“Colt!” he shouted into his radio, scrambling to his feet to run toward the burning building, trying to see into the devastated interior. “Where are you? Colt, answer me!”
There was no reply.
Lennox’s heart plummeted into the pit of his stomach.
He was just about to run back into the warehouse, flames or not, when he finally heard a familiar voice in his ear.
“Lennox.” Darwin’s voice was strangely muffled, confusing Lennox a little until he realized his ears were still muted by the explosion. “We’re all up front. Colt’s radio got smashed when he was blown through the wall of the warehouse. He’s pretty beat up, but he’s okay.”
The relief Lennox felt was so overwhelming that his damn knees went weak. Then he was running toward the front of the warehouse as fast as his legs could carry him, going around to the west to avoid the smoke pouring off to the east side. He had no desire to inhale a bunch of heroin fumes.
Colt and the other guys were there waiting for him. They all looked beat up, but they were alive. Glancing around the debris strewn parking lot, Lennox realized that both of the flatbed trucks were still there, but the other two vehicles were gone. Everyone had escaped.
“What happened to the sniper?” Lennox asked. “Did he get away too?”
“No, Simon and I got him right before we had to jump off the roof to avoid the explosion,” Darwin said. “Not that it was easy. In addition to his sniper rifle, the guy was also carrying a grenade launcher. He damn near blew us off the roof.”
Lennox nodded. “I would have preferred to take one of those other guys alive, but I’m hoping Joe and his CIA people can use the sniper’s body to get information on this new terrorist group,” Lennox said.
“I hope so,” Colt said. “Because those guys weren’t like any terrorists we’ve dealt with before.”
Lennox couldn’t agree more.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Is Lennox coming over soon?” Maria asked curiously from beside Talia on the couch placed perfectly in the middle of the second floor reading nook. The one with the big window that overlooked the lake and gazebo behind the house. Maria liked to do her studying here, even though the window provided a built-in excuse to not pay attention. “It’s been like forever since he took us to Legoland, and he promised to take us back again.”
Talia shook her head. Lennox hadn’t even been gone for a week, but she had to agree, it did feel like forever. Of course, she refused to think too much about why it felt like that. But it definitely hadnothingto do with her missing Lennox.
“Sorry, honey,” she said with a sigh. “Lennox had to go somewhere for work, and I have no idea where he went or when he’ll get back.”
“Can’t you call him?” Maria asked, looking at Talia like it was the most obvious thing in the world before her expression changed to one of concern. “You have his number, right?”
“Yes, I have his number,” Talia said with a smile, pretty sure Maria had just thrown significant shade in her direction. “Unfortunately, his job doesn’t allow him to carry his phone with him while he’s working, so I can’t reach him.”
Maria scrunched up her face in a frown. “That’s stupid. Who goes someplace where they can’t have their phone?”
“Navy SEALs,” Talia said. “They can’t talk about where they go. To anyone.”
“Well, that sucks,” Maria said petulantly, sounding far older than she was.
Maria wasn’t wrong. It definitelydidsuck.
So, okay. Talia missed Lennox more than she cared to admit. She hadn’t wanted to, but she did. Now she was terrified of what that might mean.
“Is Lennox doing something dangerous?” Maria asked, her voice suddenly soft and tiny like her. “Like what he did when he rescued my family after we left Belarus? Because that was really scary.”
Talia was generally aware that Lennox and some of his SEAL teammates had saved the Rybak family from a bunch of paid killers but she didn’t know the details. Truthfully, she hadn’t wanted to. She definitely hadn’t known that Maria had been close enough to the action to be in danger. That was a terrifying thought.
She wanted to downplay the danger Lennox might be in. Kids were supposed to be protected from that kind of thing, right? But as Maria sat there gazing up with an expression far too world-weary for a six-year-old, she found herself unable to lie. It was difficult to believe, but in many ways, Maria had already seen more of the darker side of the world than Talia ever had. Something told her that Maria wouldn’t appreciate her au pair trying to sugar-coat the situation.
“I don’t know where Lennox is, but I have no doubt that you’re right and that he’s doing something scary and dangerous, yes.”
Now, Maria looked even more worried. Maybe Talia should have been a little less honest.
“But he’ll be okay, right?” Maria asked.
“Yes, he’ll be okay,” Talia said, trying to sound positive for both Maria’s benefit as well as her own. “We’ve both seen what Lennox can do and we know he’s good at his job. You’ll see. He’ll be home soon ,and he’ll take us to Legoland like he promised.”
