Page 4 of Axel (Reed Hawthorne Security #6)

Savvy

I glance over at the hulk of a man in my car. Maria’s brother is nothing like her. She is sweet and understanding. He’s bullish and arrogant. And he looks absolutely ridiculous scrunched up in the front seat of my Prius.

“I think the seat goes back a little farther,” I offer.

“It doesn’t. I tried,” he says.

“Well, it isn’t too long of a drive.”

He shifts his body. “I’m fine.”

I stifle a laugh. The man does not look like he’s fine. But he’s too stubborn to admit it.

Once we leave the lake development, he glances over.

“I need you to explain what you mean by not having a good feeling. I need to know what I’m looking for.”

I grip the wheel tighter. How do I explain I’m worried about this client without giving away that I’m pretty sure my boss is involved in something very illegal?

Well, here goes nothing. “As I said, the man I’m showing the space to is creepy. The building has been abandoned for years. It’s out of the way. All of it gives me a bad feeling.” I glance over at Hunter, and he’s watching me. “My boss has never warned me about a client before. It’s unusual.”

He doesn’t respond right away, so I glance over at him again. He’s staring at me.

“What?” I ask.

“Do you often get nervous showing properties to strangers?” he asks. “Or scared?”

I turn left and avoid his gaze this time. “I never get scared.”

What the hell am I doing? This man is here to protect me. He didn’t have to come, but he did, so the least I can do is be honest with him. I slump down. “Sorry, that’s a lie. I do. Today is one of those days. But I can’t show it, or I wouldn’t be a good real estate agent.”

“You don’t have to show it, but what about not putting yourself in situations where you feel uncomfortable?”

I laugh. “You mean stop showing properties to people who make me nervous? I’d lose half my business.”

“Do you carry?”

“Carry what?”

He grins. “A gun.”

I frown. “No.”

“What about mace? Pepper spray?”

I shake my head.

“Have you done any self-defense training?”

Again, no.

“Okay, we need to remedy that right away. We’ll talk about it over lunch,” Hunter says, as if he already has a plan for me.

I pull in front of the building and park. “We’re here.”

Hunter turns his gaze from me to the abandoned structure.

It used to be an auto shop that closed down ten years ago, according to the report I pulled.

You can tell by the vines growing up the front of it, and the roof is covered in moss.

I wonder what this prospective client has in mind for this place.

I researched the client but couldn’t find anything about him. Clinton Jones is a popular name.

“It’s seen better days,” Hunter says. “And it looks like we beat the guy here.”

He’s right. No one else is here yet.

We exit the car as another car pulls up. A man in a suit gets out. His face is bruised. Was he in a fight? I try not to stare.

He steps out of his car and walks over to us.

“Clinton Jones?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Savvy Williams, and this is my associate, Mr. Charles.”

Clinton shakes our hands. He turns to face me. “It’s certainly got character,” Clinton says about the building.

Like it’s from a horror movie, I glance around. Aside from the diner across the street, there is nothing around here. I shiver as I think about that.

“Would you like to go inside?” Hunter asks.

I glance at Hunter, and he’s smiling. I’ve never seen him smile.

It lights up his face. His hair is longer on top and lightened by the sun.

But it’s his eyes that draw me in. His deep-blue eyes.

I could get lost in those. Wait, what am I doing?

Stop it. This is Hunter, the asshole. He’s only being nice because Maria probably made him do this.

“Yes.” Clinton steps toward the entrance.

Hunter motions for me to go next. He really is hot. I suppress a smile because no, I shouldn’t admit that. But I will admit I’m very happy he’s here.

I unlock the door, and we all enter. Instead of the smell of car oil, as I expected, we are hit with a strong aroma of bleach. Odd for a building that has been abandoned so long.

Clinton walks to the middle of the room and spins around, taking it all in. “It’s about the same as it was years ago.”

“You’re familiar with the place?” I ask.

“I used to live in this town. I’ve been in here before. Many years ago. And I’d like to make an offer.

Wait, this is what Bob warned me about. He hasn’t looked around at all.

“Don’t you want to look around and make sure the property is in good condition?”

Clinton checks his phone. “No, I actually have to go. I have another meeting. But why don’t you two check it out and let me know if you find any issues?”

Well, that’s odd.

“Before you go, I need to get some information so I can draw up the paperwork.” I pull a pad of paper and a pen from my bag.

“I’ve done this before. You need my offer, my terms, I know. I’ll email that to you once I’m back in my office. Thank you for your time.” Clinton walks out the door, throws it open, and leaves us standing in the middle of the large space.

“Well, that was strange,” I say.

Hunter steps up next to me. “You mean because he made a quick decision?”

“Yeah, my boss told me he makes rash decisions and then rescinds the offer. Bob told me I had to ensure he looked at every aspect of this building.”

“Your boss wanted you to keep him here?” Hunter asks.

I turn and see something unexpected—concern in Hunter’s eyes. “Yes. And I’ve never been asked to check the place out like that.”

“Shit,” Hunter says. “Run!”

He grabs my hand and pulls me out the door.

We just get through it when a loud blast comes from behind us.

The pressure propels us forward and onto the ground.

