Explosive Attraction - By Lena Diaz Page 0,69
Nick.”
Buresh’s gasp was audible through the phone.
“He also left a note,” Rafe said. “‘An eye for an eye,’ which I pretty much read to mean he wants to kill my brother since he blames me for killing his. Get the guys digging fast on this. I want to know every location in Ponte Vedra that has anything to do with Sonntag’s brother.”
“You really think he’ll lead you to Nick? This could all be a trick.”
“He wanted me in Ponte Vedra, but he didn’t count on me getting here so fast. I was here before the envelope arrived by courier that was supposed to get me here. I’m counting on that extra time to help me get the drop on him. Now get me an address. Fast!”
Darby ended the call for him.
“What do you think the other phone is for?” Darby asked, pointing to the one sitting in the console, the phone he’d pulled out of the envelope.
“It might be Nick’s phone, or it might be a burn phone to trigger the bomb detonator. I don’t know yet. Just don’t touch it.”
Rafe’s phone rang, startling both of them. Darby looked at the screen.
“It’s Buresh already.” She pressed Speaker and held the phone between them.
“What have you got?” Rafe asked.
“Two possibles. Fullerton had a house off A1A, but that’s pretty close to us here. I can get a guy out there in fifteen minutes.”
“What’s the other one?”
“A cemetery several miles off Palm Valley Road.”
Rafe swore. “That’s it. An eye for an eye. Give me the address.”
Buresh gave him the location.
“Bring the cavalry,” Rafe said. “We’re going to need it.”
“You got it,” Buresh said. “Where’s Dr. Steele?”
Rafe’s jaw tightened. “Unfortunately, she’s with me. And I don’t have time to stash her somewhere. There are two lives on the line now, Darby’s and Nick’s.”
“No,” Darby said. “There are three. He’s after you, too.”
“She’s right,” Buresh said. “Don’t go running in there like John Wayne. Sonntag wants to kill all three of you. Wait for backup.”
“I can’t wait, knowing he’s got my brother.” Rafe nodded at Darby to end the call. He spotted the road he was looking for and slowed the car to make the turn.
The phone rang just as he started down the gravel road. Not his phone.
The phone that was sitting in the console.
“What do I do?” Darby asked.
The phone rang again.
Rafe’s eyes widened and he slammed the brakes, skidding to a halt. “Come on,” he yelled. “Get out. Now, now, now.” He unclicked his seat belt and unclicked Darby’s. He grabbed her in his arms and hauled her with him out the driver’s side.
He set her on her feet and pulled her with him toward the trees. “Run, Darby! Run!”
The car exploded behind them, catapulting them both into the air.
* * *
“STUPID, STUPID, STUPID,” Rafe groaned. He held his hand to his head, wincing. He’d assumed the bomber wanted to fool him, get him to use the phone from the envelope, maybe to search through called numbers, looking for clues. He should have realized from the beginning the phone was the detonator. The bomber probably rigged a bomb under his car when he took Darby to the station.
He forced himself into a sitting position and turned toward Darby.
She wasn’t there.
The fog in his brain lifted and panic slammed into him. “Darby, where are you?”
But he already knew the answer.
Sonntag had her.
* * *
RATS SQUEAKED NEXT to Darby. She swatted at one of the furry bodies, and it fell with a sharp cry into the water. A roach fell onto her face and she screamed.
“Hey, darlin’. Wake up. It’s bad, I know, but I’d rather share the nightmare with you than see you suffer by yourself.”
Darby opened her eyes. Nick was staring down at her, his brow furrowed with concern. What was Nick doing down in the well with her? She blinked. She wasn’t in a well.
She was somewhere much, much worse.
She sat up. Nick sat next to her, his back braced against a marble wall.
“We’re in a...a—”
“Mausoleum,” he said. “Or crypt, if you prefer. Kind of a smelly old one at that, but not for long.” He gestured toward the corner a few feet away.
Three steel pipes sat on the concrete floor with wires running out of them, and a timer sitting on top. Darby’s breath caught in her throat. “I don’t suppose you DEA guys know how to disable a bomb?”
“Nope, afraid I missed that class. I don’t suppose you’ve taken a first aid class?”
“First aid? Why—”
Nick held his shirt