Page 44 of Chain Reaction

No . . . it was definitely being inside the vehicle.

Jake paused in front of her, locking gazes with her. “Stay close to me, okay? We think this guy was acting alone, but we don’t know that for certain yet.”

Raven repressed a shudder as they began to walk between the vehicles. Crew members also searched.

The rest of the passengers were in their vehicles, many watching everything with wide, curious eyes.

One vehicle caught her eye—a dark-colored sedan.

It appeared empty.

“Jake.” Raven nodded toward the suspect vehicle. “No one is inside this one.”

He pushed himself in front of her, his guard up. “Stay back.”

She didn’t argue.

Considering the fact that bombs were involved in this investigation, Jake wanted to be certain things were clear before they set off any kind of chain reaction.

The captain strode toward them. He must have left his first mate in the pilothouse.

He nodded at the car. “Is this it?”

“It appears empty,” Jake said.

The captain started to open one of the doors.

“Wait!” Jake yelled.

The captain froze, his fingers on the handle.

“I need to check it out first.” Jake gave him a look, not wanting to speak the words aloud in case any nearby passengers might hear.

Realization washed over the captain’s features, and he nodded.

The last thing they wanted were mass casualties caused by an explosion on a boat like this. They couldn’t take any chances.

Jake carefully lay on his back and crawled under the car. The space was a tight fit. But he needed to make sure no explosives were hidden there.

He searched the undercarriage for anything suspicious.

Then he slid back out and gave the captain a nod. “I didn’t see anything. We should be okay to look inside.”

The captain opened one door and Jake the other, and they began to search the vehicle.

Then Jake found something on the floorboard. A paper.

No, not a paper.

A photograph.

His gut twisted.

He almost didn’t want to show Raven. But he couldn’t keep it from her either. She deserved the truth.

Jake slowly turned the photo toward her.

When she saw it, her eyes widened, and she gasped.