The music ceased as they hit the door. She heard Hunter say, “I need everyone to exit the gym, please. We’ve had a report of a gas leak and we need to get it checked out. So if you’ll just move to the parking lot away from the building, we’ll get this taken care of and get back to our party.”
Colton hung up.
She burst through the glass door and headed for the car parked in the police parking space. Colton clicked the doors open and she slid into the passenger seat. Urgency pounded through her.
“Alexia and Serena will take care of Meg,” Colton said as he jammed the key into the ignition and cranked the car. With a squeal of tires, he pulled from the space and hit the siren.
Jillian knew this was true and it was the only thing keeping her from totally freaking out.
His phone rang. Jillian snapped her gaze to him as he answered. When his face paled and jaw clenched, she knew it was bad news. “What is it?” she whispered.
“They can’t find Meg.”
Colton pressed the gas even harder as he whipped around three cars that had pulled to the right to let him pass. He couldn’t spare a glance at Jillian to see how she was faring, but he could feel her panic thicken the air in the car.
“We’ll find her. The bomb squad’s already there.”
“Hurry, Colton.”
“Try Serena’s phone.”
“I did. It went straight to voice mail.”
Within minutes, he was flashing his badge to law enforcement already in the parking lot. Former classmates milled, well away from the gym should it blow.
Jillian bolted from the car, looking for a familiar face. She spotted Alexia standing with Carmen Hoffman and rushed over. “Where is she? Did you find her?”
“No.” Alexia gripped Jillian’s hands. “Hunter and Dominic are still in there looking for her and Serena. I came out here to wait on you.”
“Where is Serena?”
“Serena took Meg to the bathroom about the time Hunter got up to announce we needed to evacuate. We haven’t seen them since.”
“If they were in the bathroom, they wouldn’t have heard the announcement—and might not have a signal.”
“Which would explain why she wouldn’t answer her phone. The bomb squad and our guys are in there looking for them.”
“And so is Colton,” Jillian whispered as she watched him push into the building. She raced after him.
–
Colton’s heart slammed into his ribs. He’d just found out he had a daughter, he wasn’t about to lose her now.
“Colton!”
He heard Jillian scream his name and turned to see two police officers holding her back. “I’m going to find her, Jilly, stay back!”
He didn’t have time to see if she obeyed. Hopefully the officers could keep her back. “Megan!” he yelled as he ran down the hall.
Hunter came out of a side door. “Clear in there. Alexia said Serena took Meg to the bathroom, but there’s no one in there.”
“Where would they have gone?”
“I can’t figure it out.”
“Another bathroom?”
“Possibly. Especially if Meg couldn’t wait and the bathrooms were crowded.”
Colton whirled and lifted a hand to his head as he thought. “Where’s Dominic?”
“He went back to the bathrooms.” Hunter shook his head. “I don’t know why. They’re not there.”
“Desperation,” Colton murmured. Think! He paced the floor.
Dominic came from the bathroom, saw them in the hall, and waved them over. “In here!”
Colton bolted toward him. “You found them?”
“No, but listen.”
They entered the bathroom. At first Colton didn’t know what he was supposed to be listening for. Then he heard it. A faint clink, clink, clink.
He looked up at Dominic. “They’re above us?”
Dominic rushed through the door. “Only one way to find out.”
Together, they raced down the hall to the door that led to the steps. “It’s locked. I don’t understand.”
Dominic stopped and listened to the earpiece. His face paled. “Guys, they found the bomb. Says we have less than five minutes before it goes off. They’re working on disarming it, but we’ve got to get the girls and get out of here.”
“Step back and plug your ears.” Colton lifted his weapon and fired at the lock. Three quick shots. Since he hadn’t been able to protect his own ears, his rang. Hopefully it wouldn’t be permanent, but getting to the girls was priority.
Hunter pushed the heavy metal doors open and they bolted for the stairs.
Up the first flight. Hunter stooped and grabbed something. Colton didn’t bother to stop and see. He rounded the landing and took the next set of stairs two at a time right behind Dominic. They burst through the door with Dominic in the lead.
Down the hall.
To the women’s bathroom.
Dominic banged on the door. “Serena, get Meg and get in a stall now. We’re going to have to blow the lock. Hurry, there’s a bomb in the building.”
“Dominic?” Serena’s husky voice came through the door. “Oh thank you!” Five precious seconds later, her voice came much fainter. “Do it!”
Once again Colton lifted his gun. Stopped up his ears as best he could with a handkerchief Dominic handed him and tissue Hunter had found in the stairwell. They’d planned ahead. He pulled the trigger.
Hunter kicked the door in.
Serena and Meg came from the stall. Serena stared, white-faced. “We came up here because all the other bathrooms were packed. I didn’t know the door—Did you say bomb?”
Colton scooped Meg into his arms and bolted back toward the exit. “How much time do we have?”
“Less than two minutes!” Dominic hollered.
“What’s that about a bomb?” Serena asked as she ran as fast as Dominic, his hand gripping hers. They hit the stairs.
“Tell you when we get out,” Dominic promised.
