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Jane’s jaw was clenched so tightly, she couldn’t even open her mouth. Icy cold sweat trickled down her back. She didn’t dare move. Didn’t dare breathe.
She couldn’t die. She couldn’t leave Kellen. Not now. Not like this. The boy had had more than enough tragedy in his life. She prayed silently, the words jumbled by fear. But her Savior knew what was in her heart. No need to make sense. Not now.
While he strapped the bomb around her waist, the magician had told her she could go anywhere she wanted, movement wouldn’t trigger it. Still, her muscles tensed, rigid as stone. Her ears rang, muting everything but the sound of her own desperate inhales.
Every sip of air made the nylon webbing cut into her lower ribs. Not that a few scratches would be a problem if Romero decided to change his mind about disarming the thing.
Gaze fixed on the evil device, Bridger inched the last few feet to her side.
She dug her fists into her thighs. “I have to get out of here,” she told him through numb lips. Rather than beating hard, her heart seemed to have stopped completely. She felt cold. Frozen. And completely numb.
But if this was the end, she wasn’t about to let Romero hurt anyone else. “I need to get away from people.”
He paused to remove the earbud from his ear. “Not until I get a good look at that thing.”
She could tell he was trying hard not to react, but the way his shoulders tightened, and the small groan, said everything she needed to know.
The bomb was as real as she feared.
“He says I can go anywhere I want, but I can’t outrun him. He said to tell you the detonator’s a cell phone,” she said. “You have to get clear. I have to get out of here. I have to be alone.”
One hand holding her sweater above the belt, he studied the device. “Not gonna happen,” was all he said.
Tai and Paige, both breathless, joined them, moving in close enough to shield Jane from view.
Tai stared her straight in the face. “You okay?”
“Should I be?”
Tai snorted. Hands on his thighs, he bent close to examine the foul thing with Bridger. “We’re taking this guy down, right?”
“Copy that,” Bridger murmured, and straightened. With gentle hands, he lowered her sweater back over the device. “Standard issue quarter stick,” he said. “No booby trap I can see, but…”
He caught Jane’s gaze and stopped.
He didn’t have to spell it out. She’d watched enough news and heard enough snatches of her brother’s tales to know the bomb strapped around her waist could detonate if they tried to remove it.
Paige slid up next to her and squeezed her shoulder until Jane looked her in the eye. “This is what we do. We got this.”
Jane wanted to believe. But she was so numb, she couldn’t even pray. Never had she been so disconnected from her own feelings. Maybe that was a blessing.
All she could do was focus on others. She slid off the barstool. “I need to get out of here.”
This time, Bridger took her hand. “Yeah, you do.”
“The airfield,” Paige said as she and Tai followed them out of the casino.
Bridger grunted without turning around. “Brilliant.” His palm was cold and clammy against hers.
Hot, dry desert air blasted them the minute they exited the artificial atmosphere of the casino. Bridger stopped and pulled Jane into a hug. “You’re gonna be okay,” he told her.
Of course, she was. She had every faith in him, and in the Lord.
He took her hand in his, raising it to his lips. His gaze never left hers. “Paige and Tai will take care of you. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Here.” He tossed the rental car keys to Tai.
Tai made a one-handed catch, waving his other hand in the air. “Wait, what? Where you go, I go.”
“Not this time, amigo.” Bridger jerked his chin at Jane. “We can’t use the comms. I need you and Paige to get Jane back to the airport. Find an unused hangar and give me a couple hours.”
