Edge of Danger (Edge Security Series Book 3) (15 page)

Alyssa sucked in a breath. “She didn’t.”

Zach looked down at her. “What do you mean?”

“She wouldn’t hide it here. She’d know that we would turn this place upside down.” Her lips pressed together as she thought. “In fact, she’s counting on it. She wants us to give the room the go-ahead.”

“So she’ll bring the device in later?”

“Or it’s big enough that it’ll blow through this room.”

“All those boxes from the storage locker.”

“We need to evacuate the room,” Alyssa said.

Zach looked around, easy enough for him since he stood taller than most in the crowd. “There’s a fire alarm.”

They started to make their way toward the wall where Zach had spotted the alarm when Agent Masters stepped in front of them.

“Where are you two off to in such a hurry?”

“We’re going to pull the fire alarm,” Alyssa stated baldly. “There’s going to be an attack and we need to get people out of here.”

Master’s scowl was ferocious. “The fire alarm?” He shook his head. “We have Al Shabah in custody.”

There wasn’t time to convince him Hajjar wasn’t the mastermind, Alyssa decided. She needed a different tack. “What if he’s not working alone?”

“You mean the girlfriend?” Masters sighed and raised a hand, signaling someone behind him. Four agents in identical navy suits came forward. “We have swept this whole floor, including all conference rooms and the basement. We found nothing. I’m going to ask you to leave now. I won’t have you unnecessarily panicking the public. I don’t care who hired you to consult.”

The four agents stood around Zach.

“My men will escort you from the hotel if necessary,” Masters said.

“Are you serious?” Zach asked. His deep voice vibrated with anger. A woman in red silk took her date’s arm and edged away.

“My team has everything under control. This will go easier on everyone if you both just walk away now.” Masters nodded at the goons behind him.

Alyssa had no doubt by the look on Zach’s face that the four agents did nothing to intimidate him. Zach’s arms loosened and his stance sunk just a bit. He almost vibrated with a dangerous energy. He would not be taken, she knew.

She touched his arm lightly. He glanced at her. She held his gaze, trying to communicate what she wanted. He straightened.

Alyssa turned to Masters. “We’ll patrol the hallways. That keeps us happy and out of your hair.”

He narrowed his eyes as he regarded them. “Fine,” he said. “Just don’t disturb any of the guests.”

Alyssa pushed past the agent goons surrounding them. Zach followed. She could feel his anger beating against her back. She stepped through the open side doors onto plush carpet into a gleaming hallway. Elevator doors chimed in front of them as guests of the hotel got on and off. Two agents, as well as a police officer with a German shepherd, watched the doors. Guests looked over at the ballroom with interest as they flashed key cards at the concierge in order to go up to their rooms.

“What are we going to do out here?” Zach asked. He stared at the guests in their velvet-cordoned line as they waited to see the concierge, who would verify their key card to let them onto the elevators. One man averted his gaze, while a mother stepped in front of her children, as if shielding them from Zach and his anger.

Alyssa moved to block Zach’s line of sight. “Stop it, you’re scaring the guests.”

He focused that intense gaze on her. It didn’t scare her, though maybe it should have. “Zach, we need to think. Reynolds isn’t going to have a simple plan. If there had been a bomb, we would have found it by now. That’s not her game here.”

“You don’t think she’ll use a bomb?”

Alyssa frowned as she thought. “No, she’ll use one. Just not the way we’re expecting. We have to think like her.”

“Well, we need to think faster,” Zach said. “Dinner will be served soon. And the Secretary is en route.”

Alyssa let her gaze wander. Security personnel stood stationed at each doorway watching the glittering crowd. No bomb had been found. She shook her head slightly. This didn’t make sense.

“I know it doesn’t make sense,” Zach said. She must have spoken aloud. “Okay, let’s go over this from the beginning. What’s her endgame?”

She watched through the ballroom doors as Masters greeted an up-and-coming politician, the FBI man smiling broadly like he didn’t have a care in the world. Bastard.

“She wants people to admit the war was wrong.”

Zach shook his head. “More. Dig deeper.”

Alyssa almost felt like she stood with Dr. Martinez. “She wants people to feel the same pain she did.”

“More.”

“She wants revenge.”

Zach nodded. “On top of everything else. She’ll want to kill the men and women who sent the troops to Iraq. She doesn’t just want to kill random citizens, she wants to kill the Secretary of Defense.”

“She wants to show New York what it’s like in Iraq.” Alyssa turned to the press line, where guests in all their glittering finery paused for pictures on the makeshift red carpet and answered questions thrown at them by the press. “And she’ll want the world to see it.”

