LITMIR.BIZ

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didn’t understand. His team was the only Guardian unit with authority here. He’d even pulled a few agents off other assignments. But if not Guardians, who else would’ve killed them? And why wouldn’t they have been staked? That was the typical way his people dispensed with their enemies, not by dismemberment.

      Something wasn’t right. He backed away from the Dumpster, noticed a few of his agents slipping between the rows of shelving. It occurred to him that maybe it hadn’t been Guardians who had done this, but other Darkbloods. It was vicious, not clean and fast.

      Why would DBs kill their own people? A turf war? Maybe another group not affiliated with them were after the weapons and—

      “What the hell is that?” Sadie came up behind him and pointed to a series of wires on the ground leading from the nearest pallet and disappearing behind one of the shelves.

      Craning his neck, he noticed similar wires wrapped around the metal support beams, but he couldn’t tell where they originated. The tiny hairs on the back of his neck prickled.

      And then a goddamn freight train sounded in his ears.

      “It’s a trap!” he yelled at his team. Darkbloods had dismembered their own people in order for Guardians to think they were inside. “Get your asses out of here.”

      Boots pounded and echoed through the building as everyone bolted for the doors. Everyone, that is, except Sadie.

      Goddamn it. He spun around and, spotting her back by the Dumpster, he shadow-moved to her as quickly as he could. “I gave an order, Agent. Let’s go.”

      “Hold on. I’ve been trained in render safe procedures. I can disarm it.” She started to follow a set of wires down one of the aisles, but he grabbed her arm.

      “There’s no time. It’s too risky.”

      “But—”

      He didn’t wait for her to finish. Instead, he hauled her toward the nearest exit, ignoring her protests.

      As he shoved her through the door, he heard a faint clicking noise behind him and threw a quick glance over his shoulder. Was another member of his team still left inside? He could’ve sworn he’d made an accurate head count. Goddamn it, why didn’t any—

      And then the building exploded.

       CHAPTER FIVE

      THE HELICOPTER LANDED just before dawn. Many of the people who worked at Region stood near the landing pad or just inside the doors, waiting for the injured to be taken off the aircraft. From what Roxy understood, there’d been an explosion in Seattle and several Guardians had been severely injured.

      Santiago rushed the helicopter as the rotors spun loudly above him.

      The doors opened and the medics wasted no time whisking a dark-haired man wrapped in bandages into the region’s medical facility. A young woman followed closely behind them, her face ashen, a squirming toddler wrapped in her arms. Brenna waved to the pilot as she fell into step behind the group.

      “Jesus Christ, what the hell happened?” Santiago asked the man on the gurney.

      This was obviously someone of importance, as he didn’t address his question to the two other people who had climbed out of the aircraft under their own power. The attendants who were pushing the patient down the sterile hallway didn’t slow down, so Santiago had to jog after them to keep up.

      “Our location…compromised,” the man called out, his voice strained and laced with pain. “They knew…we were going…to be there.”

      The gurney burst through the doors of the surgical wing and Brenna had to stop Santiago and the woman from following.

      “Please tell me he’s going to be all right,” the woman sobbed. “That man…is my life.”

      Brenna gave her a quick hug. “We’ll do everything we can to save him, Mackenzie. I promise.”

      The double doors had hardly swung shut before Santiago erupted in a volley of cursing and punched his fist through the wall. Clutching the boy like a lifeline, the woman slid to the ground.

      EVER SINCE THE injured had been brought in, the offices had been strangely quiet. No loud talking or laughing by anyone anywhere, just hushed whispers. Although the tragedy had happened down in Seattle, it clearly had a profound impact on everyone. The gym was empty, the cafeteria subdued. When someone passed in the hallway, instead of a “Hi, how are you,” no one gave more than a thin-lipped smile of acknowledgment. Having gotten used to everyone’s friendly and welcoming natures, the change was obvious to Roxy.

      Her students filed into the classroom one by one, their gazes fixed to the ground. As usual when Roxy pressed the button on the remote control for the interactive whiteboard showing today’s topics, nothing happened. The screen should’ve dropped from the ceiling and the Powerpoint slides, which were displayed on her monitor, should’ve been displayed there, as well. She pressed another button. Still nothing.

      She glanced around the room. Her go-to guy hadn’t arrived yet. No matter. She was an intelligent woman and this was just a simple piece of technology. Hell, she used such teaching equipment down at the Academy, just not this brand.

      Pushing a chair directly under the ceiling-mounted control panel, she kicked off her heels and stepped onto the seat, careful not to let her skirt ride up too much. Just inches away from it now, she aimed the remote right at the thing and stabbed at a few more buttons. Again, nothing.

      Exasperated, she stepped down. “Is Raymond coming?” She could’ve sworn that she was pressing the same buttons he did, but he was the only one who could get the thing to work.

      “I’m not sure, Ms. Reynolds. He knows one of the guys who was hurt, so I’ll bet he’s pretty shaken up.”

      Without putting her shoes back on, she sat down on the edge of the desk, thinking. Given that three other students weren’t here either, Raymond wasn’t the only one too upset to come to class. And of those who did come, she could see in their eyes how distracted they were. If only there was a chalkboard or something else to write on, but that fancy whiteboard was it.

      “Tell you what. I can see that everyone’s heart isn’t into this. And to tell you the truth, neither is mine. How about we cancel class for today and I’ll email you the assignment?”

      The students murmured their agreement.

      “Let’s hope we hear good news soon.”

      After everyone gathered their things and exited the classroom, she tucked her laptop under her arm and left, as well. She considered heading back and getting lost in a book for the rest of the day, but the thought of sitting by herself wasn’t very appealing. Normally, she enjoyed being by herself, but with everything that had happened, she found herself dreading being alone.

      Seeing Mackenzie’s husband laid out on the stretcher reminded her of the night when Ian was killed. Only Ian wasn’t brought in on a gurney, but in a plastic bag. She only hoped that Mackenzie wouldn’t experience what she had all those years ago, when the man she once loved had died.

      No, she definitely didn’t want to be alone in her room in a strange place. It brought up too many terrible memories she’d just as soon forget.

      She planned to head back to drop off her things and change, then go find the sanctuary Brenna had told her about. She’d light some candles and say a few prayers for the injured. She was deep in thought when she realized she was in a part of the labyrinth of offices she hadn’t been before. Nothing looked familiar. And then she heard the soft sounds of a woman crying.

      She peered around the corner into a small waiting area and realized she must be in the medical clinic part of the offices.

      There in the corner on a sofa sat Mackenzie. Her son was wrapped in a blanket on her lap, his thumb in his mouth, sleeping. It was apparent she was trying not to cry and wake him.

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