Bound to Danger: A Deadly Ops Novel by Katie Reus

Author:Katie Reus [Katie Reus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-08-04T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

Situation report (SITREP): an intermittent report of the current high-risk situation.

Maria jumped in her seat, her entire body jerking at the explosion. She swallowed hard as she watched the horrific display on one of the van’s video screens. Instinctively she closed her eyes, wanting to block it out, but more images of fire and destruction flickered through her mind like a horror movie.

A rumble.

Orange fire illuminating the night sky.

The mansion imploding.

Her mother . . .

“Are you okay?” a male voice asked.

Maria’s eyes flew open. Her stomach twisted, her mouth filling with saliva as she fought back a wave of nausea. She looked up to find the two men Cade had left to guard her, watching her with concern. Feeling weak and pathetic for all of two seconds, she swallowed hard. But screw that.

She wasn’t weak. Today she’d said good-bye to her mother forever and now she was sitting in a van full of strangers when the top of the Opulen had exploded. All she cared about was finding out if Cade was all right. Oh God, what if . . . Her throat tightened. Hell no. She couldn’t even go there.

She ignored the question and stood. Her legs trembled, but she forced herself to focus on the two men. They were here to protect her and would have information on the man she cared about way too much. “Where’s Cade?” She hated that her voice shook.

It was subtle, but they shot each other a quick glance before looking at her. The shorter of the two cleared his throat. “We’re not patched into his radio feed, but we’ve got to go outside for a sec. Stay put.”

Before she could respond, the two men disappeared out the back doors. The two analysts at the computer bank completely tuned her out as they clacked away on their keyboards. Feeling utterly helpless and useless, she scanned all the screens. A huddle of hotel employees were all sectioned off in one parking lot. Men and women wearing military-style fatigues or jackets with FBI emblazoned on them were milling around in each screen. It looked like chaos, but everyone was moving around with precise movements, as if they knew exactly what they were doing.

A familiar figure caught her eye as her gaze jumped from screen to screen. Eyes wide, she froze as she saw Cade running across one of the parking lots. It was a side angle, but his shirt and vest were off and he was bloody. For one agonizing moment, her heart stopped.

Since no one was paying attention to her, she slipped out the side door instead of using the back ones. The bright sunlight was jarring, leaving her unfocused as she scanned the area. She spotted Cade almost immediately about twenty-five yards away talking heatedly to the same older man who had been in the van with them earlier. Burkhart.

There was so much noise outside, people talking and shouting, a wailing siren coming from inside the hotel, and a whole other cacophony of sound.

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