The fucking ceiling over the living room caved in as buckling rebar echoed through suite. Hot air swept in from the yawning opening that was once the slider door to the balcony, and I feared the whole damn floor would collapse.
She clutched at me as I held the mattress. “I’m scared.”
The sound of fifteen tons of concrete dropping an entire story boomed around us, and the floor shook violently.
She lost her footing, and I swept her up with one arm. Dumping her under the mattress, I lowered it over her and barked orders. “Stay. Do not move until I tell you too. Where are your clothes?” I never should’ve ripped her dress.
“O-o-other suite.”
Goddamn it. “I’ll be right back. Do not move, you hear me?” Dust, debris, chunks of ceiling fell around me.
Sheer panic twisted her features. “Don’t leave me!”
Grabbing my clothes, I squatted for a second I didn’t have. “I’m not leaving you for long. Hold the mattress over you. Try not to breathe the dust in.” I grabbed her ripped dress off the floor and shook the debris off. Bunching it up, I reached under the mattress and pressed it over her nose and mouth. “Breathe through this. I’ll be right back.” I made to stand.
She grabbed my wrist. “Do you promise? You have to promise me, Ronan.”
“I promise.” She would see me again. Hopefully it wouldn’t be in a fucking box. “I have to go. You need clothes, and I need to find out what’s going on. Stay here.” The floor shook again, and I lifted the mattress just enough to give her a chaste kiss before dropping it back down.
Grabbing my cell, I threw on my clothes and boots and dialed Luna.
He answered immediately. “Madre de Dios, you’re alive! Is Sanaa with you? What the fuck happened?”
I tried to open the door to the suite, but it didn’t budge. “Explosions. I don’t know where yet.” I yanked the door harder. “Sanaa is alright. We’re in the northeast suite. Where are the others? I can’t get into the hall to see what the fuck is going on. There were two detonations. Do you have eyes on anything?” I yanked again. Goddamn fucking door. “Shit’s caving in around us. I need to get her out of here, Luna.” I glanced up. The fucking frame was bent. There was no way I was going to be able to open the door.
“I need to get both of you out of there, mi hermano.” Static cut in on the line. “I’m leaving base now, on my way. ETA… Harm is… He went radio silent after… Tyler and… in lobby… Vance… Emergency services… Bomb squad… They’re evacuating the rest…”
“You’re cutting in and out. Where’s Harm? I need to get out of this suite.” Static crackled over the line, and I glanced at the signal strength. Fuck. “Luna, if you can hear me, I’m going to look for another way out of the suite and then assess. It feels like we’ve had structure collapse and we’re not secure. Let the bomb squad know there could be more explosives rigged. If there were two, there’s probably more.”
“Ronan? …Fuck. Conlon, you hear me?”
“Copy, you read me?”
The only response was static.
I hung up and shot off a text to him.
Me: There could be more explosives. Not secure. Structure compromised. Need safe exfil STAT.
Then I shot off a group text to Harm, Ty and Tyler.
Me: Sanaa and I are trapped in the penthouse suite. Looking for exit plan. Structure compromised. Bomber on site? Sitrep.
Both texts stuck in a queue, I didn’t know if either had been sent, but I couldn’t stand here and wait. I needed to get us out of here.
Circling back through the suite to the opposite bedroom that had an adjoining door to the other suite on this floor, I stepped over chunks of ceiling and a crack in the floor. Neither of which were good signs. Whatever explosive had been used I was guessing was detonated on the floor below or somewhere outside the suite, maybe in the stairwell.
Opening the adjoining door, I checked the second door that was locked from inside the other suite. No heat. After a quick inspection of the frame, I took a calculated risk and stepped back a foot.
Then I kicked the fucking door by the lock.
The frame splintered, but the deadbolt held. One more kick, and the door swung open. Unholstering my Sig, I trained first left then right. “Harm!”