I manage to get onto my hands and knees, and then am scooped up by Hunter, who picks me up like I weigh next to nothing. He runs us farther from the building.

He runs us past my car and then sets me down. I’m still trying to process what happened and the fact that I felt that electric jolt again, just like when we first met and shook hands. I thought it was my imagination last time. But now I know it wasn’t.

“Are you injured?” he asks.

I shake my head and stare at the building. There’s a second blast, and that’s when I see something large flying our way. “Watch out! Behind you!” I yell at him and try to push him down, but he’s too big and doesn’t budge in time .

Everything goes dark as we fall to the ground. I can’t see anything. It’s as if it went from midday to the middle of the night in an instant.

Hunter groans. “What was that?”

Fortunately, I’m still clutching my bag, and I find my phone. I turn on the flashlight app and hold it up. Hunter is on the ground in front of me. It smells dank. Aiming the light overhead, we see why. There is moss right above us.

“Part of the roof was flying at us.” I hold my phone and examine our situation. “It looks like we are under it now.”

Hunter coughs. “Do you see a way out?”

I get on my hands and knees. The clearance is low, and I can’t stand up. I aim my phone outward. Slowly, I move in a circle, checking for any exit. “No.”

There’s a crack and a snap.

“This thing is going to cave in. We need to get out of here,” Hunter says as he pushes up onto his knees.

Sirens grow louder. In this small town, I can’t imagine they have many firefighters or police.

“Over there.” He points, and I turn and spot a sliver of daylight.

“The roof must have shifted a little, which is good for us. We need to get out of here,” he says.

I go to the small opening and push at the debris, but it doesn’t budge. He pushes on it, too, and it barely moves.

“Dammit,” he says. “I’m going to use my legs. Move over here,” he instructs.

I crawl behind him, and he kicks enough debris out of the way for us to fit through. We make our way out, and I flip onto my back. We’re both coughing as we take in the fresh air.

I stare at the now pile of rubble that sits in front of us and then at the building. Or what’s left. Half of the roof is sitting in front of us, crumbled. The back wall was blown out, and now, looking through the front door, all I see are the trees from the rear of the property.

“Damn, we got lucky,” Hunter says.

He’s right. The walls are made of cement blocks. If we’d been inside when the back wall exploded into the building, we would have been crushed.

Hunter says something I miss.

“What?” I ask.

“Someone set a trap, and we are lucky that guy, Clinton, didn’t want a full tour, or we would all be in the middle of that mess right now.”

Sirens grow louder behind us.

A trap. That’s what this was.

“I need any information you have on Clinton.”

“It’s on my laptop.”

I glance over, and miraculously, my car was spared.

An ambulance pulls up behind us.

Hunter glances back at it, then turns his attention to me. “The moment you have the information, send it to me,” he says.

“I don’t have your number.”

Two EMTs go straight to Hunter.

“Get it from Maria. I’m serious. I have a guy who can look into him. We need to figure out if he was the target or the one who set the trap. ”

I nod. He couldn’t have set the trap; he just got here. My mind is spinning.

“Looks like you need stitches,” one EMT says to Hunter. “And a possible concussion. Come this way.” He leads Hunter toward the ambulance.

The other EMT approaches me. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m fine.”

A police car pulls up, and an officer gets out. “What the hell happened here?” he asks.

“Someone tried to kill us,” Hunter says from the back of the ambulance.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” the officer says. “This place has been abandoned. Why are you two here?”

“I’m a realtor, and I was showing the property to a prospective buyer,” I say.

The officer nods. “Did you turn on a stove or anything?”

“There is no stove,” Hunter says.

“Wait here,” he tells me. Then the officer walks toward the building, which is still somewhat standing, despite the lack of a roof and a collapsed wall.

The EMTs drive Hunter away while an officer questions me about what happened. Another police car pulls up, and the officer leaves me to go to it. I overhear part of their conversation.

“I found evidence of two explosive devices in the rubble. It appears this was deliberate.”

“On purpose. This looks like attempted murder.”

Murder? My insides lurch. I’m going to be sick. I swallow as it all sinks in. I’m breathing fast. Too fast. I’m lightheaded. No, I need to stay calm and get out of here. I take several deep breaths and focus on slowing my heart rate.

The officer I spoke with walks up to me. He asks more questions about why I am here and who I met with.

“You are free to go, but I recommend you stay with a friend. Based on what we see here, it looks like someone set these explosive devices on purpose. As of right now, we don’t know if the target was Clinton Jones, you, or the guy you were with, Hunter Charles.

Do you have any reason to believe someone wants to harm you? ”

I wrap my arms around myself. Yes, Bob might want to harm me. But I can’t say that. What if this is just a coincidence?

Yes, Savvy, you happened to be in a building set to explode the day after you found out your boss is dealing with weapons, and it’s all a coincidence.

“Not that I can think of,” I lie to the officer.

He stares at me for a minute. I’m a terrible liar, and I’m sure he can see through me.

“Okay. Here’s my card. If you think of anything, please call me.”

I nod as I take the card. “What hospital did they take my friend to?”

Once the officer tells me, I get into my car. I’m still shaking and probably shouldn’t be driving, but I need to know Hunter is okay.

And knowing I’m likely the target, I don’t want to go back to my house or the cabin.