Free Short Fuse: Elite Operators, Book 2 by Rebecca Crowley Page B

radius the blast was likely to have—and then she remembered that if the bomb went off, he’d be dead. She skidded to a halt, turning to look back at the shed. It appeared so unremarkable from the outside—just a cheaply constructed, weatherworn wooden building. You’d never have the slightest inkling that inside a man was racing the clock to save his own life.
    She’d made it another hundred meters toward the muster point when Cedric jogged up to her side with Alex at his heels. As she shaded her eyes with her hand she saw Dan coming toward them from the direction of the office, moving slowly, his stocky body rocking with effort.
    “Everyone’s at the muster point,” Cedric reported breathlessly. “The shift leaders will keep them corralled.”
    “Copley’s in there now?” Alex indicated the shed.
    She nodded, assuming Cedric had told him and Dan about the situation. “Have either of you seen Roger?”
    They both shook their heads. Cedric’s attempt at hiding his irritation was significantly more successful than Alex’s.
    “How much time do we have?” Dan called, his face ruddy as he finally reached them.
    She checked the clock on her phone, and rued her failure to note the time more accurately when she’d seen the minutes tick down in the shed. “About five minutes, I think.”
    For a moment all four of them stared at the shed in silence.
    “Are we too close?” Alex broke in, his voice reedy and nervous. “How big is the bomb?”
    “I have no idea.” She recalled the noise the debris had made as it hit Warren’s hardhat. How close had they been then?
    She remembered his bolstering smile, the iron pressure of his arms as he’d held her close. She wrapped her arms around herself. She was trembling all over.
    Cedric’s slim figure was beside her, his hand on her shoulder.
    “He’ll get it shut down,” he assured her. “These Special Task Force guys are famous, even here in Latadi. He’ll be fine.”
    “How much time?” Alex asked hollowly. She shrugged. She couldn’t bear to check.
    “I think we should move.” Dan began to back up. “Let’s go behind the office.”
    Alex copied him, and the two of them went stumbling backward as though they couldn’t take their eyes off the shed.
    “It can’t be more than a minute now.” Alex picked up the pace, and Dan followed suit.
    Nicola glanced at Cedric, but his eyes were on the wooden building, his expression unafraid. Suddenly he grinned, and slapped his hands together in a triumphant clap.
    She snapped her gaze back to the shed just in time to see Warren emerging from the doorway, the timing device in one hand and the explosive sticks in the other.
    Her mind became a blank haze of relief and gratitude, and the next thing she knew she was sprinting toward him, tears welling in her eyes.
    He stopped to arrange the dismantled pieces on the ground, and she reached him just as he straightened, crashing blindly into his chest as she flung her arms around his neck. Through her sobs she was dimly aware of shocked hesitation on his part, before he rested his hands tentatively on her back, but she didn’t care. He was warm and breathing in her grip, and that was all that mattered.
    “Don’t ever do that again,” she chided harshly. “Let the equipment blow up.”
    If she hadn’t been so overcome with relief, she might have been annoyed by Warren’s laughing response. He extricated himself gently from her grasp and held her at arm’s length.
    “It’s my job.” His smile was loose and easy, but there was sweat on his brow.
    Cedric jogged up and Warren dropped his hold on Nicola to accept the smaller man’s vigorous handshake.
    “Great work, Sergeant.” Cedric grinned. “Amazing stuff.” In the distance Alex and Dan clapped and gave him a thumbs-up.
    Warren shrugged, clearly embarrassed by the attention. Nicola felt her breathing return to normal as she tried to swipe covertly at her eyes, now equally embarrassed at her excessive display