CHAPTER EIGHT
Sonya watched the bomb squad go to work. She wanted to scream, to give in and promise to quit looking for Heather Bradley. She didn’t want people she cared about to be in danger because of her. She looked at the muscle jumping in Brandon’s jaw and knew even if she decided to stop looking, he wouldn’t.
The twitching muscle, narrowed eyes and hands on his hips shouted his determination to figure out who had just tried to blow him—them—up.
The clock pushed eleven-thirty and she texted Missy and told her friend to just go on to bed. Missy told her where to find the key, but made her promise to tell her everything in the morning.
Sonya agreed, but wondered if she’d even make it to her friend’s house by morning. At this rate, she didn’t know if she’d even be alive come morning. She swallowed hard and forced those thoughts from her mind. “Please, Lord, let us figure out who Heather Bradley is and who doesn’t want us to know. I really don’t want to die over this.”
The whispered prayer echoed through her mind even as she walked over to hear Brandon ask, “How would it be detonated? It was under the back of the car. The person didn’t have time to attach anything to the ignition.”
“It wasn’t going to go off until the person wanted it to.”
“Remote detonation?”
“Yeah.”
Brandon cocked his head. “I don’t understand. We were all standing around the car at one point. Whoever had the remote could have blown us all to our final reward.”
The bomb-squad member held up two wires. “These weren’t attached. In order for the bomb to be remotely accessed, these wires have to be attached. My guess is you scared him off before he got them connected.” He shook his head. “You guys are one lucky group.”
Sonya swallowed hard. “I don’t really care why. I think I’ll just be grateful it didn’t go off.”
“I sure would be.”
The man walked away and Brandon stepped over to Sonya. She looked up at him, thankful he was still here with her. She moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He patted her back and gave her a hug. She stepped back. “Please don’t ever put yourself in danger like that again.”
He sighed. “I didn’t realize I was in any danger until I saw the bomb.” He paused. “And I guess I wasn’t really in any danger if the bomb wasn’t going to go off. Sure spiked my adrenaline when I saw it, though.”
Neighbors crowded their porches and people moved into the street to get a better view of the happenings at her house. Sonya groaned. Just what she needed. An audience and an endless parade of neighbors with offers of help. Not that she didn’t appreciate their kindness, but—
“Sonya?”
She turned. Doris Talbot. Her mother’s best friend. The woman barely topped five feet and she was as wide as she was tall. Her heart was just as big and Sonya loved her dearly. She walked over and gave the woman a hug, inhaling the scent of mountain-fresh fabric softener and Pine-Sol. “Hi.” This was one neighbor she didn’t mind seeing.
“Honey, what’s going on?”
“It’s a really long story.”
Mrs. Talbot glanced around at the flashing lights and milling law-enforcement officers. “I’ll say.” Her gaze lasered in on Sonya’s throat. “What happened to you?”
“I had a little incident at work.” Sonya had an idea. “Mrs. Talbot, did my mother ever say anything to you about a baby named Heather Bradley?”
“Heather Bradley?” She wrinkled her brow. “No, not that I recall. Why?”
Sonya forced a smile. “No reason. Mom just seemed really upset in her last few days and I can’t figure out why.”
“And you think a baby had something to do with it?”
“Maybe.” Sonya sighed. It was late and Mrs. Talbot had sweat dripping into her eyes. As much as she’d like to continue questioning the woman, she knew she had heart issues. Being out in this humid heat and all the excitement of having law enforcement practically in her backyard probably wasn’t good for her. She placed a hand on the woman’s upper arm. “Why don’t we talk tomorrow? I can explain a little more then.”
“That’s fine. What time? I’ll make a dessert.”
Sonya mentally went through her day tomorrow. She didn’t have to work, but she did have to pick up her car. “Now, don’t go to any trouble.” She knew she would regardless of the admonishment. “How about we make it lunch? I’ll pick up some sandwiches. My treat.”
The older woman’s eyes lit up. “That sounds lovely.”
Sonya gave her another hug. “Why don’t you go home and cool off? All of the excitement around here is getting ready to come to an end anyway.”
“Oh, yes. What happened?”
Sonya hesitated. “I thought I saw someone lurking outside my house.” No way was she going to tell the woman about the bomb under Brandon’s car. If she didn’t recognize the bomb-squad vehicle, Sonya wasn’t going to fill her in.
“What?” Mrs. Talbot placed a hand against her chest. “Oh, my. How dreadful. I won’t sleep a wink tonight.”
Sonya sighed. “Really, I don’t think you have a thing to worry about. Please, get some rest. You’re not in any danger. If there was someone here, he’s long gone by now.”
