut.
The explosives detonated. Fire, glass and stone tore into him from behind as he fell. Before any pain could register he was plummeting into the water. It swirled round him, tugging him into its depths, as the fire of the explosion lit the world above him. He struggled to hold his breath, fighting the choking sensation. With strong strokes, he swam deeper and deeper, trying to escape the debris that were crashing into the water around him. A heavy metal beam shot straight down and he barely avoided it. It snagged his jacket and tugged him downward, pinning him to the bottom of the metal vat. He gasped, air bubbles escaping his lips in pale white quivering shapes as they fluttered up to the surface. Emery fought to free himself of the jacket, but his limbs were heavy and cumbersome. His vision wavered, and flashes of shadows crept in at the corners.
To be anywhere but here…Hans and Cody were safe; they had to be. And Sophie. She was safe at home in his bed.
A silent scream tore through his mind at the thought of never seeing her again. What he wouldn’t give for one more touch, one more smile. To see her silver eyes looking at him with passion, with something more, something he’d been too afraid to hope for. It was the only thing that mattered now, to see the love shining from her eyes. Was dying really like falling asleep? He was barely aware of drifting away.
Chapter 16
AFTER RADIOING IN THE DISCOVERY OFEMERYLOCKWOOD AND REQUESTING BACKUP,OFFICERO’MALLEY SEARCHED THE WOODS.SEVERAL SQUAD CARS, AN AMBULANCE AND REPORTERS DESCENDED ON THE SCENE.THE ACCOMPANYING PHOTO DEPICTS THE WORLD’S FIRST SIGHT OF YOUNGEMERYLOCKWOOD AFTER BEING RESCUED.
—New York Times, September 30, 1990
The hellish glow of the flames made the horizon look as though it was on fire. Sophie’s world zeroed in on that one raging inferno.
“Drive faster!” she shouted at Royce. He slammed his foot on the Maserati’s gas pedal.
She prayed they’d get there in time.
“Oh god,” Hayden gasped from the backseat. “It’s the old brewery.”
Royce screeched to a halt on the street where the factory had been, far enough away to keep the car from becoming part of the inferno.
As she jumped out of the car, Sophie raised a hand as if to shield herself from the scorching heat. Her insides clenched and her instincts screamed that Emery was somewhere inside the brewery.
“That’s Emery’s car,” Wes shouted as he pointed toward the Mercedes parked twenty feet farther up the street.
Sophie sprinted toward the warehouse, but nearly tripped over two smoke-tinged bodies. Dropping to her knees, she turned them over.
Cody and Hans.
Royce, Wes, and Hayden joined her, helping to lift the bodies and drag them away from the fire.
Cody’s eyes opened and he fought for breath. “Sophie…bomb…” He coughed violently and couldn’t seem to get out anything else before he slipped back into unconsciousness.
“Bomb?” Sophie and Hayden spoke at the same time. They all turned to look back at the burning factory.
Something wild and ferocious rose up inside her. A beast of rage and pain roared deep in her heart. She knew Emery was still inside, dying, perhaps already dead. But she couldn’t stand by and watch.
Never again.
She would find him, or she would die trying to get him out.
Sophie stood and ran toward the burning edifice. Black smoke curled amidst the flames, which were licking destructive paths to block her way. But it didn’t matter. She’d cross the fires of hell for him.
The others were shouting, their voices distant and muted. She didn’t listen. The brewery door hung open, half hanging from its bottom hinge, and she was so close.
Strong arms banded around her waist and hauled her back several feet. She screamed, clawed, fought savagely to get free. Emery was in there. She couldn’t leave him alone to die. She had to get him out; she had to save him.
She hadn’t saved Rachel. There was no way she’d survive failing someone else.
