Page 95 of Ground Zero

Forgive me, Danny,she thought, stepping away from his dying widow.

She turned back to Kyle. “We can’t let you bomb the naval station.”

“You think you can stop us?” Cockiness filled his gaze.

Maverick shrugged before murmuring. “We can try.”

Kyle let out a chuckle. “I have a whole team coming this way. You’re never going to stop us all.”

“You don’t want to do this, Kyle.” Warning—and concern—marred Maverick’s voice. “I don’t think you’re thinking this all through.”

He grinned. “Oh, but I am.”

Then he pulled out a detonator and pressed the button on top.

Sheridan drew in a breath, her thoughts racing. “What did you just do?”

Kyle’s grin widened. “I just pressed the trigger. The first domino has fallen, and there’s nothing you can do to stop this from playing out.”

CHAPTER 52

Time slowed as Maverick processed the situation.

Kyle with his thumb pressed against a detonator’s trigger.

Eight hundred pounds of explosives.

The FBI minutes away but not close enough.

“You have ten minutes until they all detonate. You can’t disarm them in time.” Kyle smiled maliciously. “And if I release this trigger?” He waved the detonator around. “Time’s up ASAP.”

Maverick might not have enough time to disarm eight hundred pounds of explosives, but maybe there was enough time for something else.

He caught Sheridan’s eye, a silent communication passing between them. She gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Kyle.” Maverick stepped closer, hands raised peacefully. “You don’t want to do this. Think about all the innocent people?—”

“I’ve thought about nothing else for months.” Kyle’s thumb trembled on the trigger.

“Why?” Maverick asked simply. “Why are you doing this? I heard Rebecca’s reason. Why could you possibly want this to happen? You put yourself in harm’s way.”

His gaze darkened. “I didn’t want to do it, but they made me.”

“What did they make you do?” Maverick asked the question through clenched teeth.

“The helicopter . . .”

His pulse quickened. “The one Sarah was on?”

His tight expression was all the response necessary. “They told me to put a box in the back. I had no idea what was in it.”

“Who is they?” Sheridan asked.

“Faceless people. They offered me a hundred thousand if I did. Said it wasn’t a big deal. Just a little delivery.” Kyle’s nostrils flared. “And I needed the money. My dad was in the hospital being treated for cancer. My mom was about to lose the house because of medical bills. How was that fair? It wasn’t. They deserved better.”

Anger coursed through Maverick. “So you did it? You put the box in the helicopter?”

His gaze darkened again. “I had no idea what they were planning. That whatever was in that box would bring the whole helicopter down.”