I swallowed the clump of sand in my throat as I continued to search all around me.
“If that’s you, Roman, come and get me, asshole!” I shouted as loud as I could.
I stood for a beat as dead silence ensued. Anotherpop, pop, popripped through the air before flames shot up through the wreckage that used to be the house.
I ran toward the rubble when hands grabbed me from behind.
I whirled around, kicking and screaming.
“Easy,” Kraft said as he held me to his big body.
“Sam and Rianne are in there,” I cried. “I can’t lose my sister.” This was all my fault. I vowed if we got out of this mess alive, I would leave this city and never look back.
The lady guard, Brock, who had escorted me from the base gate that day, rushed up to Kraft and me just as a tall figure emerged like a phoenix rising out of the ashes.
My jaw hit the ground. How could it be? Sure, vampires didn’t die easily, but no way could anyone have survived that explosion.
Sam’s clothes were singed, his face covered in soot, his silver eyes a beacon in the waning night, and he was carrying Rianne’s limp body.
I shrugged out of Kraft’s hold.
“She’s alive,” Sam said.
I wanted to throw myself at him. Instead, I smoothed a hand over Rianne’s head. “Sis.”
Sam carried her over to the Hummer, which surprisingly was in one piece. “She’ll be fine.”
“How?” The question was more for me than anyone.
After he set Rianne in the backseat, he came up to me, smelling like fire and brimstone. He pushed hair off my forehead before examining me from head to toe. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, blinking away tears. “Thank you for saving her.”
He tugged me to him and banded his arms around me.
We stood like that for a beat, not saying a word until Kraft cleared his throat. “We should get moving.”
Sam kissed my hair then edged back and went into soldier mode. “We need to return to base. This was all a ploy. He wanted to draw me out and thought our whole team would come.” Sam touched his ear. “I lost my comm. Olivia, can you call Tripp?”
Olivia Brock.Her first name was pretty.
Olivia whipped out her phone. In two seconds, Tripp’s voice came through the speaker. “Give me the rundown.”
“There were two bombs,” Sam said. “Layla managed to diffuse one, and the other… well, everyone is alive.”
“Thank fuck. It’s all quiet here,” Tripp said. “Webb and I have the place ready. Jo and Abbey are on their way to vampire headquarters in Boston. We’re ready if Roman shows up.”
Sam threaded his hands through his ash-and-snow-covered hair, sighing. “We’re on our way.”
“Sam,” Tripp said, “before you leave the area, do one last sweep of the homes. Let’s be sure Ben or Jordyn are not tied up in one of them.”
“Copy that,” Sam said.
Tripp hung up, and Olivia pocketed her phone. The three of them scanned the property far and wide.
“We only found tracks and a blood trail deep in the woods that led to an empty shack,” Olivia said. “We searched the homes along the road as well. Nothing.”
“We know Roman was here because of the bombs,” I said. “Maybe Tripp is onto something. Maybe Roman left Jordyn and Ben somewhere nearby while he fights his way into the naval base.”
