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Simon called to someone.
The guy jogged back from ushering people away from the building and pointing across the parking lot. More people had left. Someone had looped in emergency services because a fire truck pulled into the parking lot and pulled up on the far side, as away from the building as they could get. Two police cars followed it.
They worked out the script for Alex and had him make the call. Aaron Crenshaw never answered the phone, so Alex laid it all out in a voicemail. When he’d hung up, Alex said, “I hope that works.”
Gage said, “I pray it does.”
Simon spun to them. “Clare!” When she twisted around to look at him, he yelled, “Package delivery yesterday!”
Gage passed off Alex to the officers, who stuck him in their back seat and confirmed they wouldn’t let him out of their sight. Then he ran to Simon and Peter.
One twin started. “But if we do that—”
“I know, but—” The other caught the thought and continued it.
The first one finished. “Maybe. If it works.”
Gage turned to Clare. “What just happened?”
“Let them work it,” she said—more to the bomb squad guy than him.
“Someone needs to go in and get it.” Gage figured they could lead the robot at least. “No one will see all your secrets.”
Simon looked at Clare. “We can take it downstairs and incinerate it.”
Gage frowned.
Clare looked at him. “It’s for burning sensitive documents. Nothing else.”
He let his brows rise. Peter smirked.
The bomb squad guy said, “Tell me where it is.”
Simon looked at Clare. She nodded. They gave the suited-up sergeant an earpiece, and Simon directed him to a room behind the lobby, up an elevator hidden behind the wall just for deliveries. “He found it.”
Gage moved closer to Simon and looked over his shoulder at the surveillance feed on his screen. “And you have a place to destroy it?”
“In the sub-basement,” Clare said. “Next door to the dungeon.”
No one laughed.
“He’ll be done in a moment.” Peter rocked back and forth on his tactical boots while Simon led the bomb squad tech through a basement hall, carrying the package to an incinerator where he disposed of it.
No one spoke until the bomb tech called, “All clear.”
“Oka—” Clare began, just as an explosion blew out windows on the third floor.
Everyone ducked. Peter pulled Simon down with him.
Another blast blew out windows on the fifth floor. On the feed, he saw the bomb tech guy head for a door marked STAIRS.
Then another bomb exploded at the top on the far side—just under the top floor of the building where she said she’d lived.
Clare sucked in a breath. No one spoke the obvious aloud.There was more than one bomb.She said, “Multiple packages.”
“I was only looking for one.” Simon turned to Clare. “I didn’t think there would be more.”
She touched his shoulder. “No one is hurt. Bob isn’t even here, and everyone is out of the building.”
