Page 84

“There’s a bomb on the truck. I was just out there checking it.” She swallowed. “I’ve already called the police, and the bomb squad is on the way. I’ve been worried about this. That’s why I’ve checked it every morning.”

“Oh, my God, Jo!” He stared at her, his expression horrified. “What if we had gotten into that truck and started it up?”

“We’d all be dead,” she said, her voice flat. “Go get Fiona but try not to wake her up. If that bomb detonates, her room is too close to the blast.”

He ran down the hall to his daughter’s room, returned a minute later with his sleeping daughter. Jo grabbed a throw off the couch and laid it on the kitchen floor. “Put her on this,” she whispered. “Maybe she’ll stay asleep.”

Cam laid his daughter down as gently as possible, then Jo let another blanket flutter over Fiona’s body. The girl shifted on the floor, then settled down again.

Jo heard car doors close quietly at the front of the house, so she moved to the living room window and looked out. Police officers and what looked like technicians swarmed around the truck. One technician swept the underbody with a mirror on a long stick, just as she had.

The technician studied the bomb for a long time, moving the stick around, clearly looking at everything on the bottom of the truck. Finally she withdrew the stick and moved away.

“You want some coffee?”she asked Cam.

“Coffee as an accompaniment to a bomb explosion?”he said.

“Hopefully not an explosion. I don’t want any police officers to get hurt. But they’ll have to disarm that bomb, and that’s going to require a lot of study.”

She grabbed Cam’s hand and drew him to the table. “Sit. I’ll scramble you some eggs and make some toast.”

Cam was staring at her, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t seeing her. “Someone put a bomb on my truck,” he said, sounding shocked. Horrified.

“Yes,” she said. “That’s why I check it every morning.”

The bomb was eventually disarmed and removed. The technicians loaded it into what they said was a blast-resistant container and attached it to the back of one of the vehicles. They assured Jo and Cam that they’d test the bomb for fingerprints and any other identifying factors and said they’d be in touch.

Jo and Cam used Jo’s car to drop Fiona off at school, working hard to talk just as they would on a normal school drop off. Once Fiona was safely in school, Cam turned to Jo. “What the hell, Jo?”

She drew a deep breath. “First of all, no one was hurt. So that’s a win. And there might be information on that bomb that could help us figure out who made it. But, yeah. Scary stuff.” She reached over and brushed the back of his hand. “The thing you need to remember is that we found it before anyone was hurt.”

“You found it,” he said. “It wouldn’t even occur to me to check for a bomb.”

“The person who put that bomb there?”she said through clenched teeth. “That’s what they were counting on. If I hadn’t been here, checking the car every morning, you and Fiona would have gotten into the truck and driven away. Died.”

Cam swallowed. “Yeah. Believe me, I know.”

The car rolled to a stop at a red light. “That didn’t happen,” Jo said. “But I’m worried. Whoever is behind these attacks is getting desperate. Nothing’s worked. I think you need to talk to the principal. Tell her what happened this morning and emphasize the importance of ramping up security at the school, and of keeping a very close eye on Fiona when she’s on the playground.”

“I’ll give her a call this morning.”

Fiona swiveled to glance at him. “No. In person,” she said. It’s too easy to dismiss a complaint or a problem when you don’t have to face the person who’s bringing it to your attention. Call her this morning. Tell her you’ll come in when we pick Fiona up this afternoon.”

Cam nodded a quick, curt jerk of his head. “As soon as we get to the office.”

“Okay. Good. Thank you.”

He turned to face her. “You’rethankingme for taking your advice?”

Jo blew out a breath. “You have no idea how many protectees refuse to cooperate. Refuse to listen. So I appreciate it when I don’t have to convince them to do what’s necessary.”

“Trust me, Jo. I’ll do exactly what you tell me to do.”

Heat gathered in her belly as she listened to his promise. She knew he was referring to her protection orders, but she needed to lighten this up a little. “Really, Cam?”she said, lowering her voice. “You’ll do exactly what I tell you to do? All the time?”

She felt his gaze on her face, and she wouldn’t allow herself to smile. Meet his gaze. Finally he said, “I think I can promise that I’ll do anything you tell me to do. Anytime. Any place.”

The heat in his voice made her want to cross her legs, but she was driving the car. Licking her lips, she said, “I’ll hold you to that, Cam.”