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The bomb tech guy hoofed it up the stairs faster than Gage thought he should be able to go wearing all that protective gear.
“Lieutenant Deluca!”
Gage spotted the officer, jogging over. “What is it, Omara?”
“Your guy got a text.” He handed Gage the phone.
Gage read it and looked at Clare. “He wants the woman from the bank to deliver the diamonds.”
Clare’s eyes flared. “Good.” She clapped her hands together. “We’re gonna get this guy.”
FORTY-ONE
All that bravado got Clare to the meeting spot without her hands shaking too badly. Now she was here—down the street, anyway—and ready to go get Selena? She felt like a brand-new recruit on her first day.
“Weapon?”
Clare wanted to say yes to Gage and accept the .22 she had a slim holster for. Instead, she shook her head. Not worth the risk. This was the man who’d bombed her building, causing destruction on multiple floors.
“Clare.”
She pressed down the tape on her vest and turned only her head. “What?”
Gage stood at the back of his car. He’d geared up as well, but wasn’t going in. She had to go alone—per Aaron’s instructions. Later she wanted to investigate more of the things he had in the back of his car. Right now she wanted to get in and save Selena.
If she could.
“I need to go.” She stepped back. “We good?”
The gold in his eyes glinted. “We pray first.”
She wanted to tell him no, but since he and Ember both stood firm in their beliefs and she had recently started to pray, she took his hand and shifted close. There were a few minutes until she had to be in there, but she didn’t want to wait that long.
“Amen.” Gage kissed her forehead.
“I have to go.”
His lips lingered against the skin of her forehead. “I know.” He sighed. “Go get Selena. SWAT will be here in minutes to back us up.”
Clare said, “Stay out of sight. He said I have to come alone.”
Since she didn’t want to get into a protracted argument about her abilities, Clare pushed away and strode down the sidewalk to the building she owned. Actually, Clare owned most of the block. They used this place for urban response training, and to have dart gun wars when they needed to blow off steam.
Her building hadn’t been destroyed. She could make repairs to what had been damaged by those small explosions. On multiple floors. Clare winced.Your house is probably fine.One day she wouldn’t live on the highest level of her office building, but right now she liked the convenience.
The center building here, the one that had been a church once, had a particle board door. The padlock had been busted off by local kids. Clare had never bothered repairing it since there wasn’t anything inside to steal. Once in a while she had someone check the place wasn’t being used as a flop house.
Leaves littered the floor inside the tiny vestibule. Pews had been pushed over, the padding sliced and torn. A hymnal lay discarded on the floor. One of the stained-glass windows had been smashed out, and they’d covered it with wood. Little light filtered through from the streetlamps outside.
She knew where power had been connected, and which light switches worked.
Clare flipped on a flashlight and shined it around. “Hello?”
A rustle in the far corner caught her attention. Clare pretended she didn’t know there was anything there. “Hello?”
“Clare?” The voice sounded faraway, tinny like a speaker.
“Selena!” Clare moved faster down the center aisle of the sanctuary.
