Page 48 of Securing Jane

And if he let Carlin Sandburg see him, Storm knew she’d blow that bomb in her lap, if only in the vague hope that it would kill him too.

Turning his attention to his SEALs, Storm saw that Bubba was holding his Navy-issued sniper rifle. He was the best shot on the team, and Storm had never been so thankful to see anyone in his entire life. He wasn’t a fan of killing anyone, but he knew Bubba would be able to incapacitate Carlin without killing her, hopefully bringing this standoff to an end safely.

He gestured to the front of the vehicle with his head, knowing the sun’s position would temperately blind both Jane and Carlin. He’d been in line often enough to know what a pain in the ass the sunrise was while coming onto base at this time. They’d lucked out, and any moment now, he and the other SEALs could use that to their advantage.

Understanding, his men nodded. He pointed to where his hand was hidden by the door, hoping they’d figure out that he had hold of Jane. He then spun his free hand in circles and pointed in the direction in which he planned on extricating Jane from the vehicle.

Rocco nodded and said something to his teammates. Then Bubba and Gumby headed for positions directly in front of the car behind a police vehicle that had parked there to prevent Jane from getting onto the base, and Rocco disappeared around the edge of the guard shack.

Storm held his breath. There was no guarantee this would work. If Carlin was as good of an engineer as reports had indicated, they could all be in deep shit. The tear gas bomb she’d built had been good, so he had no doubt that the box in her lap was legit and could kill them all, like she claimed.

Determination welled up within Storm once again. No one fucked with his Jane.

Time seemed to slow down as he waited for the sun to get to the perfect point in the sky. Carlin’s tone got more and more agitated, and for a second, Storm thought they weren’t going to make it. That she’d get impatient and decide she was done waiting for Creasy to show up and detonate the bomb.

One second the air was filled with tense anticipation, and the next, the first rays of the sun burst above the horizon as if a beacon from God, pointing His finger at Carlin in condemnation.

It was a fanciful thought, and Storm didn’t have time to dwell on it. He knew he and his team had only seconds to act. That Carlin would realize her front side was vulnerable and surely someone would make a move to stop her deadly plans.

Looking up at Bubba, who he could see was lifting the rifle from about thirty yards in front of Jane’s vehicle, Storm held his breath.

He squeezed Jane’s hand hard, trying to warn her that the shit was about to hit the fan. He felt her tense—and then he moved.

Storm wrenched the car door open and pulled Jane toward him with all his strength.

She practically flew out of the seat and into his arms. He threw them both backward toward the open door of the guard shack as fast as he could. Storm needed to put as much distance between them and that bomb as possible.

He was counting on the suddenness of his movements to take Carlin off guard. That it would take her a moment to realize what was happening, that her hostage was escaping, before she could detonate the bomb in her lap. He hoped she would just give up—but he’d seen his share of both desperate and crazy people in his life, and he knew she wouldn’t go down easily.

Unfortunately for him and Jane, he was right. He heard Carlin scream a frustrated and anguished “no!” the moment Jane cleared the car…

A shot sounded from somewhere around them…

And then the world exploded.

Maybe not the world, but the car Jane had been sitting in seconds earlier.

Storm had managed to get them both through the guard shack and out the other side before the bomb went off, and he rolled until Jane was under him. He would’ve run with her, but didn’t want to do anything that would leave her vulnerable. Staying put wasn’t exactly safe, but was better than shrapnel tearing through her body as they ran. He covered her body with his own, closed his eyes, and prayed harder than he’d ever prayed in his life. The dubious protection of the guard shack wasn’t going to be enough to keep them completely safe, but he just hoped it would save their lives.

The noise was loud, deafening. Storm felt pain slam into his back as the bulletproof windows in the guard shack exploded, no match for the force of the bomb.

“Storm!” Jane cried from under him, but he didn’t budge. He held her tighter as debris rained down on them from what seemed like every direction. Despite his ears ringing and his back throbbing in pain, Storm refused to move, even when he thought the worst was past. He wasn’t going to take a chance that Carlin had survived and would come after Jane.

“Storm…” Jane called out again.

She sounded stressed, and Storm knew he had to check to make sure she hadn’t been hurt. That she wasn’t bleeding out or anything and needed medical assistance. He lifted his head a fraction of an inch and felt something fall off him. It seemed as if they were mostly buried under what was left of the guard shack. While it had collapsed on them, it had also protected them from the worst of the blast.

Storm’s back and legs throbbed, but he was alive. Jane was alive.

He looked into her eyes and saw that her pupils were so dilated, he almost couldn’t see the beautiful brown irises he’d fallen head over heals in love with.

“Storm?” she asked again.

Her hand was still in his, and he was holding it tightly between them. “Are you okay?” he croaked.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and just as he began to panic, she nodded. “Thanks to you, yes.”

“Fuck,” he said under his breath, the relief almost a palpable thing. “I love you,” he blurted, not even caring that now probably wasn’t the time or place for such a declaration. “The second I saw someone in your car with you, I knew something was wrong. I’m not letting you go,” he vowed. “You might not love me yet, but you will. I’ll do whatever it takes.”