“Put the weapon down, or I’ll blow this place to pieces!”
Laura looked over her shoulder and saw Kimball backing slowly away, something clutched in his hand.
The detonator.
“I said put it down, or she’s dead!” Kimball’s voice was slick with fear.
Barely able to breathe, Laura looked up at Javier, whose gaze was fixed on Kimball, pure loathing on his face, his dark eyes cold.
Javier fired quick three shots, making Laura gasp.
“No, motherfucker,
And then he was there, kneeling beside her and peeling off the duct tape that bound her to the chair.
Relief soared through her, leaving her light-headed. “I can’t believe you’re here. I can’t believe you found me. How—”
“Let’s get you out of here in case this place really is set to blow.” He tore off the tape that bound her ankles, scooped her into his arms, and carried her away from Kimball’s body and out what would have been the back door.
Laura wrapped her arms around him and tucked her face against his neck, some part of her still struggling to comprehend that it was over, that she was safe.
He carried her past one partially built house and another, finally stopping when they reached a concrete foundation a few houses down. He set her down and knelt beside her, his hands searching her body for injuries. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now.” In truth, she was still shaking like a leaf.
He caught her face between his cold palms and traced his thumb over her bruised cheek, his gaze going soft when it met hers. “God,
“I was afraid I’d lost me, too.” She reached up and ran her fingertips over his jaw.
In the next heartbeat, they were kissing, the rushing of her pulse all but drowning out the approaching sound of police sirens. Or was that helicopters?
Laura didn’t know, didn’t care. All that mattered to her in that moment was the man in her arms, the man who’d just saved her life, the man she loved.
They were still kissing when an unmarked SUV, a big SWAT van, and two Adams County sheriff’s vehicles pulled up beside them, sirens blaring.
Laura heard Zach’s voice.
He stood off to the side. “I want two ambulances—one for whatever is left of Kimball and one for those two.”
Javier ended the kiss. “Kimball is three houses down. Be careful. He had a detonator, and there are fuel cans all over the place.”
“I sure am glad to see you in one piece, Laura.” Zach got on his radio and called for an EOD unit. He took a good look at Javier. “You’re hypothermic.”
“That’s all you have to say, McBride? Not, ‘You did it, Corbray,’ or ‘Way to kick ass, Corbray,’ or ‘You were right, Corbray.’”
“I don’t need to feed your ego when you’re so good at doing it yourself.” Zach grinned and gestured toward his SUV with a jerk of his head. “Come on—both of you. Wait in my vehicle out of the wind. I’ll grab a space blanket out of the trunk.”
It suddenly occurred to Laura to wonder
She glanced to her left and felt a hitch behind her breastbone when she realized what he’d done. “You swam across the lake.”
The water must have been ice cold, deathly cold.
“It was the fastest way to reach you.”
He didn’t have to finish the thought. Laura understood.
If he hadn’t done it, she would be dead.
THE NEXT FEW hours passed in a blur of medical checks and debriefing. The two of them were treated by paramedics on-site and released. Zach drove them back to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, where they each offered a written statement and then answered questions separately. The U.S. Marshal Service, the Adams County sheriffs, the Denver police, and the FBI—everyone seemed to have questions for them, especially for Laura.
It was dark by the time they found themselves in Zach’s SUV once again as he drove them back to Denver, filling them in on what had happened this afternoon when they’d been busy.
Laura’s car was totaled and now sitting in the marshals’ impound yard, where she could get whatever she needed from it in the next few days.
A deputy had already returned Carmichael’s vehicle to him at the newspaper.
A forensic team had been sent back to Sean Michael Edwards’s apartment to see whether they could gather any additional evidence that might help them understand what had transpired there.
Zach had paid a personal visit to the Al Zahrani home to bring the kid’s parents up to date. “I made sure to tell them that you were the one who first suspected their son had been framed.”
“Thank you, Zach.” It was clear from Laura’s face that this meant a lot to her. “Now they’ll finally be able to mourn him in peace.”
Javier leaned in and kissed her temple, careful to avoid her bruised and swollen cheek. “Your compassion is one of the most beautiful things about you,
Her lips curved in a tired smile, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
Javier knew she must be exhausted, but she insisted they stop by the paper.
“They’re going to need to interview me. You can head back to the loft if you want. If you’re in the newsroom, they’ll ask you questions.”
“Don’t worry about me. I think I can handle a few reporters.” He’d almost lost her today. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight.
“Your name is in the police report. It’s going to wind up in the media again.”
Javier nodded. “I know.”
He’d already called the Boss to tell him what had happened. He’d expected the lieutenant to rip his head off and stuff shit down his neck.
Instead, O’Connell had congratulated him. “It’s not in human DNA to think of water as an avenue of attack. That’s why it always works so well for us. Way to go. I’ll pass the news along to the men. See you in a few days.”
A few days. A few precious days with Laura.
And then Javier would have some big decisions to make.
SEX WAS THE furthest thing from Laura’s mind when they finally got back to the loft. All she wanted was a hot shower, something to eat that she didn’t have to cook, and the feel of Javier’s arms around her.
They ended up taking a shower together, Laura washing lake water and mud from Javier’s body, Javier washing the scent of horror from Laura’s. But as they smoothed soap over soft skin, Laura felt a need for Javier that was so much more than sexual. Touching turned to kissing until at last Javier backed her against the tile wall, wrapped one of her legs around his waist, and slid inside her.
They made love face-to-face, eyes open, both of them knowing how lucky they were to be alive—and together. It felt to Laura like a celebration of love and life, and when she came, pleasure shimmering through in liquid waves, she couldn’t stop tears from spilling down her cheeks.
Afterward, Laura called her mother and grandmother, waking them to tell them what had happened. They listened, their faces showing Swedish stoicism until she finished. Then her mother insisted on speaking with Javier.
“Thank you once more for saving my daughter,” she said, tears in her eyes.
Laura and Javier made a supper of eggs and bacon together, then snuggled on the sofa, Laura still in her bathrobe, Javier in his flannel pajama bottoms and a Navy sweatshirt, the gas fire burning.