She hurried toward the press line. The men and women there had dressed for the event, but all had lanyards with their credentials around their necks. They lined both sides of the red carpet. “We pulled the press line inside when we did the threat assessment for the gala. Outside, a sniper would have a good line of sight.”

Zach followed her out of the building. The sunlight shone strongly still and would until late evening. It reflected gold off the windows of cars parked on the street. A space in front of the hotel had been left open for the line of town cars and limousines expunging their passengers. More press lined this short walk. These journalists hadn’t been given passes to be inside the event, and they dressed for the weather rather than the gala. Alyssa watched some model-thin woman in a slinky dress pause before the small crowd and smile. Flashes went off.

“Pulling the official press inside just allowed more room for others to take their spots outside,” Alyssa murmured.

Zach didn’t bother questioning her instincts. He pressed the PTT radio button on the mic under his collar. “College, this is Doc, over.” He spoke to her brother Jake.

Alyssa could hear the conversation in her ear bud.

“This is College,” Jake said. “Sitrep.”

“There’s a possibility of a sniper at the front entrance. Can you advise security? Get the Secretary to come to the back?”

“On it. Stay frosty. Out,” Jake said.

Alyssa looked over the gathering crowd held back by more velvet ropes, holding up their cell phones to see the headliners. Tall buildings lined the street, their windows glowing in the setting sun.

Alyssa shifted her feet, her gaze swiveling from one location to the next. The crowd seemed to grow before her eyes. Her heart started to beat faster. Anything could happen in a crowd. They were sitting ducks for a sniper or a bomb. “I really want my bulletproof vest right now.”

Zach’s eyes flicked over her. “I want you to have it, too. Though I do like the outfit.”

She knew Zach wore one under his shirt, but her clothes just hadn’t allowed it. At least she had her gun.

“Let’s go back inside,” Zach said. “We’ll wait for the Secretary by the service entrance.”

They showed security their IDs and went back to the foyer. More hotel guests lined up under the sparkling chandelier for the elevators, while guests for the gala got backlogged with the security measures. The whole place felt crowded and the pressure of it hammered against her skin.

Something was going to happen soon. She could feel it. But she didn’t know what…or how to stop it.

Z
ach moved
through the crowded foyer, his senses on high alert. Alyssa followed him. She looked pale, but was holding together. He knew the crowd was probably triggering her PTSD, but it couldn’t be helped. He needed her on her game.

“You with me, Firecracker?” he asked.

She frowned at him and it made him smile. “Of course,” she said. “Who the hell is in charge of this sea of humanity? Why aren’t they clearing people faster?”

The Secretary of Defense had arrived and it had caused a backlog of security in the front, as personnel had been pulled to the back to make sure he was safe.

Alyssa paused in front of a uniformed officer and showed her badge. She spoke with him a moment, pointing to the hotel concierge and the elevator line. The officer nodded, spoke into his radio, and headed toward the man.

“Let’s move,” she said to Zach.

Zach cleared a path to the elevators and the side door to the ballroom. Amazing how being a large black man made some people step back without him having to do a thing. At the elevators, they showed their IDs again and then again as they neared the back entrance.

He shook his head. Agent Masters had actually done a decent job. The place was crawling with FBI. Reynolds would have to be a crazy fool to try something here.

That made him pause. She was crazy, yes. “But she’s no fool.”

“No,” Alyssa said. “She isn’t stupid. That’s why this feels off to me, too.”

He smiled. She was sharp. He’d known having her as a partner would be a benefit.

He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose. “We’re running like scared children. What is she doing?”

“She’s going to blow something.”

“It’s not here. There’s no way to get anything in.”

“So she’ll blow something close by.”

“The basement has been checked.”

“What about the rest of the hotel?”

Zach pushed his PPT button. “College, this is Doc, over.”

“Go ahead, Doc.”

“We need the hotel checked. Room by room.” His gaze met Alyssa’s. “We’ll start with the first floor.”

“Copy that. Valkyrie and I will go to the second.”

Zach consciously had to slow his heartrate as they waited for the hotel concierge at the front desk to get them a maintenance key, which would open all the hotel rooms. They headed for the stairs and had to go past an agent, showing ID again. They finally raced up the stairs to the first floor of rooms.

“Let’s start with the ones closest to the ballroom,” he said.

They started pounding on doors, showing ID when someone opened them. Using the maintenance key card when no one did.

“Anything?” Zach asked Jake over the radio.

“Negative,” Jake said. “Though Valkyrie has been propositioned twice.”

Zach snorted. “Tell her to stop playing around.”

“I heard that, Doc,” her voice came over the line.

