AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Daniel’s face had gone pale. “Oh shit…”
“You saw them that time, right?”
He covered his mic. “I saw them. “But… let’s just give him a minute. Jake might find your sister. We can’t pull out now.”
“But what about those two guys? We can’t just not tell him about them.”
“They’re gone now, right? We can’t pull him out now – this might be his last chance.”
Astrid’s mind became crystal clear and all her fear dissipated. For the first time in years, she could sense true danger – not just her trigger-fears – but suddenly she wasn’t afraid. “Daniel, there’s something wrong…”
“I said leave it to the experts.”
Astrid’s frustration broke and she punched him on the arm. “Tell him to pull back, you asshole. Your quest for glory isn’t worth Jake’s life.”
“Just a little bit longer.”
Infuriated, she grabbed the earpiece from Daniel’s ear and the mic from his shirt. Daniel wrestled with her, but Astrid refused to let him beat her. She pried the mic from Daniel’s grip, and shouted, “Jake, pull back! Get out of there now. They know about you. It’s a trap! Do you read me? Pull back.”
Jake’s voice crackled. “I read you, Astrid. Pulling back now.”
She glued her gaze to the house desperately waiting for him to appear before anything terrible happened. Time melted around her, and the seconds were sliced up by the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.
“You’ve just fucked everything up,” Daniel said, sulkily.
“Shut up, Daniel. You only care about yourself.”
“Astrid, you –”
“There he is!” Her heart squeezed with relief as she saw Jake at the front door, creeping away from the house, trying to be stealthy.
She exhaled – realizing she’d been holding her breath. She was disappointed they hadn’t rescued Emma, but she was so glad to see her love, heading toward them, almost halfway back up the driveway. She opened her mouth to speak, but the startling sound of a window smashing made h
er flinch – seizing every inch of her attention. Her blood froze in terror as she realized the mansion was exploding – those guys had planted a bomb! Time slowed to a slur, stretching seconds to infinity, as her thoughts wrapped around Jake and his well-being. But she was helpless and could only watch as he propelled himself away from the ear-splitting explosion – fleeing for his life, rushing back to the safety of their hiding place.
Praying Jake would make it in time, she instinctively pushed Daniel’s head down to the grass – covering her own face with her other arm, as flying rubble from the explosion rained over them – crashing down like missiles in a warzone.
Jake reached their grassy hideaway and threw himself to the ground, covering Astrid with his strong body – protecting her over his own safety. Even in this dangerous situation, he was risking his life to save hers. He was so brave – her ultimate protector. And she was so glad that some of his bravery had now rubbed off on her. She gasped for breath, trying to focus – but a spike of excited relief struck her, glad that he was all right.
With her head down on the grass, she listened as the debris smashed and crackled around them. The house was now on fire, but the bricks and concrete had stopped flying, so she risked looking up.
She felt Jake crawl off her, then he draped his arm around her shoulders. “You okay, sweetheart?”
Out of breath, and feeling as if she’d just been through a clothes-wringer, she burst into delirious laughter – knowing she was battered but unharmed. “Me? You’re the one who almost got blown up!”
He kissed her on the lips. “I’m all right – thanks to you. You just saved my life. But no thanks to you, Daniel.”
Daniel propped himself up on his elbows. He was shaking with fear and shock. “I didn’t know there was a bomb in there, did I? It’s his own house for god’s sake. Why the hell would he blow it up?”
Jake smirked cynically. “I guess he found a buyer for the land after all.”
Astrid’s phone rang, so she frantically answered it. “Yes?”
It was Graves, not even bothering to disguise his voice anymore. “I told you no cops. See what happens when you disobey me?”
Astrid’s patience broke. “Listen, asshole, you’d better be ready for me, because I’m coming to get my sister back and if you’ve touched a hair on her head, you’re dead. Do we understand each other?”
She hung up without waiting for a reply.
