Page 48 of Chain Reaction

As Jake reached inside, Raven held her breath. What was in there? Was this a trap?

This would be the true moment of reckoning . . . but she wasn’t sure she was ready for it.

Maybe she should have had that conversation with him earlier.

Because what if they never had another opportunity?

Jake held his breath as he opened the compartment.

The ticking continued, and he fully expected to see another digital countdown inside the device.

He was right.

Red numbers stared back at him.

Numbers that proclaimed he only had forty-two seconds to get this dismantled.

His heart pounded harder in his chest as he stared at it.

Then he squinted.

Something didn’t look right. There were no wires or explosives.

Carefully, he reached for the glowing numbers.

When he lifted the timer device, he realized another cell phone had been stashed inside the cannister.

Was this some kind of new bomb tactic where someone used a cell phone?He tried to keep up-to-date with all the latest methods. He’d never heard about this one.

Cautiously, he hit the screen, praying his action didn’t trigger some type of accelerated countdown.

Instead, the screen changed.

The numbers disappeared.

Jake held his breath as he wondered exactly what would happen next.

A message spread across the screen.

A message eerily similar to the one he’d found on the cell phone in Lantern Beach.

Except this one read, “Boom. The countdown is on.”

CHAPTER 22

Raven could hardly breathe as she waited to see what would happen.

Everyone around her seemed to hold their breath too.

Jake took something from inside the ordnance. Examined it.

Examined it more.

Then he lowered whatever had been in his hands.

The next moment, he pulled off his helmet and called, “It’s safe!”

Raven slumped with relief.