Page 53 of Ground Zero (Lantern Beach Blackout: Detonation #3)

M averick suddenly began moving and grabbed one of the crates.

“Maverick, what are you?—”

“Salt water,” he rushed. “If we flood these charges with salt water, it’ll disable the blasting caps and interrupt the electrical circuit. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this earlier.”

He pushed the first crate into the water.

Her heart pounded harder. He was right.

It was their best option.

Sheridan began helping with the additional crates.

They worked together until all the crates were sinking in the water.

She watched the last crate descend, hardly able to breathe. Then she stepped back, her arms crossed over her chest as nausea pooled inside her.

She looked up at Maverick. “Are you sure the river is salty enough?”

“It’s brackish, but it should work.”

“I hope so.”

“Fifteen seconds.” Maverick glanced at his watch, his voice steady despite the sweat running down his face.

Around them, she heard shouting from the shore, patrol boats moving closer, and helicopters approaching.

But all of it felt distant. The world had narrowed to this moment, these seconds.

“Ten seconds.” He put his arms around her and pulled her toward him.

The smoke began to rise from the water, thick and acrid. Something inside was definitely reacting to the salt water.

But would it be enough?

“Five seconds.”

She closed her eyes, pressing closer to Maverick. If these were her last moments, at least?—

“Three.”

The boat rocked violently as something sparked inside one of the crates.

“Two.”

A hissing sound, like steam escaping.

“One.”

Sheridan held her breath. Maverick’s arms tightened around her.

A few muted pops sounded from within the crates, like firecrackers going off underwater. Smoke billowed up, thick and chemical-smelling, making them both cough.

The boat lurched as something shifted inside the explosives.

For one terrifying moment, Sheridan thought it was simply a delayed reaction before the real explosion.

But then . . . nothing.

Just more smoke, a few more muffled pops . . .

And then silence except for the sound of water sloshing in the crates.

The air left her lungs.

They were alive. Impossibly, miraculously alive.

Sheridan turned to Maverick, a surge of victory leaping through her chest.

Her own relief was mirrored in his eyes—along with something else, something that had been building between them since that first day on the beach.

Without thinking, without caring who was watching, Sheridan closed the distance between her and Maverick. Her hands found his face, fingers trembling against his jaw as she pulled him down to her.

The first touch of their lips was desperate, almost frantic—a confirmation that they were both still here, both breathing, both alive.

Then Maverick’s arms came around her, drawing her against him, and the kiss deepened into something else entirely.

All the fear, the adrenaline, the unspoken feelings of the past few days poured into this moment. She tasted salt on his lips—ocean spray or her own tears, she wasn’t sure which.

His hands tangled in her hair, and she felt him shudder against her, whether from emotion or exhaustion she couldn’t tell.

Time seemed to stop. The world narrowed to the solid warmth of him, the way he kissed her like she was oxygen and he’d been drowning, the feeling of being completely, utterly alive. Around them, Sheridan could hear radio chatter, helicopters.

But none of it mattered.

When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Maverick rested his forehead against hers. His eyes were still closed, and she watched a smile spread across his face—the first real, unguarded smile she’d seen from him.

“Good job, you two,” a familiar voice said from beside them.

They looked over and saw Ty Chambers pull up beside them on a military patrol boat. Hudson, Jake, and Atlas were with him.

“It was close,” Maverick said. “Really close. Kyle is tied up at the old EOD facility. Rebecca is there also. We’re not sure if she’s still alive or not.”

“First responders are already headed that way,” Ty said.

“Someone with the FBI was helping?—”

“Morrison has already been arrested,” Ty said. “He’s in custody. Cook found him with a burner phone, and things progressed from there.”

Relief swept through her. “Good.”

She wasn’t really surprised. She’d gotten bad vibes from that man. He must have been coordinating with those fake FBI agents.

“Now let’s see if we can get you two back to dry land and checked out for injuries. A lot of people owe you a world of thanks right now. Unfortunately for you two, most people will never know just how heroic you both were today or how many lives you saved.”

That was par for the course and just part of the job. Sheridan had never done this for the glory.

As military personnel swarmed the vessel, Maverick pulled her closer. “Think they’ll let us take a few days off?”

She laughed, tension finally releasing. “After this? I think we can ask for anything we want.”

“Good. Because I know exactly what I want.” He kissed her again.

They’d stopped a terrorist attack, exposed a conspiracy, and cleared their names. But more importantly, they’d found each other.

As they stood there on the boat, rocking back and forth on the water as emergency teams surrounded them, Sheridan realized that sometimes the best things came from the worst circumstances.