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An officer shined his flashlight into the SUV. “Get out of the vehicle with your hands in plain sight,” he ordered.
Rafe glanced at Kristi. “Ready?”
She nodded and broke into a round of coughing.
They both needed medical attention. “We’ll open our doors at the same time. Move slow and make sure your hands are in sight.”
Knowing further delay would heighten the tension and suspicions of the officers, Rafe opened his door and stepped out of the vehicle with his hands raised. He followed their orders to lay on the ground with his arms and legs spread.
He didn’t protest the weapons search, but Rafe kept close watch on Kristi and the officer searching her for weapons.
When he was allowed to stand, Rafe said, “The EMTs need to check my girlfriend.” He broke into a coughing fit.
“Looks like you got a lungful of smoke yourself. I need to see your license.”
“My identification is in my right side pocket.”
“Move slow.”
Rafe handed the officer his license plus his Fortress identification while Kristi handed hers to the second officer.
“How long have you been with Fortress Security, Mr. Torres?”
“Just over a year.”
“It’s obvious you and your girlfriend were in a warehouse that’s burning to the ground. What were you doing in that building at this time of night?”
“I’ll be happy to answer questions, but Kristi needs medical attention.”
“Yeah, all right.” The officer pointed at Rafe. “Don’t move.” He flagged down the approaching ambulance. Soon, Kristi and Rafe were seated side by side at the back of the ambulance. They answered questions from the police while being checked for injuries by the EMTs.
Fifteen minutes later, one of the EMTs told the officers, “They both need treatment for smoke inhalation.”
The senior officer waved them on. “Ms. Stewart, Mr. Torres, you can expect detectives to track you down at the hospital to ask more questions.”
“Can’t wait,” Rafe muttered.
When the officers moved their squad car, Eli approached Rafe. “Jackson will drive your SUV to the hospital,” he murmured.
“Thanks.” Rafe tossed Eli the key fob, then helped Kristi into the back of the ambulance and climbed in behind her.
The next hours passed in a blur with medical personnel coming in and out of Rafe’s exam room. To the aggravation of the nurses, he pushed hard to be moved into Kristi’s exam room. They ignored him. He opted not to relocate himself because Jackson used his paramedic license to gain access to Kristi’s room and stay with her, and the room was across the hall from Rafe’s. If he sat at the end of the exam table, he could see who came and went from her room.
Finally, two detectives arrived to question him and Kristi about their presence in the warehouse after hours. When he explained that Kristi’s father was Alan Stewart and had asked his daughter to meet him in the warehouse, the detectives exchanged glances.
“You entered the warehouse and went to the offices. All of them were empty, and the bomb was in the last office.”
“That’s right.”
“Know anything about bombs, Mr. Torres?”
“Enough.”
A frown from one of the detectives. “What does that mean?”
“I’m in black ops, Andrews. We’re trained to handle explosives. Some of the Fortress operatives are experts in that field.”
“Are you?”