“Do you people joke all the time?” Alyssa asked on the radio.

Zach rapped on the next door in the hallway they worked down. Alyssa and he approached separate hotel rooms. She stood one door down. He didn’t like her on her own, but he trusted her to take care of herself. Besides, they didn’t have time for him to play protective boyfriend.

Boyfriend? Where had that thought come from? He pushed it aside. There would be time to delve into that after this was over.

No one answered at his door. He slid the key card in and out. The door clicked open and he grabbed the handle to twist.

Another click sounded. The hairs on the back of his neck raised. He looked over at Alyssa, who was just knocking at the next room.

Fuck.

He leapt toward her, but a blast of sound, light, and pressure threw him back against the opposite wall. His head struck and the world went dark.

T
he shocking sound
and light stuns her, throwing her back. When she comes to, she wanders the destroyed souq looking for Scott. She needs to find him.

The dust begins to clear, revealing a surreal scene like something from an apocalyptic movie. Rocks, dirt, and debris lie everywhere, surrounding a ten-foot crater in which nothing has survived. Bodies lay strewn amidst the wreckage, some moving, most of them still. Sounds of wailing and screams begin to penetrate the ringing in her ears. A dog barks. Distant sirens shriek. Ambulances and police are coming.

Where is Scott?

She passes other bodies wearing ACUs—the soldiers she’d seen. She checks for pulses if she thinks there’s a chance of survival. Most she passes without stopping, trying not to look too closely.

“Fucking hell,” a man groans from nearby.

“Scott!” She runs to where he lies on the cobbled lane, by a push cart loaded with crates. He is further from the blast center than the others. Debris covers him.

“Thank god you’re alive!”

He smiles, even as blood trickles from the corner of his mouth. “Al! You’re safe. Where’s Brian?”

She drops to her knees beside him. “He’s…” She shakes her head.

“Fuck,” Scott says. He drops his head back onto the ground, pain wracking his features.

“Let’s get this shit off you,” she says. She starts to move some of the larger pieces of rock. Scott groans every time she jostles him. “Hold on, Scott. I’ll get you out of here.”

A hunk of stone lies on his left thigh. Blood soaks his pant leg around it. “Crap, Scott. I’m no medic, but I don’t think we should move that one.”

The sirens are close now. Scott glances around before swallowing so heavily she can see his Adam’s apple rise and fall. “My leg is broken. I’m not walking out of here without a lot of assistance.” He grabs her hand and squeezes. “Go get help.”

She shakes her head. No way is she leaving him. She takes the first aid kit off her webbing. “Hold tight. I’ll do what I can, but help is coming.”

“No, Alyssa.” He grips her arm, stopping her from unzipping the IFAK. “Go back to the base. Get real help.”

She sits back on her heels and opens her kit. “Are you crazy? Help is almost here. I’ll stay with you.” She takes out the tourniquet.

“Jesus, why do you have to be so stubborn?” He drops back onto the sidewalk, panting. “Al, you’ve got to leave. There’s going to be a second bomb.”

She glances around. The market square is starting to fill with people helping the injured. The ambulances and police are only moments away.

“Think, Al. It’s the MO of all these guys. First IED is small—”

“That wasn’t small.”

“It draws in people to help. Then the second one goes off. You have to get out of here.”

She clenches her jaw. “You’re coming with me.” She will have to move the stone and then tie the tourniquet quickly. She only hopes she can do it with one arm.

“Wait!” He tightens his grip on her arm. “It’s the femoral artery. If you lift that rock, I’ll bleed out in less than ten minutes. I’ll be dead weight in two. You’d have to carry me and you have a broken arm. We’d never make it.” He licks his cracked lips and his eyes dart to the side and then back to her. “Besides, you’re right. There’s probably no secondary bomb. But if you move me I’ll be dead before you can get help to me.”

She frowns at him. “What are you saying?”

He tries to smile, but it comes out as a pained grimace. “Leave me for just a few minutes. If there’s no secondary bomb then we’ll laugh about this tomorrow.”

She stares at her friend’s face, so earnest and strong. Her eyes well. She blinks rapidly. There has to be a way. If she moves him, he’s right—he’ll only have moments before he bleeds out. Still, she has to try. She can’t leave him.

“Please, Alyssa,” he says. “Just go.”

“I can’t leave you,” she whispers.

“It’s only for a few minutes, Al. I’ll be here when you get back.”

She swallows hard against the tears that threaten. “You had better not fucking die, Scott. I’m giving this stupid idea two minutes. Then I’m bringing you help. We need to get you back to the base.”

