A hint of regret skittered across his face before his gaze bounced to the pale yellow bungalow with the teal door. His broad chest rose with a deep, measured breath. When his eyes returned to hers, they held more composure. "You're sure he's still in there?"
"Positive. Besides the front door, there's a patio door, but it's on the side, and you can see the patio from here. If he had exited either door, I would have seen him from here."
Jason eyed the bungalow, and she noted the unvoiced question in his eyes. "Yes, it's the bomber. I'm positive."
She wasn't sure there was time to give more confirmation, but she could offer the short version. "He was carrying a backpack identical to the ones in the pictures you showed me—that you took of the bombs in the truck. Only this backpack looked empty. He's not dressed for vacation. He's wearing black cargo pants. And everything about his body language screams guilty and nervous. I'm positive. It's him."
Jason gave a curt nod. "I trust you, Allie." He worked his jaw with a slow nod. "He's probably keeping himself a safe distance from the bombs. So, we should have that going for us."
"Hopefully," Knox said. "But we don't have any guarantees." He looked at Allie, then pointed to the cluster of palms next to them. "Position yourself here. You have your weapon?"
She withdrew her Glock.
"Good."
Jason turned to Knox. "You and I will take the bungalow. You go in the front. I'll take the patio door. But remember, we need him alive." He held up a finger, slipped his cell phone from his pocket, and made a call.
They had only a partial view of the parking lot and main road, but the entire area appeared gridlocked with panicked tourists. Jason covered one ear with his hand to block out the wind and car horns from the parking lot while he waited for the call to be answered. A few seconds later, he said, "Nash, heads up. It might be soon."
While Jason talked to Nash, Knox's gaze caught Allie's. His mouth opened, then shut.
"I'll stay here," she said. She couldn't read his expression, but his jaw relaxed a fraction. He checked his weapon and glanced at the bungalow again.
Jason shrugged at something Nash said. "Maybe one minute, maybe ten. No, we're good. Just play your part." He ended the call. "Nash will be ready. We need to get to the bomber and makecertain he doesn't trigger any other devices. But then we need to let him escape to that chopper."
"We're just going to forget about Kendall for now?" Knox asked.
"We'll find a way to deliver him to the FBI later." He jabbed his thumb toward the bungalow. "Let's focus on this guy right now, before anyone else gets hurt."
"Understood," Knox said. He gripped his weapon and looked at Allie. "Be careful."
"You too."
She watched Jason and Knox creep toward the bungalow, Knox making his way up to the front door, Jason slipping around the side. She repositioned herself behind a bush to get a better view, fighting with wind-whipped branches.
A glimpse of Knox kicking in the front door ticked up her heart rate. Yelling and the sound of glass breaking broke through the wind and car horns.
Peering through the branches, she prayed for their safety.Dear Lord, please protect Knox. And Jason. And every person on this island. Please—
A scream cut off her prayer. Rowan raced toward her from her right, yelling her name and pointing at something behind her. "Allie, look out!"
She whipped around and saw Kendall, gun in hand, black fury blazing in his eyes. She lifted her weapon a second too late. He was already within two feet of her. His massive arm slammed down on hers, and she dropped her gun. It skittered across the sidewalk and disappeared in a flowerbed of bright orange, yellow, and pink tropical flowers.
She connected a jab to his solar plexus before his tree-trunk arms and sausage fingers grabbed her and pinned her back against him. Something hard pressed into her side. She didn't need to look down to know it was a gun.
Before she could decide whether to fight or yell, motion from her right commanded her attention. Rowan was running to the pale yellow bungalow with the teal door. He was going for help. It was a brave thing to do, but Kendall could see him as easily as she could.
The gun left her side.
And fired.
Rowan's body flew violently off the sidewalk and down a sandy slope, out of sight.
A scream caught in her throat, threatening to strangle her.No! No! No!
Knox burst out of the bungalow gripping the upper arm of a small, sweaty man with his hands bound behind his back. Knox's gaze immediately swept the area and landed on her. And her captor.
Knox froze. "Are you hurt?" he yelled from his position on the porch of the bungalow. He hadn't seen Rowan go down, and his assessing stare was likely searching her for bullet wounds.
