The closer he came to the scene the faster his heart beat. As he looked around, there were several body bags laid out on the ground.
He was about to lift up the yellow tape and walk under it when an officer yelled over at him. “You can’t be here. Only emergency personnel!”
Someone else was calling out his name. “Alex!” When he turned around, it was Stephanie Hinsdale. She managed to get through the tape too. “He’s with me. I have clearance from Chief Johnson.”
“Are you sure ma’am?”
“Yes.”
The officer seemed to accept that and didn’t waste any time before leaving and joining the other first responders who were busy trying to handle a chaotic situation.
She was out of breath and eyes wide with worry. “Have you talked to Braylee? I’ve been calling both her and Nate’s cell. Their phones are going straight to voicemail.”
Alex held his phone in his hand and glanced down at it as he shook his head. “No. I’ve been trying too and getting the same results.”
Her hands went to her throat. “My God. Look at that garage. Anyone who would have been caught in there…”
“Stop. Don’t think the worst. Braylee had a deposition this afternoon. She may not have even been in the building. And, if she’s in the deposition that would explain why she’s not picking up her phone.” He looked around. “Does anyone know what might have happened?”
Stephanie couldn’t keep the worry out of her voice. “No. I’ve only overhead some of the officers speculating about the possibility of a terrorist act. I don’t think they really know at this point.”
Two men in suits approached Alex and Stephanie as they stood talking. Their faces and hands were covered in smoke and soot. “Mr. Manchetti?”
He turned, and Alex quickly identified the men as the extra security detail he’d had assigned to Braylee. It wasn’t a good sign if they were still here. “What the hell happened? Where is she? Why haven’t I been able to get in touch with any of you?”
“Sir, as soon as the first explosion went off, we made our way to the garage. With all of the smoke, it was difficult to locate Ms. Hinsdale, but we knew she was headed out for her deposition. When we entered the garage through the stairs, we found her face down on the ground and not moving. Apparently she had been trying to crawl over to the exit.”
Stephanie was almost hysterical. “Oh my god! Where is she? Is she okay?”
Alex put his hand on her shoulder to calm her down a bit. As if bracing himself for the worst he asked, “Where is Braylee?”
He hung on their every word. “Jarret and I, along with another man who’d been coming down the stairs with his wife, managed to pull her out of the building. By sheer coincidence, he was a doctor and immediately started administering CPR until the paramedics arrived.” The man rubbed his eyebrow before finishing his story. “He wasn’t able to resuscitate her.”
Stephanie’s knees almost buckled. Alex wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from falling. She murmured, “Oh god!”
The man peeked around Alex to Stephanie and continued to speak quickly as if trying to reassure her. “But, he continued working on Ms. Hinsdale as we helped get her into the ambulance. They took her to Mercy. The ambulance just left not even five minutes ago.” He returned his gaze to Alex. “That’s why we hadn’t contacted you.” As if not wanting to continue the burly bodyguard hesitated. “Sir, they haven’t recovered the body of Nate Lansbury.”
A chill went through him. His worst fears had been realized. Braylee had been in that building, and he didn’t know if she was dead or alive. All Alex could think about was getting to her. “One of you stay here and wait to get any information you can about Mr. Lansbury. I know when Braylee wakes up that’ll be her first question.” Alex pointed toward the other man. “Is your car far?” The man nodded no. “Then get us to Mercy.”
Chapter 7
Braylee woke up laying in a hospital room with an oxygen mask covering her face. She blinked a few times willing her eyes to come into focus. Why did she feel as if she’d been hit by a truck? Then, she remembered the explosion in the garage. Immediately, she tried to sit up, but the sharp pain coming from the side of her rib cage prevented it. Her left arm and wrist had also been bandaged.
The moment Cecily saw Braylee’s eyes flutter she lifted her head from resting on her knees and yelled. “Uncle Alex! Uncle Alex, I think she’s waking up.” Cecily had been sitting in a chair hugging her knees to her chest waiting and watching Braylee intently.
Alex and Stephanie were standing over by the door talking to the doctor. The three of them rushed over to her bedside.
Why did her head feel as if someone were trying to drive nails into her skull? Not only did she have the worst headache ever but Braylee’s throat felt like she’d been screaming non-stop
