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"If you don't mind. And don't forget the pillows for her tires," she reminded her playfully.
Patricia rolled her eyes as she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "I'll be sure to remember both," the assistant teased her. "Perhaps I should park her where she can watch television as well."
Haley laughed. Okay, so she loved her truck. Everyone teased her about it.
As Patricia left the library, Haley moved from behind the counter, picked up the remote, and flipped the news on again. There was all that fat fluffy stuff headed her way. Piles and piles of snow. A snowman in her yard, the Christmas lights around her house twinkling against it, it was going to be the best Christmas ever.
A smile was curving her lips when the world exploded around her. The blast filled the air, glass shattered as a wave of heat knocked her from her feet and flung her several feet away to where the children's reading nook was sectioned off. She bounced over the low shelves, cried out in shock and pain, and crumpled on the floor as a wash of red seemed to fill the library.
Sirens were howling. Something red was flashing, flickering and the scent of burning paper filled the air. It was hell on earth.
Haley dragged herself to her knees, shaking her head as she felt the ground shake again, and another explosion rock the air.
She cried out, covering her head with her hands as more glass exploded, and the cold seemed to battle with a surge of heat.
She staggered to her feet, shock, disbelief and horror filling her as she realized the books were burning. Piles of books. Flames licked at them, consumed them. The tables, counters, and much of the interior of the library was wood or a facsimile of it, and it was all burning.
Smoke poured around her, choking her, making it nearly impossible to see as she fought to get her bearings. She stumbled through the debris-littered section, nearly falling as another, smaller explosion ripped across the earth.
What was happening? A strike? Some sort of attack? Sanctuary wasn't far from Buffalo Gap, and she knew that it was prone to attacks from several different racist societies, but no one had ever attacked Buffalo Gap.
She choked and stumbled again, falling to her knees as her eyes burned, and she fought for breath. She wasn't going to get out of here. Tears filled her eyes, and fear filled her mind as she tried to crawl, fighting to figure out which way to move, which way to go.
"I have her!" someone yelled, a second before strong arms wrapped around her and dragged her to her feet.
A moment later she was slung over a broad shoulder.
"Was anyone else in there?" another voice called out.
"No one," she choked. She couldn't breathe, even as the cold outside wrapped around her, and she tried to blink the stinging pain from her eyes, still fighting to breathe.
"Haley, where's Patricia?" She was deposited on the hood of a car as someone shook her shoulders. "Is Pat in there, Haley?"
Haley shook her head, blinking as the fierce visage of the sheriff filled her vision. She shook her head again. "Gone," she coughed. "She left."
"Her car is still here," Sheriff Zane Taggart barked into her face.
"My truck," she coughed again. "Gave her my truck."
Silence met the information. She coughed again, blinking, gazing around frantically until her eyes found where her truck had been parked. Right there, in front of where the big windows had been, where a fiery blazing hulk sat in the middle of melted pavement and the burning vehicles left in the parking lot by several city workers that worked nearby.
Her truck. Her truck had sat right there. And Patricia had been in her truck.
"No," she whispered, horror filling her, streaking across her mind. "No!" she screamed. "Oh God, Patricia."
She tried to jump to her feet and ended on the ground. Her legs folded beneath her as the sheriff tried to catch her.
Her nails dug into the frozen earth, and she stared at the blazing vehicle in disbelief and agony. Oh God, Patricia had been in her truck.
The report came across the radios within seconds of the blast. Noble was just coming off a twenty-four-hour shift and heading to the barracks when it crackled across the comm links.
"All available enforcers, be aware. Explosion at the Buffalo Gap Library. One dead, one injured. Officers en route. Sheriff Taggart requesting enforcer backup."
He didn't wait for the order. He heard the names called to backup, the enforcers being pulled in to head to Buffalo Gap, and he didn't care if his name was on the list or not.
"Comm one, this is Chavin," he reported to the dispatcher. "I'm heading from Sanctuary en route now." He jumped on his motorcycle, revved the motor, and shot out of the driveway next to the barracks. "Advise Alpha leaders one through four, we have a compromise."
"Enforcer Chavin, order received and being forwarded. You'll be met by enforcers Warrant, Savant, and Crayven. Be advised, Director Wyatt will be en route."
