Page 11 of Damien’s Mate

He pulled his security flashlight out of his pocket and shined it above the timer. Wires, running up the wall, leading up to a packet attached to the ceiling.

C-4. Double fuck.

He’d shoved his security earpiece into his pocket when he left, and now he pulled it out and held it to his mouth.

“Security! Level 5 alert! Bomb in storage closet in east wing, just under the conference room. Clear the room and evacuate fucking everyone—now! You have 25 seconds.”

Lila was pulling at his arm. “We have to get out of here.”

But Damien was already climbing up to see if he could deactivate it. The whole time his brain was telling him to go, just get out. If Victor Salzano got blown up, all his problems would be solved.

Who cared if a bunch of crime bosses got blown up with him? The world would probably be a better place.

But somehow he couldn’t just leave without trying to do something.

The timer reached 20 seconds. 19. 18. He could see where the wires connected, but yanking them might blow it even sooner.

“There’s no time,” Lila said urgently. “Come on!”

He couldn’t risk her life. Hell, he didn’t know why she was still standing there. She looked like she didn’t know either.

He jumped down and grabbed the ledger from her, shoving it into the top of the black bag. They took off down the long, long hallway towards the service entrance, slipping on the slick linoleum.

Damien’s knee burned like fire, and he had trouble keeping up with Lila. Damn, she was fast. She made it to the corner where the corridor turned, and stopped to wait for him.

“Go on!” he yelled, and she disappeared.

He tried to run faster, counting down in his head.

He wasn’t going to make it.

Damien tried for one last burst of speed, and his knee buckled. His feet slid out from under him, and he hit the floor hard.

He was going to die tonight after all.

He looked down the hallway, and saw Lila reappear around the corner. She hesitated for a second, then pulled the bracelet off her wrist and threw it at him. It hit the floor and slid toward him, the gold gleaming. Automatically, he put his hand out and caught it.

Three. Two. One.

The world exploded in a deafening roar, and a fireball hurtled down the hallway.

Chapter 5

Before Damien even had time to regret his wasted life, the blast was roaring over him. He braced himself for the searing pain.

It didn’t happen.

The fire parted as it reached him, splitting to either side and rushing overhead. He could hear the air moving, sense the overpressures, but it was like he was inside a heatproof bubble, safe from everything.

If this was what death by explosion was like, it was a lot less painful than he would’ve imagined.

Then he looked down and saw the bracelet, still in his hand, glowing with a strange blue light.

What. The. Actual. Hell.

The explosion ended; the fire receded. The far end of the hall by the storage closet had collapsed, and scorched rubble lay all around him.

For a moment, there was complete and eerie silence. Then he heard screams and shouting, followed by the faint sound of sirens.