Mrs. Talbot looked uncertain. Then she gave a slow nod. “Guess I’ll just have to trust the good Lord to keep me safe, eh?”
“Exactly.” Trust in the Lord with all your heart…
“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow, dear.”
“Tomorrow.”
Mrs. Talbot waddled home and Sonya turned to find Brandon watching her. He smiled. “You ready to go to Missy’s?”
“Yes, but I have one question.”
“What’s that?”
“You’ve got people who are going to be watching out for Missy and me, but who’s going to be watching out for you?”
He trailed a gentle finger down her cheek and she shivered at the heat his touch evoked. “You don’t need to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Not if someone decides to blow you up,” she said. She knew it was blunt, but the fact remained that less than thirty minutes ago he’d had a bomb under his car.
He nodded. “Good point. But now that I know the attacks aren’t limited to just you, I’ll be more aware and on guard.”
Sonya ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “Okay.” She told him about having lunch with her neighbor tomorrow.
He nodded. “Do you mind if I join you?”
“Of course I don’t mind.” She gave him a small smile. “But I’ll warn you. Mrs. Talbot is an outrageous flirt. Anytime there’s a good-looking man around, her flirt radar is triggered.”
His lips tipped upward. “So you think I’m good-looking?”
Sonya felt the heat arrive in her cheeks with a rush. “Um…well. Uh…sure.”
He laughed. A laugh so full of amusement that it caught the attention of the other men. Peter raised a brow and Max sent a bemused grin in their direction.
Sonya allowed her own grin to spread. “Oh, wow, you really took advantage of that one, didn’t you?”
“Sorry. I couldn’t resist.” Brandon snickered one more time, then traced her lips with a finger. “Now, that is a genuine smile.”
A sweet tingling sensation spread through her. She snapped her lips together, but knew her eyes still held her laughter. He snagged her fingers with his. “Come on. I’ll take you to Missy’s.”
The lighthearted moment felt strange given the seriousness of the situation, but she needed it. Desperately. Even though she was a tad embarrassed. Still, she could laugh at herself and decided that was a good thing. When he met Mrs. Talbot tomorrow, he wouldn’t be laughing so hard.
But she probably would be.
* * *
Brandon walked into the office at seven-thirty the next morning. He found his sergeant, Christine Adams, drinking a cup of coffee and staring at the fax machine. His boss was a short woman, not more than five feet two inches, with dark brown hair she wore pulled up in a bun. She wore her makeup like body armor and he’d never seen her without it. “You have a minute, Sarge?”
Christine lowered her mug and lifted her dark eyes from the machine. “I guess standing here isn’t going to get me the information any faster. Come on in my office.”
Brandon followed her and shut the door behind him. Christine took a seat behind her desk and motioned him to one of the vacant chairs along the opposite wall, where he sat. “What’s up?”
Brandon leaned back and crossed his legs. “I guess you heard about the excitement last night?”
“Some of it. Someone planted a bomb on your car?”
“Exactly.”
“Who are you making mad?”
“Good question.”
Christine pursed her lips and steepled her fingers in front of her as she studied him. “You need some time?”
“I think I do.”
“I think you may be right. Someone planting a bomb on your vehicle is pretty serious stuff. Nothing to play around with.”
“That’s kind of the way I feel about it.”
She nodded. “What can we do to help?”
He shrugged. “Hector said he’d cover our cases for me. If he needs help, it would be good to have another detective available.”
“We can do that. What else?”
“Can I let you know as things come up?”
“Of course.” Christine frowned. “Keep me updated, Brandon. You’re a good detective and I don’t want to lose you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. And the time.”
She nodded. Her phone rang and she lifted a hand to wave. His dismissal. He didn’t take it personally. He liked Christine and respected her. She was good at her job and she took care of her detectives. He appreciated that.
Brandon went to his office and found Hector at his desk. “I’m taking off a few days.”
“If someone planted a bomb on my car, I would, too.”
“That’s not the only reason, but I’m going to need your help.”
“You name it.”
Brandon sat down. “You got a minute?”
“All day.”
“Then I want to tell you what’s going on.”
For the next few minutes, Brandon brought his partner up to speed on everything that had happened from the time Sonya had walked into his office until he’d found the bomb under his car.
Hector shook his head. “And you have no idea who this Heather Bradley is?”
“Just that she was kidnapped as an infant.”
“And you think Sonya Daniels is Heather.”
“Maybe. She looks like Don Bradley and favors Ann a bit.” He shrugged. “I dropped some samples off at the lab, so I’m still waiting for the results.”
“What’s your gut feeling?”
“My gut says she’s Heather Bradley and the kidnapper knows she’s back.”