Page 35 of Deadly Alliance

“There was an explosion. Someone put a bomb underneath the first car.”

The first car. It took all her might to steady her voice an ask. “Shane? Beatrice?”

Zin shook his head. “I don’t know. Dee only told me that before it blew, Beatrice transferred pictures to her phone. Pictures of you and her as you left Fortis today.”

It was impossible for Emme to breathe now, let alone say anything else. Jace suggested they go to the Cunningham Estate, but Lucy and Zin weren’t going to put more people at risk. Instead, Lucy whipped up her phone and dialled Zack. The conversation was short, and she gave Jace an address. A friend’s house that he was sure the killer had no idea existed. If he’d started stalking Emme, there was always a risk he knew more about all of them than they thought.

It was as if time had slowed to a snail’s pace and Emme prayed for it to speed up. The minutes passing slowly by were pure torture and when they turned into a quiet neighbourhood, she felt on edge until she recognised Daniel’s car on the street. If Daniel was there, that meant that somebody was hurt rather than dead.

Jace parked nearby and they all walked to the house, on high alert. When they finally reached the front door, Jace and Lucy entered first and they saw Owen and Dee. The smell of smoke and fuel permeated the air around them.

Emme almost leapt forward when she saw them. “What happened? Where are the others?” She didn’t dare speak Shane’s name yet, too terrified to ask in case the answer was something she couldn’t bear to hear.

Dee looked at all of them before answering. “I don’t know yet. One moment we were driving right behind Bea and Shane’s car, and the next moment, I received pictures from Bea and then boom! Their car flew in the air like a bird. I called Zack and he gave me this address. Lance stayed on site, waiting for him. As we didn’t know if the killer would attack again, Owen commandeered a car and we got out of there. Beatrice and Shane are in the other room with Daniel.”

At the words, Emme’s knees almost buckled.

Owen sighed. “We were lucky that the bomb didn’t do what it was intended to. The car went airborne but fell back on its wheels. It was a rough landing, but apart from bruises and a few burns, they were lucky. We got them out before the car caught fire. Lance will see if he can get clues about the bomb.”

“And I called Will to get him to check the cameras outside Fortis. Maybe he was stupid enough to install the bomb there. And I’m working on tracking the sender of the picture from Bea’s phone.” Dee took a quick look at two laptops running in the corner.

The far door opened, and Daniel walked out, followed by Beatrice and Shane. As soon as her eyes locked with Shane, Emme couldn’t help herself; her body moved towards him as fast she could until he was in her arms. Quickly blinking away tears, she buried her nose into his neck and inhaled his scent. Smoke, blood, and disinfectant hid it, but it was him. He was alive and well. Grateful didn’t start to describe how she was feeling.

“I’m fine, babe.” His deep voice rumbled, shaking her to the core. He sounded calm, but the way his hold tightened around her to the point of pain was revealing.

He was fine, Emme repeated herself. And at the thought of losing him, fear battled with fury inside her, and she couldn’t help herself. Ignoring the team around them, she took his face in her hands and kissed him.