Josh gestured for the driver to step away from the vehicle. “When’s the last time you checked your engine temperature?”
“Just before we left base, Staff Sergeant. Everything was normal.”
About to take a reading, Josh reached for his scanner when a sharp metallic crack echoed from somewhere beneath the truck. The sound wasn’t loud—barely audible over the idling engines—but Josh’s combat-honed instincts registered it instantly. It wasn’t a mechanical pop; that hollow metallic snap had the signature of something man-made under tension, about to give. Adrenaline shot through his system. “Clear the area!” Moving at full speed, he waved his arms, directing his team to a safe distance. “Everybody back now!”
The world seemed to turn in slow motion. Josh sprinted toward the front of the convoy, shouting orders as he moved. “Boglioli! Get the lead vehicles moving!”
Having just finished checking the forward vehicles, Kade and Rambo were again at the front of the convoy. Josh could see him turning at the commotion.
“Possible detonation! Clear out!” Josh bellowed, urging nearby soldiers to move faster. Two men were still too close to the suspect vehicle, frozen in momentary confusion. Damn it. He changed direction, rushing toward them. “Move!” Josh shoved the nearest soldier forward.
The blast hit before he cleared the path, followed instantly by another detonation. The shockwave caught Josh and the two soldiers in the open, lifting them off their feet. He felt himself hurled through the air, a blinding flash searing his vision as the pounding force crushed against his chest, slamming him to the ground. Beside him Hanson wasn’t moving and Gideon lay several feet away, unnaturally still. Josh’s chest burned and his side screamed.
Through the ringing in his ears, he caught a flash of Kade dragging Rambo behind the lead truck—both safe. Relief flickered, even as darkness closed in.
His only clear thought—what an unholy mess.
Thumbing through the last pages of her mystery novel, Katie Lawford confirmed her guess halfway through the book had been accurate. No point in finishing it now. One week into the government shutdown, and she’d already cleaned out her closet, labeled her spice jars, put dividers in her junk drawer, binged two seasons of a show she’d been meaning to watch for ages, and finished three books from her “to-be-read” pile.
She glanced at her phone. No alerts, no panicked emails from her supervisor, no updates about when the Department of Defense contract administrators might return to work. Just silence and the ticking of her grandmother’s antique clock. “So much for thoseurgentmilitary supply contracts,” she muttered, stretching her legs on the couch. The unexpected furlough had been nice—at first. But now, a week later, restlessness was settling in.
Her phone buzzed.Finally.She snatched it up. “You rescued me from organizing the freezer.”
Jackie Sweet’s laugh came through bright and familiar. “Tell me you’re not still cleaning. It’s a furlough, not a punishment.”
“It’s both.” Katie dropped onto the sofa. “I’ve rearranged every shelf I own. Even the ones that don’t need rearranging.”
“We can’t have that.” There was a long pause. “So, tell me. How are you doing really? I mean, do you need money or something?”
Oh, how she loved her bestie. She couldn’t help but smile. “I’m fine. I have a very understanding landlady. Mrs. O’Grady has been through this before. Whenever the government shuts down, lots of Houston contractors wind up at home sitting on their hands with no paychecks. She knows we’ll get paid eventually, so she’s told me it’s all right to hold off on rent until I get a paycheck. Even though I have a good nest egg just in case.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
Another long pause and Katie knew Jackie was stewing on something. “Might as well spit it out.”
“Why don’t you come ride this shutdown out here? It’s been ages and we’d all love to have you.”
“Oh, sure. You and Garret are still technically newlyweds. I bet he wants a fifth wheel tagging along about as much as he wants to step on a rusty nail—barefoot.”
“Don’t be silly. Garret loves having you around as much as I do.”
“Uh huh.”
“Really. You know what this house is like. Organized chaos with a double dose of love and laughter.”
Her friend had a point. She’d only spent a few days at the ranch for Jackie and Garret’s wedding, and there was never a moment when anyone was alone, and that seemed just fine with everyone. Heck, half the siblings were still living at the house and they were all newlyweds.
“Carson and Jess’ new place is really taking shape. They put the sheetrock up this last week and it’s actually looking like a house and not so much like a kid’s construction toy.”
“I bet they can hardly wait.” She remembered the talk about starting building as soon as some of the family business was taken care of. Mason, their son, was the most excited about having his own house while torn about leaving his Nonnie alone in the Main house. It was kind of cute.
“Now, if you want to be helpful, the guest annex is down to the cosmetic stages. Alice picked out the paint colors the other day. Mostly soft beiges and yellows.”
“Yellow?” She couldn’t picture Alice Sweet picking out yellows for that big old western style home.
“I think she calls it warm butter.” Jackie chuckled. “The funny thing, she looked at something ivory for the bathroom and to me that thing looked like French mustard. No idea where these companies get their color names from.”
“You don’t want my opinion. Last time I helped you paint, your living room wall looked like a bad Picasso.”
