“We’re clear,” Sawyer says as he puts his tablet and mic away.
“What is this place?” Weston questions as we move farther into the room.
“I don’t know. But let’s get a look around so we can be gone before anyone shows up.” I gesture off toward the right. “Cowboy, you and Tank go check out that side. Cable Guy and I will see what’s in those crates.”
“Sure thing, Cap,” Weston says. Then he and Ryker move off toward the right to get a look around the corner.
Sawyer and I close the distance between us and the crates, and I withdraw my large knife to pry the lid off.
“I can’t make sense of this, Cap,” Sawyer comments. “Something feels off.”
“I feel it, too.” With one final movement, the crate pops open, and I shove the lid off.
My heart stops.
My stomach plummets.
Adrenaline surges through my veins as I try to process exactly what it is we’re seeing.
“Tank! Cowboy!” I bellow. “Get back to the stairwell!”
“I can’t diffuse this, Cap. I need Demo. We need Demo.” Sawyer is panicking. And I certainly can’t blame him.
“We don’t have Demo.” And Brenda had to have known we wouldn’t. She would have known I wouldn’t leave Tessa unprotected, and Garrison was the most logical choice to leave behind.
Is this really her, though? Is she truly trying to eliminate us?
Red numbers on a clock count down from thirty seconds.
Thirty seconds to get to safety from the basement level of an office building before the entire thing collapses on top of us.
It’s not enough time.
It has to be enough time.
God, please let it be enough time.
Ryker and Weston race toward us and, together, the four of us sprint back toward the stairs. It’s the strongest point of the building—and our only chance at survival. Even still, the chances we’ll live to see the sunrise are slim to none.
Ryker reaches the stairwell first, and he rips the door open. Weston sprints inside, then Sawyer. I pause, and he moves without argument, knowing I won’t go in before he does. I slam the door shut behind us right before a deafening boom robs me of a future I should have had.
And Tessa’s smile is the last thing I see before the world goes dark.
Chapter 26
Tessa
With my Bible in hand, I sit curled up on Garrison’s couch, a blanket on my lap, a hot cup of chamomile on the table in front of me. I can hear the shower going, and in this brief moment of silence, I can almost pretend Zane will be coming through the front door any minute.
The two minutes I had to talk to him earlier weren’t nearly long enough. But he said that, as long as tonight went well, they could potentially be on their way back first thing in the morning. I smile.
I can’t wait.
Shifting my attention back to the Bible, I continue reading through the book of Esther. I remember being so drawn to it when I was a teenager. The strength she must have had to prevail despite everything stacked against her has always been inspiring to me.
“Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” That singular verse from Esther 4 runs over and over in my mind. It’s hard for me to believe I have any special purpose. Any genuine reason for being born. Perhaps that’s why I struggled so much to keep my faith since leaving Stormwatch Landing.
I never felt worthy enough for anything.
