"This is a waste of time," Knox said.
Jason gave a chin lift. "I agree. I don't think they're going to give us anything, but at least we have the bombs. We'll stash these guys somewhere where they can't be any trouble for the next few hours. And I'll work on dismantling the devices."
A unsettling smile spread across the driver's face.
"What's so funny?" asked Knox.
"Not a thing, sir. But I wouldn't tell your boss, Mr. Drakos, that you solved the problem and that he doesn't need to sign anything. You found three of the bombs. There are three more. We're only the backup team. The first three bombs have already been placed. My boss was afraid you would find them. So, he sent us, just in case."
Knox didn't want to believe him. But the rock-hard dread seizing his stomach insisted the driver wasn't bluffing. Keeping his weapon pointed at the guards, Knox directed his question to Jason. "What do you think? You believe him?"
Jason paused before he answered. "Not sure."
"Doesn't matter if you believe me. My boss communicates through Kendall. He's the one who will text Mr. Drakos soon. The bomber will send pictures of all three devices with the countdown set."
"So, that's who gives you orders? Kendall?"
The driver raised one shoulder. "He speaks for the boss, yeah. He doesn't make decisions, though."
"When are we supposed to expect this text?" asked Jason.
The driver shrugged. "Soon is what I was told. Like you said, we're here waiting. We weren't told an exact time, just to go ahead and bring the bombs to The Mandeville in case you found the first three."
No way this guy was that good of an actor. He was telling the truth.
"Okay," Jason said. "Let's tie them up and stash them somewhere." He looked at the driver. "We'll visit with Mr. Drakos in a few minutes and check your story."
The driver shrugged. "I'm not concerned. Kendall will make sure your boss understands." He looked at his passenger, then back to Jason. "I wouldn't kill us, though. It would irritate my employer."
"Again, I'm not sure he cares anything about you, but we're not going to kill you," Knox said, "unless you do something stupid, and we have to defend ourselves. So don't do anything stupid."
The driver's glare radiated more frustration than threat. He wasn't a friendly fellow, but he wasn't going to be a problem. The nervous passenger even less so.
Knox and Jason locked the guards, bound and gagged, in a storage shed fifty yards from the parking lot, and hid the truck with the 'just in case' bombs out of sight behind the shed.
Jason looked at his watch. "Give me two minutes with those devices. If I can't disable them, we'll drive them further out,away from the resort. But it will save us so much time if I can simply disarm them."
They hopped out of the truck and walked around back.
Knox pulled open the roll-up door. "Two minutes, huh?"
Jason climbed in the back of the truck. "Hopefully." He pointed at Knox. "You text Allie. Give her an update."
"On it." He slid his phone out of his pocket.
He texted her a short update, including the expanded number of bombs.
They're in place. Look for someone taking a backpack into an area but not out.
Understood. Be careful.
Always.
Tension coiled in Knox's chest at the thought of the three bombs hidden somewhere in The Mandeville. Dangerously close to over one thousand guests. And Allie.
Her innocent face swam in his mind for a moment. And he fought to marshall the fear burning his throat.
This was new.
