He shifted to the balls of his feet and gave her a two-finger salute. Even in the almost-darkness he enjoyed the gentle grin on her face.
He took his time easing himself to the window. The windowsill was too narrow to hold his phone, so after he hit send on thevideo for the second time, he held his phone within an inch of the glass.
Until new voices downstairs stole his attention.
Chapter 13
His body froze, and his focus whipped to Allie. Her features tightened with concentration as she tried to decipher what the voices were saying. A few feet closer to the interior windows than he was, she might have a better chance of picking up some of the conversation.
After a minute, the voices faded. She waved her hand, indicating she thought it was safe for him to crawl back to her.
He checked his phone. The video was delivered.
Thank you, God. And could you please provide us a safe way out of here? Please keep us safe. Especially Allie.
Keeping his movements as silent as possible, he made his way back to Allie and retook his seat on the hard floor next to her. He pointed to the interior windows. "Catch any of that?"
"Not much. But there wasn't anything exciting or nervous in their tone. They said something about pizza. I think they brought food back for the other two guards."
"Okay."
She pointed to his phone. "Did it send?"
"Yeah. That should help Jason form a plan."
He checked his screen. Jason texted,Got the video. Working on a plan.
Knox responded with a thumbs-up emoji.
Allie leaned closer. Even in the semi-darkness, he could see the worry on her face. "What did you find down there?"
He pursed his lips. "It's not good. It's what we feared. There are three bombs in the closet next to the office. The only good news—or, I guess, the less-bad news—is that the bombs are small. They're similar to the one on the beach last night."
"They could still . . ." She bit her lower lip.
"Yeah, they could still be deadly in the right circumstance." He shoved his hands through his hair. Waiting for Jason was the right call, but Knox felt his patience waning.
Allie cocked her head.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"If we could get access to the bombs, could you disable them?"
Knox shook his head. "Not my area of expertise. But Jason might be able to, or at least he could contact someone who is less likely to accidentally blow themselves up."
She looked disappointed.
"What Iwasable to do," he said, "was place a tracking device on each bomb. So if they get placed at The Mandeville or anywhere on the island, we can find them quickly."
"But if we can't disable them . . . I guess we'll know what area to evacuate?"
"Yeah, for starters. If Jason thinks they're stable, maybe we could throw them in the ocean or something." He shrugged.
The corner of her mouth quirked up. "You make disposing of bombs sound so mundane, Knox Coulter."
Her smile grew. And every micro-inch of that grin reminded him how glad he was to have her back in his life. "Well, Miss Harkwood, it's all in a day's work."
"Noteveryday."
