Free Shockwave (Calendar Men: Mr. May) by D.L. Jackson

what we’re dealing with.”
    She nodded and he ran into the hall.
    A couple of guests poked their heads out as he sprinted to the stairwell and a shattered window facing the north side of the building.
    Tanner approached the destroyed window and looked out. A huge crater, several feet deep, sat at the back of the parking lot, off the edge of a large empty field. Vehicles near where the bomb detonated were in pieces, lying on their roofs and sides. Everywhere shrapnel had sprayed, he could see damage. In the distance, car alarms sounded and a child screamed. Approaching sirens wailed. People began to gather around ground zero, which would contaminate the crime scene, and put them at potential risk if there were any other explosions. He shoved his hands into his hair and stared.
    Fuck!   He’d hoped what he’d heard hadn’t been a bomb. Evidence said otherwise.
    The parking lot looked like a war zone.
     
    His girlfriend?   Her focus vanished after he said it. He couldn’t have meant the relationship—dating—kind of friend. How could he? Lannie disconnected after the operator gathered all her information and as much as she could provide on Tanner. She sucked in a deep breath. Could he?
    She tucked the phone in her cleavage, something sure to earn a lecture from Noni if she’d seen where she’d stuck the cell. It buzzed. Without looking, she answered, thinking the 911 operator had forgotten something.
    “Slut. Consider that a warning. Stay away from Tanner North. The next time I’ll....” The phone went dead and the lights in the room popped off. Lannie glanced at the screen. No service . Her heart thumped against her ribs.
    Emergency protocol? Or something the bomber did? She had to warn him the blast had been an attack, not an accident, and the bomber had targeted her. The nut-job might still be out there. Watching. The woman had her number, knew she’d spent the night with him. She didn’t have to hear the rest to know what the she would’ve said. Next time I’ll kill you .
    The hair on her neck stood on end. She crammed her feet into her boots as fast as she could and then bolted out of the room. Lannie grabbed a pajama-clad man standing in the hall. “Go door-to-door and make sure everyone is okay. Keep them inside.” She didn’t give him a chance to ask questions. She had to find Tanner and warn him. The bomber might be after him, too.
    She caught him outside, several feet from where her vehicle had been parked. When she looked down, she gasped and slapped a hand over her mouth. Her baby. Gone. She’d made the last payment three weeks before. The hole left behind looked at least three feet deep.
    Emergency crews had arrived and, everywhere, people scrambled to tape off the area and keep bystanders back.
    “It was your car, wasn’t it?” Tanner turned around.
    She nodded. “Anybody hurt?”
    “Don’t know. Several of the windows on the first floor blew in.” He walked around to the side and squatted, studying some debris. Lannie started toward him and he raised his hand, signaling her to stop. “Crime scene.”
    “Right.” She swallowed and closed her eyes. “I hope everyone’s okay.”
    “It happened pretty early in the morning. Empty parking lot.” He stood and turned to eye the windows. “Police and EMTs are going through the rooms now, but the hotel clerk said most were unoccupied, with today being Monday morning.” Tanner started back toward her. “Do you have any idea who might have had an issue with you?”
    “No, but the person who blew up my car is a woman.”
    Tanner’s brows drew together. “And you know this how?”
    “She called after I hung up with 911.” Lannie drew the phone out of her bra, handing the Android to him. “I lost service before she finished. She doesn’t want me around you. I don’t know how she got my number or knew I’d gotten a room here.”
    “I’ve got a few stalkers, and they’re pretty good at getting their hands on information they