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She was still shaken up after the explosion, but she fixed her attention on the tendons rippling in Quaide’s forearms.
He took the speed bumps to the street fast enough that all three of them were tossed around on the seat with springs that had seen better days.
Rain didn’t answer.
“Let me guess—the ex-boyfriend taught you how to hotwire a car too. My god, Rain. Will the surprises end?” Dove wanted to shake her baby sister, but at least she’d gotten them out of trouble. If she hadn’t hotwired the truck when she did, they’d be standing around in the parking lot waiting for backup.
She opened her mouth to ask Quaide again who he expected to back them up when Rain let out a sharp gasp. “Oh no!”
Dove grabbed her. “What’s the matter?”
“My toiletries! They’re on the back seat…burning up!”
“Pretty sure they’re already ash.” Quaide hit high speed while casting more looks in the rearview mirror.
“You’re making me nervous. Are we being followed?” Dove’s stomach pitched.
“No sign of a tail right now.” He took out his phone and gave a voice command to call Lexis.
She and Rain traded a look as the call connected.
“I got them. Yeah. Notify the authorities that they need to send fire units to that address. Why? Because her SUV just fucking exploded.” He paused, listening to the speaker. “Exactly like Trinny. Rigged the same way. No, I don’t think it’s related at all. It’s commonplace now—the FBI sees a lot of that type of explosive. On our way now. Okay, meet us there.”
He ended the call and looked around for a spot to set his phone. Automatically, Dove held out her hand to take it.
When he handed it to her, their eyes met, and his softened a bit.
“You two okay?” His tone was gritty with what she knew to be controlled fury.
She’d heard it plenty of times on the job. But when the reason had to do with her…it was so much hotter.
“I’m fine. Rain?”
“My ears are ringing.”
“That’ll subside in a little bit. It was only a little flash-bang. We’re lucky—there wasn’t much explosive material used or it would have blown our eardrums.”
Dove clasped his phone, absorbing the warmth from his body heat that the metal still held.
“What exactly is happening? Who is Lexis and what backup were you talking about?” She made an attempt to smooth her hair. She already looked overly tired and didn’t have a trace of makeup on. Not that it mattered when someone just tried to blow them clear to Seattle.
“I left the FBI.”
“You what?”
He sliced a glance her way. “I’m with Sentry now.”
She processed this. So he’d left too.
“And who is Trinny?” she asked him.
He swung his head to look at her. “I guess I said her name to Lexis. Trinny is a woman who was under the protection of the WEST Protection team. Her vehicle exploded the same way yours just did—with a trigger in the back seat that’s activated by weight.”
Rain made a choking noise. “You mean…if one of us had slid onto the seat…”
“It wouldn’t have been pretty. But yeah. Explosives like that are becoming increasingly common in these parts.”
Hearing that, her anxiety spiked even higher. Dove had to find a way to get Rain to a safe place, and to make sure Quaide didn’t get hurt because of them.
