Page 26

CHAPTER 26

S weat dripped down Raven’s back.

Jake had made her feel better. Her words had been true. He’d always had the ability to somehow lift her spirit.

But she wasn’t sure how he’d get her out of this situation. She knew how bombs worked. She knew the reality of this moment.

Disarming the device beneath her foot would be nearly impossible.

Footsteps sounded behind her, but she didn’t dare move. She was afraid to even breathe.

Two men appeared, pausing in front of her.

“Raven, I’m Ty,” the lean but muscular man with dark hair started. “You met my wife, Cassidy. This is Colton.”

Colton was taller and broader with short, dark hair and a square jaw.

Colton calmly asked, “You doing okay?”

“I’d be better if I was standing on a beach contemplating how to relax.” She tried to keep her voice light.

“We’re going to get you off this,” Ty said. “We just need to figure out how to do it safely.”

“Safely is my preferred method.” Her voice sounded thin to her own ears.

Ty turned to Jake. “What are your ideas?”

Jake frowned and glanced toward her feet. “There are a couple of options. I could do a controlled flooding. If the device is mechanical and not electronic then it could jam the systems.”

“But we won’t know if it’s mechanical or electronic until we see it,” Colton pointed out.

“Exactly.” Jake rubbed his jaw.

“What are your other ideas?” Ty asked.

“I could try to jam the trigger mechanism. But I’d need to be able to see the bomb better in order to do that, which will be a problem.”

“That leaves us with weight displacement.” Colton’s expression tightened.

“We find something with the same weight as Raven, and we switch them out,” Jake spelled out. “Then we get far away from the bomb. Quickly.”

“That sounds precarious,” Ty said.

“The whole situation is precarious.” Jake raked a hand through his hair.

Raven pressed her eyes closed.

Of all the ways she’d seen herself potentially dying one day, this wasn’t one of them.

But any way she looked at this, the situation was too dangerous for comfort.

Jake hated that Raven was in this situation. But all he could do was safely get her out of it.

He wished he could touch her or hold her or do something to offer comfort.

But any of those things could set the bomb off, so they were off-limits.

He had to focus on the tangible—replacing her weight on the bomb with something of equal weight.

“How much do you weigh, Raven?” Jake asked. “I wouldn’t ask unless I had to.”

She rattled off the number.

Jake turned to the guys around him. “What can we get to place on top of this that would weigh the same?”

They threw out some ideas before settling on some weights they used for working out. Each were approximately twenty pounds.

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Jake said. “Ty and Colton, can you go get them?”

The men scrambled away without a word.

As they did, Jake turned back to Raven. Perspiration slid down her temples to her neck. Her skin still looked pale. Wisps of hair clung to her face.

“We’ll get you out of this soon,” he told her. “I just need you to stay focused.”

She nodded.

“You’re doing great,” he reassured her.

“Glad to hear that.” Her voice had turned almost gravelly.

“A friend of mine was in a similar situation as this once before, you know.”

She narrowed her gaze with surprise—and maybe skepticism. “Was he?”

“Yes. As a matter of fact, it was a colleague of mine. We called him ‘Jittery Jim,’ and he found himself in your shoes—standing on a pressure plate in an abandoned factory.”

“Jittery Jim?” She raised her eyebrows. “Keep going. Now I’m intrigued.”

The story came easily. “While the bomb squad was figuring out how to disarm it, I kept him distracted by challenging him to increasingly ridiculous balancing contests.”

“Balancing tests while he was standing on a bomb?” She cast him a look.

Jake shrugged. “I told him if he could stand on one foot for thirty seconds, I’d buy him a steak dinner.”

“Is that right?” She tilted her head skeptically.

“Then I told him if he could do the flamingo pose for an entire minute, I’d buy him a weekend in Vegas. Eventually, it escalated to: If he could do an impression of a T-Rex with those tiny arms while humming the national anthem, I’d do his paperwork for a month.”

“And did he?”

“He did—while literally standing on what could be his death. The other techs were horrified but also couldn’t help but laugh.”

A knowing look remained in her eyes. “So what happened? Did he survive?”

“After three hours, we discovered it wasn’t a pressure plate he was standing on after all—just a rusty metal disc. Jim had been performing an impromptu circus act for nothing.”

“That’s terrible. And I don’t believe a word of it.”

“What? Why would I make this up?”

“Oh, I don’t know . . .”

“It wasn’t all bad news. Later, we had a talent show on base. Jim performed his T-Rex National Anthem routine, which became his signature party trick. It’s how he eventually found his wife. Now they’re married with four children.”

“It’s a good thing I can’t move right now. Because if I could, I might give you a good shake, Jake Laudner.” Despite her exaggerated anger, she chuckled.

Just the thing he wanted.

He had to keep her distracted.