Meg’s featherweight didn’t slow Colton down. If there’d been another way out of the building, he’d have chosen it, but the only way out was back the way they came. At the bottom, they raced behind the bomb squad. Not a good sign.
They hadn’t been able to diffuse it.
Not for a lack of skill, but for a lack of time, he was sure.
“Twenty seconds!” Hunter hollered.
Jillian prayed and paced, paced and prayed. She’d chewed her right thumbnail to the quick and was working on the left when the gym doors flew open.
Her heart stuttered as she saw everyone racing in mass exodus from the building. The bomb squad.
Where were—
“Oh thank you, Lord!” Alexia squealed as Hunter came into sight. Dominic and Serena ran. Colton, with Meg in his arms, brought up the rear.
“Nine seconds!” Hunter yelled. “Everyone duck!”
The seconds ticked down as each person did their best to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the gym. Colton stumbled, caught himself, and swept Meg behind the nearest brick pillar of the football stadium.
Dominic and Serena made it to the next one. And Hunter leapt the fence to roll down the hill.
A rumble shook the ground beneath Jillian’s feet and a loud explosion caused her to clasp her hands over her ears. Debris started falling, but thankfully she was far enough away that none reached her.
Fear clenching her insides, she squinted through the haze of smoke to see if Colton had gotten far enough away. Please, God.
“Meg! Colton!” She got a lungful of smoke and coughed. Pulling her shirt up over her nose and mouth, she raced toward where she’d seen Meg and Colton disappear.
When she was halfway there, they emerged from behind the pillar.
Whole.
Safe.
Alive.
Frank watched the news. Again. Columbia, South Carolina, had made national news and the only channel Frank was interested in was the one that showed the foot
age.
Spring Valley High School’s gym had exploded. A bomb was suspected, but fortunately no one had been hurt.
No one had been hurt. He found himself glad for that. Especially that Carmen was safe.
It was over.
Elizabeth had left the room as soon as she realized her husband was guilty of the horrible accusations made against him.
And for doing the unforgivable.
He’d endangered Carmen.
Frank glanced at the television screen again, pushed away the food tray, and thought about what this meant. There was no real evidence other than the boat that he’d had anything to do with the attempts on Jillian’s life. He had admitted things to Colton under pressure, but he hadn’t been Mirandized. There was no recording of his admission to knowing about the bomb. Elliott had talked, but had no proof.
Maybe there was a way out of this after all.
Hope stirred for the first time as he started to envision the press conference that he would call upon his release from the hospital. “I had no idea about the evil side of Elliott Darwin. He was my good friend for many years—” Here his voice would choke a little, maybe a few tears as he took a moment to compose himself.
Yeah, it might work.
The door opened and surprise held him still for a moment. “Elizabeth. You’re back.”
She entered slowly, as though not sure she wanted to be there. She carried a cup of coffee and Frank’s mouth watered as she sat in the chair next to his bed. “I had to make sure Carmen was safe.”
“She is. No one was hurt.”
Her mouth thinned. “No thanks to you.”
He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. You know I never would have put her in danger. You know that.”
Elizabeth studied him, the hard look in her eyes not encouraging him. She sipped the coffee and Frank reached for it. “Do you mind? I haven’t had any caffeine since I’ve been in here.”
She pulled the cup away and frowned. “That’s probably for a reason.”
“Oh come on, just a sip.”
She sighed. “It’s bitter. Let me get some milk and sugar.”
When she returned with a cup of water, a carton of milk, and two packets of sugar, his brow rose. Wariness stood out. “Why are you being so nice to me?”
She set the cup in front of him and opened the sugar. He poured in the milk and took a sip. Then another. She took the water and settled into the chair. “I’m being nice because I don’t want a divorce.”
His hand stopped, delaying his third sip. “I don’t want one either.”
“I found the papers, Frank.”
He stilled. “Did you see the date on them?”
“Yes.”
“That was ten years ago. I couldn’t go through with it, obviously.”
“Why? Because you didn’t want to divorce me? Or because of the way it might have hurt you politically?”
He sighed and closed his eyes. His hands tingled and he flexed them. “Probably a combination of both.”
She sat silent for a moment and Frank opened his eyes to find her staring at him. He couldn’t read the expression there, but it made him uneasy. “Elizabeth?”
She blinked. “I don’t know what to do now.”
Frank studied her. “Do you want to go to counseling?”
She seemed to consider that. “Possibly. If you think that would help. But we would have to be careful, I wouldn’t want anyone to know.” She rubbed her forehead. “The only problem is, you’re probably going to be in jail. There’s an officer posted outside your door right now.”
Frank fiddled with the coffee cup. “There’ve been no charges brought against me.”
“I know. But I think they’re coming.”
Just the thought sent shudders racing through him. He gulped more coffee, hoping the caffeine would settle his nerves. “Maybe not.”
She lifted a brow. “What do you mean?”
He told her his thoughts. “So even though I knew about the bomb, I can plead ignorance, say I had no idea Elliott was doing what he was doing.” He waved a hand. “I’ll come up with something.”
Elizabeth stood and paced. “You really think it would work?”
