quiet. She needed speed. She ran back into Dr. Hammer’s office and headed for the phone. Before she could reach for the receiver, a deafening whoosh thundered up the hall, shattering glass in its wake. As she struggled to see what was happening, a huge boom rattled the building. The ground beneath her shook with enough force to buckle her knees and send vibrations up her legs.
A second explosion sent her body flying into Dr. Hammer’s huge mahogany desk. Her middle smacked into the edge, stealing her breath and scattering papers around her feet. Her vision swirled at the edges as she fell to the floor. For a second, she closed her eyes, hoping to open them again and find out this was nothing more than a nightmare.
A harsh banging brought her back to the present. Smoke filled the hallway and heat enveloped her. She choked on the foul air as she looked around. She tried to process the events of the last few minutes but her mind refused to function.
One thing was clear. She had to get out of there. Crackling sounded all around her as the building heaved and groaned. If she didn’t find fresh air and get out soon, she’d be crushed or burned alive. She refused to be a victim of either option.
On her hands and knees, she crawled across shards of glass and ignored the edges as they bit into her skin. She drew up a mental floor plan of the office and aimed for where the window should be. She’d crash through it if she had to. Anything to get outside and away from the building before it imploded.
With her mouth tucked into the sleeve of her coat, she lifted to her feet in a bent-over crouch. From this position she could see what remained of the office space. Nothing separated it from the hall now. The wall between Dr. Hammer’s office and hers had collapsed, leaving a blown-out opening. Fire danced in every inch of her room as bright orange flames raced up her walls, swallowing her framed degrees and bookshelves in one hot gulp.
If she had been where she was supposed to be, she’d be dead. Snooping had saved her.
Ceiling tiles fell from above her head, barely missing her. The walls were buckling. The thundering mix of fire and falling debris filled her ears. The taste of soot lingered on her tongue. There would be nothing left soon, including her, if she didn’t jump through the window. The glass had shattered leaving ragged edges. Using her elbow, she cleared a path and wiggled out the small opening. A final pop propelled her outside, throwing her through the air until she landed hard on her right side on the grassy area outside.
Pain crushed in on her from every angle as she rolled as far away from the burning structure as possible. She hurt everywhere. Her mind reeled and fingers burned. When she looked down, she saw the death grip she had on some of those files. Through all the shock and the explosions, she had held on. The realization sent a wave of relief through her. She didn’t know where the papers fit together with the explosions, but she sensed on some level they did.
She dropped her head back and tried to gather the energy to get up. Smoke spiraled into the dark sky. Alarms hadn’t sounded, but she held out hope someone had heard the crashing booms that even now continued to sound, or saw the flames licking against the cloudless night.
Their building sat at the end of a long private drive in McLean, Virginia. The secluded setting ensured security, or that was the theory. Now the isolation worked against her, guaranteeing that precious data she needed would be lost before the fire department got word and came screaming to the scene.
When she lifted her head again and glanced around, she could make out the outline of a large SUV near the entrance to the building. It was a car that hadn’t been there when she checked in earlier. A second later, three people piled out of the front door in a rush. The bright lights of the outside parking area let her see what was happening. She recognized the straight-backed and serious steps of Dr. Hammer. He wasn’t injured. If anything, he maintained his usual even pace while the men around him tried to hustle him.
Before she could call out his name, one of the other men opened the back door of the vehicle and signaled for Dr. Hammer to get in. With one last long look at the Institute, he slipped in and closed the door. The SUV took off, leaving her alone and the disaster behind.
Maura tried to put the bits she knew together in a reasonable story, but the last hour didn’t make any sense. Dr. Hammer’s precious work was vanishing in front of him and he didn’t show any more concern than he did on a normal day when he left the office. More important, he didn’t seem to notice her car was in the parking lot while the building was on fire. Either he didn’t care that she could be injured or dead or worse, he wanted her to be.
She couldn’t figure out why, but she knew everything had gone wrong. This was more than a problem with the interim report. This went deeper. The fire and the false data were connected somehow. Had to be.
Anxiety flooded through her, making every cell in her body quake and tremble. She didn’t know who to trust or where to go.
No, that wasn’t true. She knew exactly where to go and who could help her untangle the mess.
Ignoring the pain in her shoulder and aches everywhere else, she rolled to her knees. She had to get up and go to Liam. She’d run away from him for years, but now she needed him. Liam would know what to do.
The plan set, she shot up too fast. Dizziness slammed through her the second her feet hit the ground. The move sent her back to her knees. She tried to gulp in air, but it was too late. The shot of adrenaline that guided her through the last few minutes had worn off, leaving behind a blinding headache and exhaustion she couldn’t shake.
When her elbows gave out, she fell back to the ground and stayed there, staring up into the black night. Yes, Liam would help. She repeated that mantra until she convinced herself it was true. Now she had to convince him.
Liam Anderson had been to more memorial services than he could count. A devastated family, shocked loved ones. He knew the drill and always steeled himself against getting sucked into the sad aftermath of someone else’s violent end. But the last twenty hours had been different.
This wasn’t about paying his respects to a victim’s family in a case. This was about getting through those initial horrible hours after the bad news came. This was for Maura, his best friend’s sister.
Twenty-four and dead. It didn’t seem possible. Sitting there and watching Dan descend into madness made it real for Liam. His friend had spent almost every hour in a drunken haze since getting the unbelievable news. Dan only sobered up this afternoon when the police showed up a second time, changed tactics and started asking questions about Maura’s background. They danced around the accusations but it was clear they believed she had something to do with the explosion.
Liam provided support and an ear. Even got pissed off on Maura’s behalf at the accusations. Keeping Dan from crawling all over the cops proved harder. Liam left only after Dan had settled down, but planned to return to Dan’s house after a shower and change of clothes. Keeping Dan sane was the only way Liam knew to beat back his own feelings.
Maura had run from him and now she was gone forever. He would never have a chance to apologize and make things right for what happened nine years earlier. Never get to know the woman she’d become. He’d be stuck with only the memories of a brokenhearted girl.
He shook his head as he slammed his car door. What a waste.
Within two steps, Liam realized something was off at his house. He was a security expert, after
