Keeper of the Bride

Fourteen

Sam’s jaw was taut as he studied the tangle of wires and circuitry. There were so many wires! It would take an hour just to sort them all out. But all they had were minutes. Though he didn’t say a word, she could read the urgency in his face, could see the first droplets of sweat forming on his forehead.

Gillis returned to his partner’s side. “I checked the perimeter. Spectre’s got the building wired with fifteen or more sticks. No other action fuses as far as I can see. The brain to this whole device is right there in your hands.”

“It’s too easy,” muttered Sam, scanning the circuitry. “He wants me to cut this wire.”

“Could it be a double feint? He knew we’d be suspicious. So he made it simple on purpose — just to throw us?”

Sam swallowed. “This looks like the arming switch right here. But over here, he’s got the cover soldered shut. He could have a completely different switch inside. Magnetic reed or a Castle-Robins device. If I pry off that cap, it could fire.”

Gillis glanced at the digital timer. “Five minutes left.”

“I know, I know.” Sam’s voice was hoarse with tension, but his hands were absolutely steady as he traced the circuitry. One tug on the wrong wire, and all three of them could be instantly vaporized.

Outside, more sirens whined to a stop. Nina could hear voices, the sounds of confusion.

But inside, there was silence.

Sam took a breath and glanced up at her. “You okay?”

She gave a tense nod. And she saw, in his face, the first glimpse of panic. He won’t figure this out in time, and he knows it.

This was just what Spectre had planned. The hopeless dilemma. The fatal choice. Which wire to cut? One? None? Does he gamble with his own life? Or does he make the rational choice to abandon the building — and her?

She knew the choice he would make. She could see it in his eyes.

They were both going to die.

“Two and a half minutes,” said Gillis.

“Go on, get out of here,” Sam ordered.

“You need an extra pair of hands.”

“And your kids need a father. Get the hell out.”

Gillis didn’t budge.

Sam picked up the wire cutters and isolated a white wire.

“You’re guessing, Sam. You don’t know.”

“Instinct, buddy. I’ve always had good instincts. Better leave. We’re down to two minutes. And you’re not doing me any good.”

Gillis rose to his feet, but lingered there, torn between leaving and staying. “Sam—”

“Move.”

Gillis said, softly, “I’ll have a bottle of Scotch waiting for you, buddy.”

“You do that. Now get out of here.”

Without another word, Gillis left the building.

Only Sam and Nina remained. He doesn’t have to stay, she thought. He doesn’t have to die.

“Sam,” she whispered.

He didn’t seem to hear her; he was concentrating too hard on the circuit board, his wire cutters hovering between a life-and-death choice.

“Leave, Sam,” she begged.

“This is my job, Nina.”

“It’s not your job to die!”

“We’re not going to die.”

“You’re right. We aren’t. You aren’t. If you leave now —”

“I’m not leaving. You understand? I’m not.” His gaze rose to meet hers. And she saw, in those steady eyes, that he had made up his mind. He’d made the choice to live — or die — with her. This was not the cop looking at her, but the man who loved her. The man she loved.

She felt tears trickle down her face. Only then did she realize she was crying.

“We’re down to a minute. I’m going to make a guess here,” he said. “If I’m right, cutting this wire should do the trick. If I’m wrong…” He let out a breath. “We’ll know pretty quick one way or the other.” He slipped the teeth of the cutter around the white wire. “Okay, I’m going with this one.”

“Wait.”

“What is it?”

“When Spectre was putting it together, he soldered a white wire to a red one, then he covered it all up with green tape. Does that make a difference?”

Sam stared down at the wire he’d been about to cut. “It does,” he said softly. “It makes a hell of a lot of difference.”

“Sam!” came Gillis’s shout through a megaphone. “You’ve got ten seconds left!”

Ten seconds to run.

Sam didn’t run. He moved the wire cutter to a black wire and positioned the jaws to cut. Then he stopped and looked up at Nina.

They stared at each other one last time.

“I love you,” he said.

She nodded, the tears streaming down her face. “I love you too,” she whispered.

Their gazes remained locked, unwavering, as he slowly closed the cutter over the wire. Even as the jaws came together, even as the teeth bit into the plastic coating, Sam was looking at her, and she at him.

The wire snapped in two.

For a moment neither one of them moved. They were still frozen in place, still paralyzed by the certainty of death.

Then, outside, Gillis yelled, “Sam? You’re past countdown! Sam!”

All at once, Sam was cutting the bonds from her hands, her ankles. She was too numb to stand, but she didn’t need to. He gathered her up into his arms and carried her out of the warehouse, into the night.

Outside, the street was ablaze with the flashing lights of emergency vehicles: squad cars, ambulances, fire trucks. Sam carried her safely past the yellow police tape and set her down on her feet.

Instantly they were surrounded by a mob of officials, Chief Coopersmith and Liddell among them, all clamoring to know the bomb’s status. Sam ignored them all. He just stood there with his arms around Nina, shielding her from the chaos.

“Everyone back!” shouted Gillis, waving the crowd away. “Give ’em some breathing space!” He turned to Sam. “What about the device?”

“It’s disarmed,” said Sam. “But be careful. Spectre may have left us one last surprise.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Gillis started toward the warehouse, then turned back. “Hey, Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“I’d say you just earned your retirement.” Gillis grinned. And then he walked away.

Nina looked up at Sam. Though the danger was over, she could still feel his heart pounding, could feel her own heart beating just as wildly.

“You didn’t leave me,” she whispered, new tears sliding down her face. “You could have—”

“No, I couldn’t.”

“I told you to go! I wanted you to go.”

“And I wanted to stay.” He took her face in his hands. Firmly, insistently. “There was no other place I’d be