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When he pocketed his phone again, he considered his options. She wasn’t hurt but she did need to sit down. State police parked far away from the burning vehicles and started directing people to or away from their cars. Toxic smoke fogged the air, and flames licked at the shopping carts in the nearby corral. The plastic carts were already melting into one big lump.
“My truck!” Her voice came out as a hoarse croak. Maybe she was inhaling more of that smoke than he thought.
He led her farther away from the site that firefighters were assessing.
She twisted in his hold to keep watching. “Everything I own was in that truck. I only have my purse left!” It was still tucked against her side.
“That you managed to hang on to it when I carried you away and threw us on the ground is impressive. If you could cling to a bull that way, you’d have a real good career ahead of you.”
She stared right through him as if not getting the joke he was trying to lighten the moment with.
“I checked out of the motel, and everything I just bought is toast, Jaren!”
If any of his brothers said that, he would have laughed. To him, stuff was replaceable. He’d seen too many good people cut down for him to give a damn about possessions. But knowing what he did about Trinny, he understood.
She only had her truck and the contents inside it. Now it was all ash.
“Abel.”
He looked around to see Lexis striding toward them, expression severe.
“We’re okay,” he said as his buddy reached them. He rubbed a hand over Trinny’s spine in an attempt to calm her shaking down.
Lexis braced himself in the casual I-will-fuck-you-up pose that years on the police force had taught him. “What the hell happened?”
“Someone planted an explosive under her back seat. When I set a bag down on it, I heard the click and got her away in time.”
“Oh god,” she moaned.
He slid his hand up to cup the back of her head again, pulling it down against his chest. She buried her face into his shirt.
“Put her in my car. Calm her down while I figure out what’s happening.”
“Thanks.” Jaren led her away to Lexis’s vehicle. When he opened the back door, she awkwardly climbed in. Her jerky movements reminded him of a young animal that didn’t know how to control its limbs yet. After she sank down on the seat, he slid in beside her and closed the door.
In here, the world was a lot quieter.
She buried her face in her hands and moaned. “This isn’t happening. This. Is. Not. Happening.”
He touched her knee. “You’re going to have to tell me everything, Trinny. I have to know if I’m going to keep you safe.”
She dragged in a hitching breath and raised her head to pierce him in her gaze. Her eyes seemed to glow with more green than he noticed before. “You’re really a bodyguard?”
He nodded.
“What are the chances?” She sucked in another breath and then another.
Seeing that her panic was taking hold and she might be in trouble, he wrapped his arm around her and drew her head onto his shoulder. “Shh. You’re safe. We’re going to figure this out.”
“Safe because of you. If you hadn’t heard that noise, I’d be…” She cast a look at the spot where her Hummer and his Harley were now being welded together by the extreme heat of the flames.
“You’re okay, Trinny. You’re safe with me. With WEST.”
She made a choked sound something like a sob. Hell, he wanted to cry too. He’d spent a year tweaking that bike and making it his own with all the small tricks and gadgets to deck it out right.
Suddenly, the front door opened and Lexis jumped behind the wheel. He started the engine and drove quickly out of the parking lot.
“What the hell’s going on?” Jaren demanded, holding Trinny tighter against his side.