“Maybe. Only if you’re on my side and we can present a united front.” He sighed. “Where did it all go wrong?”
Her lips tightened. “Let’s not think about that.”
He shook his head. “I was too greedy, wasn’t I?”
“Greedy?”
“I wanted it all. And I didn’t care what it took to get it.” He sighed. “I was a fool.”
She lifted her glass of water to tap his cup of coffee. “I’ll agree to that.”
Frank finished off his coffee with a grimace and considered staying with this woman he had no love for. He pushed aside that thought.
Minutes passed as they discussed possibilities for the future. The nurse came in and took his vitals. She frowned. “Your heart rate is very slow and your lips have a blue tint to them. I think we need to call the doctor.”
Frank tried to take a deep breath. And couldn’t. He looked at her and Elizabeth. “I can’t breathe.”
Pain shot through his chest and he cried out, tried to lift his right hand and couldn’t.
Darkness pulled at him. He resisted. Weights held him to the bed. He couldn’t move!
Alarms sounded and he knew no more.
Sunday
42
Colton sat across from Jillian and Meg in the fast-food booth, delighting in getting to know his daughter. She’d already downed three pieces of pizza and played four video games in between bites.
“Thanks for doing this. She’s having a blast.” Jillian leaned against his arm and he kissed her nose.
“My pleasure. You know I want to—” His phone rang and his brow shot north when he saw the number. “Hi, Mom.”
“Colton, I have some bad news.”
Concern hit him. “What is it?”
“Frank died about an hour ago.”
“What?” His shout echoed through the restaurant. He finished the call with his mind in a fog.
Jillian stared at him. “What’s wrong?”
He told her, shock still running through him. “I can’t believe it.”
“A heart attack?” she guessed.
“Yeah.”
She reached out and grasped his hand. “I’m so sorry.”
Colton forced a small smile and said to Meg, “Come on, kiddo, I’ve got to go visit my mom.”
“I’m sorry your uncle died,” Meg told him, her brow furrowed.
“Yeah, me too.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You can cry on my shoulder if you need to.”
A lump formed in his throat. “Thanks, Meg. I might need to take you up on that.”
Jillian held his hand all the way to the hospital and he found himself grateful and full of love for the woman beside him.
Grief welled as it sank in. Frank was gone.
“It’s okay to grieve for him.”
Colton shot her a look. “How did you know I was feeling guilty about that?”
“It’s only natural. You loved the man like a father for a long time. He was good to you and was there for you when you needed him.”
His jaw tightened. “He also had a whole other side to him that I never suspected was there.”
Her fingers squeezed his. “That side probably developed over time.”
“I don’t understand. He’s the one who encouraged me to go to church, to be involved in the youth group, to go on mission trips. He even paid for a couple.”
She stayed silent for about a minute, then said, “I think some people can start out having a passion for God, but if that passion isn’t flamed, discipled, or encouraged, it can—” She stopped as though searching for a word.
“Fizzle out?”
“Yeah. Don’t you think? I mean, having a relationship with God still takes work on our part. If you ignore it long enough, it will wither
and die. I’m talking about on the human end, not God’s.”
He thought about that as he drove. “That makes sense. And when one person ends the relationship, the only way to restore it is for that person to come back and apologize.” His words slowed as he got to the end of the sentence. “Kind of like what happened to us, huh?”
Tears stood in her eyes. “Yes, kind of like that.”
“And if Uncle Frank was constantly ignoring God, then do you think it’s possible he just got to the point where he couldn’t hear him anymore?”
“I do.”
Colton nodded.
“And if you’re not listening to someone, eventually they just stop talking to you,” Meg piped in from the backseat. “That happened to my friend Chrissy and me. I talked and talked, but sometimes she would just walk off like she didn’t want to hear what I was talking about.” Indignation tinted her tone. “I finally decided I didn’t want to talk to her anymore and I got a new best friend. She listens to me all the time.”
A smile curved Jillian’s lips and Colton choked on his emotion. “Exactly,” he said. “So if Uncle Frank quit listening to the one who told him the right choices to make, he was bound to make some wrong choices.”
Meg grunted. “Like I did when I went down to the pool. Boy, was that a dumb choice. I knew I wasn’t supposed to do that, but I decided to listen to the part of me that wanted to go.” In the rearview mirror, Colton saw her lip quiver. “I’m sorry.”
“And you’re forgiven. You’re fine and you won’t ever do something like that again, right?”
His daughter stayed quiet.
“Right, Meg?” Jillian asked.
She sighed. “Well, I want to promise I won’t. But I’m only nine. I’ve got the teen years coming, you know.”
Jillian broke up laughing, and in spite of his grief over his uncle, Colton felt his heart lighten and thanked God for bringing Jillian and this little girl into his life.
Jillian still had a smile on her face as they walked into the hospital. She’d missed Meg and her sassiness over the past week.
As they rode the elevator, her smile faded and nerves kicked in. She clutched Meg’s hand. What would Colton’s parents say about her and Meg coming? Please, Lord, let this go well. She paused, then added, And please don’t let Meg say anything too outrageous.
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