Page 20

CHAPTER 20

T hirty minutes later, the Coast Guard arrived and cleared the ferry to continue. They would take over the search for the missing passenger.

During the rest of the boat ride, Raven couldn’t get the photo out of her mind.

Why did that man have her picture? It seemed to prove that the snapshot from Syria also hadn’t been a coincidence.

Had someone known she’d be called in to investigate this? Had this person lured her here for a reason?

Raven had no idea. But she didn’t like the thought of it.

She and Jake had already talked about it, but they’d reached no conclusions. They’d decided they would tell Cassidy, however. She needed to be in the loop about this.

They finally arrived on the mainland. The rest of the trip would be on land.

During the drive, Raven needed something to occupy her thoughts. She pulled up the Facebook post Eleanor had made and studied the photo of the ordnance, along with all the comments people had posted.

It was unlikely she’d find something here, but it was worth a try.

She scrolled through the comments, taking care not to skip over any.

By the time they arrived in Emerald Isle, she still hadn’t found anything of note.

But she wasn’t ready to give up. Not yet.

The sleepy beach town looked much like those of the Outer Banks she’d driven through to get to Lantern Beach, only not as developed. Beach cottages lined the sandy roads and only a few stores and restaurants had been erected.

Jake pulled to a stop in a public parking area. Numerous sheriff cruisers were already on site as well as a news van.

As soon as they climbed out of the Tahoe, a man from the sheriff’s office approached them. He introduced himself as Sheriff Myron Williams.

“You must be Jake and Raven. We’ve been waiting for you.” The sheriff nodded toward the beach and the police tape surrounding it. “We’ve cordoned off the entire area for about a three-hundred-foot radius.”

“Smart thinking,” Jake said.

“We’re waiting for a K-9 to get out here to see if this is truly an explosive or not. Unfortunately, the nearest one is in Raleigh, and they’re still a couple of hours out. There was a big incident downtown this morning that has everyone tied up.”

“That’s unfortunate,” Jake muttered.

“We’re using a lot of manpower to keep this area safe,” the sheriff continued. “We’ll do it for as long as we need to. But we’d like to wrap this up, especially if it ends up being nothing.”

“Understood.” Jake offered a curt nod.

“Very well,” Sheriff Williams said. “Follow me.”

He raised the yellow police tape, and they ducked underneath, headed toward the beach.

Anticipation rippled inside Raven as she wondered what they’d find.

Just ahead, nestled close to the dune, she spotted another bomb, one that looked very similar to the one in the picture Eleanor had posted online.

Raven’s throat tightened.

They paused beside it.

As soon as they did, she heard the sound.

A ticking noise.

Jake heard it too because he yelled, “Everybody, get back!”

Then he grabbed her and started to run.

Jake paused at the police line and surveyed the area.

Everyone had gotten away from the device, just as he’d directed.

But they couldn’t just stand there and wait to see if the device exploded.

He knew what he had to do.

He turned to face the sheriff. “I’d like to check out the bomb myself.”

Sheriff Williams grimaced. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I have my bomb suit. I know what I’m doing.”

The sheriff still hesitated, his lips pulled downward and caution in his gaze.

“Jake is one of the leading bomb experts in the country,” Raven assured him. “There’s no one better you could have check this out.”

Her words seemed to convince the sheriff.

He stepped back and nodded. “I’m going to have to trust you on this. We normally wouldn’t have a private citizen do something like this.”

“I promise that I can handle this.”

Sheriff Williams nodded. “Be careful.”

He headed toward the SUV to get the suit, Raven with him.

Raven grabbed his arm, and he turned to face her.

“Please, be careful.”

The concern in her gaze touched him—but it wouldn’t deter him. “I will be.”

The corners of her lips flickered down in a frown. “That suit won’t protect you—not if the bomb is big enough.”

Her words were true. But the suit was better than nothing.

He locked gazes with her. “I’ll be okay.”

Despite his words, her frown deepened.

Without talking more, Jake walked with the sheriff back to his SUV and reviewed his plan. Then he suited up.

He prayed this went well.

With one more glance at Raven—who looked apprehensive with her arms crossed over her chest and a frown on her face—he started across the sand.

Sweat trickled from his forehead. If he didn’t feel any fear right now, then something would be wrong. He had to harness his fear to keep him sharp.

Finally, he reached the ordnance and knelt beside it.

From inside his suit, he still heard the ticking.

Usually, ordnances like these didn’t contain a ticking bomb—only explosives.

However, Raven had said the ordnance Eleanor had found was only made to look old. But a new bomb had been inside.

What would he discover here?

Jake swallowed hard.

He was about to find out.