He smiles through the blood and dirt. “Then go get a real fucking ambulance. I don’t want to go to their hospital.”

Alyssa nods. “I’ll walk past the ambulances and then I’m coming right back. With help.” She holds her broken arm tight against her body.

Fuck walking, she thinks. She starts to jog as she heads for the ambulances, determined to find Scott help of any sort. She keys the radio she wears on her webbing. Static. It must have been damaged in the blast. She’ll have to use Scott’s when she gets back to him.

The ambulances cut their sirens as they pull in. The paramedics race out, bags in hand. She reaches them and grabs one. “My friend,” she says in Arabic. “He’s hurt bad.”

The man nods. “Show me.”

She turns back and sees the scene of the blast crawling with people trying to help the survivors. Scott has moved. He sits up, leaning against the loaded push cart. He raises a hand to her. She frowns. Why did he move?

The crates had to be heavy to have kept the cart upright during the blast.

The crates.

Her eyes widen.

A split second of light and sound crash over her. Then she knows no more.

A
lyssa opened
her eyes to see dust floating in the air. She crouched on scratchy carpet and stared at a white wall. She was in a hallway.

What the hell?

Jake knelt beside her, held her hands. His mouth moved and at first she couldn’t hear his voice. The ringing in her ears subsided and she could focus on his words.

“Alyssa? Come back. Focus on me,” he was saying over and over again. He rubbed her hands.

“What happened?”

His face looked grim. “Bomb. Not a huge one, thank god. Are you hurt?”

A blonde woman dug through a pile of rubble just down the hall. Alyssa knew her. Cat. Her name was Cat.

Cat lifted a door off the floor and revealed a dark-skinned figure in a suit, who groaned.

“Zach!” Alyssa threw herself toward him, crawling over splintered wood.

Jake got in front of her again. “He’s okay, Alyssa. Zach’s alive. Cat’s just checking him out.”

She didn’t take her eyes off Zach as Cat felt his limbs and asked him what his name was.

“He must have triggered a bomb,” Jake said. “The door took most of the blast.”

Security and agents ran down the hall to them, their weapons out and pointed at them.

Jake stood and showed his ID. He began speaking with them while Alyssa moved to Zach again. He was sitting up and speaking with Cat.

“…turned the handle and…”

“You idiot,” Cat said. “There’s much easier ways to disarm a bomb. Next time call me.” She gave him her hand and helped him sit up. He groaned and held his head. “Don’t let him move too much,” Cat told Alyssa as she stood and went to back up Jake.

Alyssa knelt beside Zach. “So you found the bomb,” she said.

He shook his head slightly and then groaned. “Helluva way to find it.”

“I… I thought you were dead.”

“So did I.” He smiled.

She tried to smile back, and had to swallow hard against the pressure building in her.

“Hey,” Zach said, his deep voice soft amidst the chaos around them. He pulled her into his arms. “I’m okay. You’re okay. We survived.”

She lay her head on his shoulder and just breathed. Content for the moment to let Zach take care of her. His hand rubbed her back as if she were a child he comforted.

“What the fuck?” The strident voice of Masters made her snap back up into sitting position.

“What the fuck happened here?” Masters stepped past Jake and towered over them.

Zach ignored Masters and kept his gaze focused on her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked quietly.

She followed his lead and didn’t acknowledge the agent cursing above them. “I’m good,” she said. She swiped at her face, knowing she probably had tear tracks on them. “We need to get back to work. Can you stand?”

He answered her by getting up and then pulling her to her feet.

“Tell me what happened,” Agent Masters said.

Zach stepped around him as if he wasn’t there and then examined the door that had blown. “Shit,” he said quietly.

Alyssa looked where he did. The door had been rigged to blow outward, but the interior of the room was fine. Cat came up to stand beside them.

“This isn’t the main bomb,” Alyssa said.

“Doesn’t look like it by the way it was rigged,” Cat said.

Her gut churned, but Alyssa forced herself to walk into the room. As soon as she passed the bathroom, she had a clear view of the whole place. Zach followed her in.

“That doesn’t look good,” he said.

Alyssa barely heard him. Her limbs had frozen and her brain went blank for a moment. Then it clicked and went into overdrive, cataloguing the room. Two double beds, curtains drawn on the window overlooking the lot at the back of the hotel. A dark wooden desk stood near the window. On it sat the bomb.

Three large metal canisters had wires running from them to a black box the size of a shoebox. A timer attached to the outside counted down.

Masters huffed from the hallway. “Would someone tell me what is going on?”

Alyssa turned to the doorway. “We’ve found the real bomb. We have seventeen minutes to evacuate the building.”