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Everything fell silent. Cole stepped out of the room and took a step toward her. She shook her head for him not to approach. Something was off about the whole situation, and she wanted to keep as much of it contained as possible until she knew more.
“I’m alone, but Gennessey, you can’t come in. If you try…the door is rigged. Everything is rigged. If I move or you try to come in…Gennessey, please. Just go. Protect Cohen. Don’t worry about me.”
“Autumn, are you telling me there’s a…” Her voice trailed off as she found herself unable to say the word.
“A bomb. Yes. You have to get out of here. I don’t know how long I can sit still.”
Gennessey took a deep breath. “I’m not leaving you. I need as much information as you can tell me.”
“Gennessey, please. Cohen will never forgive me if you get killed because of me. There’s nothing you can do but go.” Autumn’s voice broke, and Gennessey’s heart followed suit.
“Cohen will never forgive me if I don’t try to get you out of here in one piece. I’ll try to get in the room next door and come in through the connecting door. We’ll figure this out.”
“The wire goes across that door too. If you open it, it’ll…”
“Push against the wire and set off the bomb. Got it,” Gennessey responded. “What about the balcony? I could come in from there.”
“The balcony? You can’t scale the building to get to the balcony. You could fall and break your neck or worse. Besides, my back is to it. I can’t see how much of the room is connected. But I don’t think they left any place untouched.”
“Okay. Sit tight for me. I’m not leaving you alone. We’re in this together. My team is with me, and we’ll figure this out. Just give me a second. Trust me, Autumn. I’ve got you. You’re not alone.”
Gennessey’s declaration met with silence. “Autumn?”
“I trust you.”
Gennessey rushed down the hall and slipped into the room where the team had been waiting. Cole must have heard enough to duck back inside and brief them on what they were facing.
“We need to evacuate the building,” she said without preamble. “But I’m not leaving her. She’s family. I’m not going anywhere without her.”
Cole placed his hands on her shoulders and lowered his head until they were eye-to-eye. “BB’s waiting on you on the balcony outside the room. As far as he could tell, the double doors are not wired. Wings, Sam and Zane are going to clear the building, and I’ve called it in to the local police department to mobilize the bomb squad. We can’t wait for them to respond, but BB is running point. You keep Autumn calm and leave the bomb to him.”
“You need to go too,” she said softly. “You have Syd to worry about.”
“We all have family to worry about. But you and BB are as much my family as Sydney. I’m not going anywhere. I need you to keep it together and be strong and calm. We’re walking away from this.”
She nodded. “Copy that.”
Zane grabbed her arm and led her out onto the balcony. The balconies were close together, but he still equipped her with a harness to secure her to the building should she fall. Her heart pounded, and she could feel fear start to creep up from the pit of her stomach and spreading through her limbs, paralyzing her.
There was a lot at stake, and she suddenly doubted she could protect those she cared about. She’d never questioned her abilities before, but now, she wondered if her family wasn’t right about her place not being with this job.
“Don’t,” Zane said as he secured the harness.
“What?”
“Don’t second guess yourself. If Panther doubted you could do this, even as personally invested as you are, he wouldn’t put you in play. You know you’ve got this. Whatever baggage this visit home has brought up for you has no place here.”
She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. “You’re right. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just go join BB and save the day. Then you can tell us all about how you two are a thing now.”
Her eyes bugged out of the sockets. “What?”
He smirked. “We’ve seen it coming. We were just waiting for the two of you to get your heads out of your asses. You’re a good team. That’s what is going to carry you through this and anything that comes in the future. Get to work and let’s end this.”
“Thanks, Zane. I needed that.”
She looked over and saw BB watching her from a couple of balconies over. His gaze was direct, assessing her to see if she was up to the task. She squared her shoulders and moved over to the railing.
