“Jack,” her voice held a warning. “What if it’s a trap?”
He’d already thought about that, and it very well could be. He wasn’t writing anything off at this point, but logically, it didn’t make sense. Jenna and Steel had been out in the open. Why go through the effort of a trap when they hadn’t been hiding?
Steel had a feeling this was about property damage and destroying his livelihood rather than about physical pain. The better question waswhy now? It was Valentine’s Day, but what statement could Shaw possibly be trying to make?
“I know. The others are on their way.” He glanced to the front where Viktor was in the passenger seat. Viktor nodded his agreement to Steel’s statement. “I’ll be as safe as I can be, baby. I promise.”
He’d been to war and back. Twice. He wouldn’t be felled here on the streets of the town he loved. But he needed to see what had exploded. From the direction of the fireball, it was either inside or near the consignment store. They’d been too high up to miss the trajectory.
Perhaps that was the point. Shaw had been putting on a show for them.
The noises from Main Street were muffled inside the cage as Darrin pulled them into Jazz’s parking lot.
Steel kissed Jenna quickly. “Be safe,” he ordered her.
She nodded.
He turned his attention to the two men in the front of the SUV. “If anything happens to her, I will string you up by your balls and beat you within an inch of your life but won’t give you the satisfaction of killing you quickly. You’ll suffer for days, in agony, until you finally starve to death. Do I make myself clear?”
“Jack,” Jenna scolded, but he ignored her.
“She’s safe with us,” Darrin vowed. Viktor nodded his agreement.
Steel kissed her one more time before hopping out of the cage. He chucked his jacket back inside, along with his tie. Out of habit, he wanted to reach for his cut, but he no longer had one. He felt naked as he slammed the door closed.
Darrin gunned it out of the parking lot.
Steel waited. If this was a trap, perhaps Shaw would reveal himself. He hadn’t yet, but he also hadn’t done anything to harm Steel. Making him suffer, yes, but Shaw was a sniper. The countless opportunities a day that presented themselves proved that Shaw didn’t want Steel dead.
At least not yet.
He stood in the falling snow, listening to the distant echoes of shouts and sirens from all the way down Main Street. No oneapproached him. No one appeared from the shadows or snuck up behind him. No one was there.
Gritting his teeth at Shaw’s cowardice, Steel started a quick sprint down the sidewalk. It was nighttime, but it was Valentine’s Day. The amount of people, specifically couples, that were out and about was higher than a normal night, even for a Saturday.
Crowds of bystanders were collecting towards the center of Main, by the town’s single traffic light. Steel flew past all them, ignoring those who tried to call out to him to ask what was going on.
As he neared the shop, the smell of smoke intensified, as did the heat from the blazing inferno. He’d seen the glow of the fire long before he’d been able to feel it. The town’s two firetrucks were parked in front of the consignment store and the police cruisers blocked the roadway.
“Carlos!” Steel shouted as he approached, pushing his way through the denser crowd to get to the front.
Carlos was dressed much like Steel, in a suit and tie. His fiancée, Zoe, had given birth to their twins last September. Steel knew that Louisa and Papaw were scheduled to babysit the babies, their oldest son Kyle, and Bulldog’s kids tonight so both couples could celebrate the holiday.
Danny was also there, along with Deputy Sheriff Jeffery Miller and Deputies Bert Anderson and Scott Pan. The firefighters were all in uniform, but Steel caught sight of Captain Hunter by the engine closest to him.
Shards of glass and debris crunched beneath his feet as Steel made his way past the cruisers. Neither deputy tried to stop him, which meant they valued their lives.
Main Street was old and marked as a historic landmark by the State of Pennsylvania. All of the buildings were brick, and getting any renovations done on them always turned out to bemore of a hassle than it was worth, even something as simple as widening some doorways. A good number of the buildings were not ADA compliant but their historic status protected them. Shop owners did what they could within the limits of the law.
Normally, a brick building meant that the structure stood a better chance in a fire.
Not in this case. Little Shoes wasn’t just on fire, it had been obliterated. This wasn’t a typical light-the-gasoline-on-fire type of fire. This had been by an explosion. A grenade, an IED, a bomb, a missile… This wasforce. The roof was gone, the walls demolished, and anything that was left was burning in the rubble.
The face of the store next to the consignment shop was also caved in.
Steel hadn’t seen damage like this since he’d retired. If anyone had been inside when the explosion had occurred, they’d be dead. Either from fire or the building collapsing down on top of them.
Fortunately for Steel, he had years of experience and training in this sort of situation. Shock did not take hold of him, nor was he blinded by grief for a brick and mortar building, even if it was his source of a paycheck. No lives had been lost here. It was justthings.
