“Good.” Digger’s deep voice traveled through the otherwise still air. Grumbled one-word responses were pretty much all he’d offered since leaving the hospital to come here.
Their newest home away from home was a high-end apartment in the heart of downtown Charlotte. And regardless of her feelings about being sequestered away, she couldn’t deny this place was even nicer than the cabin in the woods.
When it came to safe houses, her father apparently spared no expense. But the two spaces he’d utilized couldn’t be any more different.
The cabin had been an impressive display of rich, rustic charm, whereas the space in which she and Digger were holed up now was a modern creation of white walls and accents of black and gray. The two safe houses were opposite in almost every single way, much like her and Digger.
Speaking of Dig…
Shadow stole a glimpse of the tall, dark, and ridiculously handsome man from over the top of her screen. His broad back was to her as he looked through the sliding glass doors leading to the apartment’s private, fifth-floor balcony. He’d been even quieter than usual since leaving the Tac-Ops office, which for him, was saying a heck of a lot.
When she’d first regained consciousness after nearly getting her ass blown to smithereens, she’d found him staring down at her through a sea of tumultuous emotion. And, apart from when medical staff had taken her away for the doctor ordered CT, Slade had stayed right by her side the entire time, refusing to let a doctor check him out, as well.
To be fair, he seemed physically okay, save a few scratches and scrapes and a bruise on his left cheek. Shadow had done what she could to convince him to let a doctor do a quick once-over, but he’d instantly—and vehemently—declined. He’d told her his only concern was knowing she was okay.
That, of course, was incredibly sweet, and made her like the big jerk even more than she already did. Which sucked because Digger had made himself pretty clear about where the two of them stood. And it wasn’t anywhere near where Shadow wanted them to be.
That’s a different problem for a different day.
She blinked away her wandering thoughts because her inner voice was right. There was a much more pressing matter that needed her undivided attention, so she put aside her feelings for the stubborn, stoic man and chose to return her focus on stopping a killer.
“The hospital’s security system isn’t all that impressive,” Shadow kept the topic of conversation to the task at hand and nothing else. “Now we just have to cross our fingers and pray I got to the footage before Stanton’s minions.”
She looked back at the screen and began rewinding from the present back to just before she and the rest of the team arrived. A few minutes into the search, she saw Digger’s car racing to a stop near the emergency room’s entrance. Right behind it was the SUV that had been carrying Falcon and Bones.
Feeling as though she were watching some sort of bizarre movie starring her and her friends, Shadow observed herself practically jump out of Digger’s passenger seat before he’d fully brought the vehicle to a complete stop.
Her chest tightened when she caught sight of her recorded image’s worried expression. The panic she’d felt while running through those doors still so close to the surface, it would take no effort at all to conjure it back to life.
He’s okay. Dad’s alive and well, and he’s totally okay.
It was the same mental reminder she’d given herself since seeing her father at the office following the explosion.
He was okay, as were Digger, Bones, and Falcon. They were all still alive, and minus some minor injuries, they were all okay.
But they almost weren’t, and she was the reason for that. It was her fault Digger and their other two teammates almost died. Now her father and poor Ashley had been dragged into her mess, and she couldn’t manage to find a shred of evidence linking Stanton to any of his crimes.
There!
Movement behind Digger’s car caught Shadow’s attention, and she hurried to rewind the footage. Her gaze narrowed as it became even more focused than before, and she tapped a few keys to change the recording to play in half-time speed.
She watched and waited, not daring to take her eyes off the small screen for even a second. A man appeared from the bottom left corner, as if he’d just come out the lobby’s automatic doors. He was wearing a black ball cap with the bill pulled down tight, a matching jacket, pants, and a pair of lace-up boots.
Shadow watched as he walked approached Digger’s car using slow, casual steps. His hands were in the pockets of his jacket, and for a moment, she thought she’d made a mistake. But then…
Bingo.
Her eyes followed the man’s every move, including the way he was subtly inching closer to the side of Digger’s car. He stepped off the curb to walk between the back of the car and the team’s front bumper.
Shadow’s chest grew tight, her stomach churning with anger when she saw what the man did next. It happened so quickly she almost missed it.
Lucky for her, she didn’t.
The man moved to walk between the two vehicles, pulling something small and square out of his right pocket. Seconds before he moved between the two vehicles, he reached out and placed what had to be the bomb beneath the edge of Digger’s rear bumper.
Son of a…
“I’ve got him!” Shadow blurted out excitedly, rushing to rewind the video back several seconds. Then she watched that part over again.
