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СКАЧАТЬ died and he’d nearly suffocated on the black smoke of fire bombs being thrown into buildings. His eight-man team had endured the heat and blinding smoke to search for the ambassador and his aide, who were known to be inside, but they’d been too late to help; too late because of political bureaucracy and his own hesitancy to act without orders.

      The heat flowing off the building pushed him back to the present, where he crawled toward Melinda, away from the burning structure. Her face was smudged with soot, her soft brown eyes wide with fear. Her clothes and hands were riddled with shards of glass. That would be unpleasant to remove, but at least she was alive. His ears were ringing from the explosion, but he swore he heard the whirl of sirens mixed in with it.

      He grabbed her arms and checked her over. “Are you okay?”

      She nodded, but she was shaking and tears were sliding down her face, making trails between the soot and blood. He pulled her into his arms to try to calm her, and she leaned her petite frame into him. She’d had quite a scare, certainly a bigger one than anyone from Daytonville had ever experienced.

      “Was there anyone else inside?” she asked him in a small but concerned voice.

      “No. No one.”

      Besides the lack of people, her office had been the only one not dark, something he’d noticed when he’d entered the building only a few minutes earlier. Melinda Steele had been the only person working then...which meant she’d been the target of a bomber.

      Melinda clasped her hands together, trying to stop the chill of fear that was inching up her neck. She’d nearly been killed, and would have been had Noah Cason not arrived in her office and intervened. She recalled the feeling of having her feet glued to the floor, unable to move to even save herself. But he’d taken charge of the situation and saved her life.

      She glanced up at him now, conversing with the police, probably describing the workings of the bomb to them in the hopes of identifying whoever was behind this attack. Her brain was having trouble grasping the fact that this bomb had been placed beneath her desk. It wasn’t a random incident. Its placement had been targeted and precise. After all, it was Saturday, when most government employees were at home, and the building was clear of everyone except for her...and Dawn. What a blessing her assistant had taken her lunch out of the office today.

      She needed to call Dawn. Her phone had been damaged beyond use when the explosion knocked it from her hand and tossed it to the ground. Melinda borrowed an officer’s cell phone and dialed Dawn’s number. The call went to voice mail, and Melinda left a message. “Hello, Dawn, it’s Melinda. There’s been an incident at the office. I found a bomb beneath my desk and it went off. I’m fine and no one else was hurt, but I wanted you to know before you arrived back here.”

      She disconnected the call, then realized she should have suggested Dawn not even return to the office. What was the point? They certainly wouldn’t be doing any work today. She didn’t know when they would be able to work again. The prosecutor’s office in Daytonville had essentially been shut down.

      As she watched the fires still burning, she realized all her files were lost, including Nikki’s. She could reorder the reports, but the physical evidence that had been stored in the prosecutor’s office was now certainly destroyed or at least compromised. Had that been the bomber’s intention all along? From the moment she’d seen the mass of wires and canisters, her first thought, her only thought, was that Sean had finally found her and her son. She was tired of running, tired of looking over her shoulder, and beyond ready to put her past behind her. Lord, when will this end? When will I finally be free of him?

      But she had to admit it was possible this bombing had nothing to do with her except in a prosecutorial role. Had someone tried to blow up the office in order to destroy evidence in their case? Latching on to that scenario comforted her. This had nothing to do with her past. She was certain of it. However, that didn’t stop the sudden desire she had to see her son, Ramey, and make sure he was okay. She wasn’t scheduled to pick him up until after 4:00 p.m., but she wasn’t certain she could wait that long.

      She pushed through the crowd and saw Chief Lyle Peterson. “I’d like to go home now,” she told him. She didn’t want Ramey to see her with dirt and soot all over her, and she’d have just enough time to shower and change first if she left now.

      “This is a crime scene, Melinda. You know that. I need you to stay put until we get your statement. I’ve already spoken to your friend over there. Now I need to hear your side of events.”

      “If you spoke to Noah, then you already know everything I do. Please, Chief. I need to clean up before I pick up Ramey at the Campbells’. I don’t want him to see me this way.”

      She and the chief weren’t always on the best of terms, but he wasn’t heartless, and she saw his compassion for her situation. He nodded, agreeing to let her go. “Fine, but I want you in my office ready to give a statement after you get Ramey.”

      She thanked him then headed for her car. Noah stopped her. “What are you doing?”

      She looked up at him. He was also covered in soot and dirt, but it looked surprisingly good on him, especially with his green eyes sparkling. “I need to get my son. I don’t want him to see me this way so I’m going home to change.”

      “That’s not a good idea. Someone just tried to kill you, Melinda.”

      “I’m sure he just wanted to delay or destroy the case, and he succeeded. I doubt I’m still in danger.”

      “You’ve got it all worked out in your head, don’t you, that it isn’t about you?”

      “Why would it be? I’m just a small-town prosecutor. I’m nobody.” She hated the hysterical sound of her voice, but she couldn’t stop it.

      His gaze was so intense as he stared at her that she was certain he knew that wasn’t the truth. He knew all about her husband and her secret past. “I don’t like to hear a woman, any woman, say they’re nobody. You are somebody, Melinda. You’re an important person to your son.”

      “Which is why I really want to get to him.”

      “Fine. I’ll go with you. Let’s take my car.” He turned and started walking away as she stared after him. Who was he to make decisions for her?

      “I don’t need a chaperone,” she insisted.

      “I think you just might. Besides, am I right in thinking my sister’s file was in that office, as well?” When she nodded, he continued. “All the information on her case is gone. You were her friend as well as the prosecuting attorney, and I’d stake my life that you know everything that was in that file. You’ve been over it time and time again, looking for some new piece of information that could break her case. That makes you my new best friend and my partner in finding her. Besides, your car isn’t actually operational.”

      She looked at her car, the blown-out windows and the water raining down on it from the fire hoses. He was right. She couldn’t drive it, and she didn’t have time to wait around for a cab if she wanted to clean up before she picked up Ramey.

      He opened the passenger’s door to his car, which she noticed he’d parked across the street. She reluctantly slipped inside. He was right. Despite her bravado, she was still scared. She’d convinced herself this bomb had nothing to do with her, but protecting Ramey still had to be her number-one priority. She would help Noah with his sister’s case and, in exchange, he would make sure her son was safe from harm. They needed one another. СКАЧАТЬ