Ricochet (Renegades #3)(77)
Author: Skye Jordan

Ryker chuckled. “Got yourself a little protégé, do you?”

Charlie grinned. “He’s got big potential. Giving guys like that little treats along the way keeps them interested, and calling the countdown would give him a thrill.”

“Fine with me.” Ryker scanned the crowd again but didn’t spot Rachel. Unease squeezed his gut. “Let’s make a final check with Brad that everyone’s been accounted for. I don’t see Rachel.”

Charlie’s brow fell in concern. They turned off the bridge and climbed the hill toward the temporary shelter they’d built as the command post, and he paused, turning to scan the crowd. “Brad coordinated with two deputies from the sheriff’s office to make sweeps of the danger zone and make sure no one was left behind… Wait, there she is.”

Charlie pointed and lifted his hand in a wave. Ryker followed his gesture and found Rachel at the helipad, standing next to Marx. She lifted her hand and wave back. Relief flashed first, then annoyance as Marx dropped his head close to hers and said something that made her look at him.

“Then we’re good to go.” Ryker turned away from the sight of them together and continued up the hill.

They met Ray, Brad, the county fire marshall and a sherriff’s deputy at the command post. They had fire and law enforcement personnel standing by at various locations around the site. Ray handed them all ear protection, and Ryker pulled his radio again. “Get those birds in the air, and we’ll start the countdown.”

“You got it.”

Jax made a circular motion with his arm, and the choppers lifted into the air one by one, angling away from each other and hovering into position—one on either side of the bridge, one directly overhead. Cameramen had been harnessed into the choppers and manned the cameras mounted in the open rear doorways.

“Beginning initial countdown,” Jax said over the radio.

“Roger that,” Ryker answered, then turned. “Ray. Get your ass out there with the bullhorn and call the countdown.”

He jerked a muffler off one ear, his dark eyes wide. “Me?”

He sounded like a little kid, and Ryker laughed. “Is there another Ray here?”

Charlie tossed him the bullhorn, and the smile that brightened Ray’s face could have provided enough light to illuminate the camp for twenty-four hours. He secured his mufflers again and stepped outside the hut, watching the choppers circle into position.

“Wait until they signal,” Ryker called, sliding his ear protectors into place. As soon as the choppers banked back toward the bridge, the one in the middle flashed its lights. “You’re on, Ray.”

Charlie, already secure with his own ear protection, picked up the ignition controller, and Ryker pressed his palms against the ledge of the window of bulletproof glass.

“Five,” Ray started through the bullhorn. Adrenaline rushed Ryker’s blood, and he leaned forward in anticipation. “Four. Three.”

The choppers swooped into place.

“Two. One,” Ray continued. “Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole!”

The first row of explosions ripped off with a perfect rat-a-tat-tat rhythm. Then the next. And the next. And they continued to light off with perfect precision as the filming choppers followed the progression in powerful, quick sweeps along the bridge.

Then it was over, the last row of explosions complete, the choppers swooping away and turning back toward the landing pad.

A slap on the back drew Ryker’s focus. He glanced over his shoulder and found everyone clapping and grinning, which was when he realized he couldn’t hear them—and it wasn’t because of the ear mufflers. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, and only that dark buzz sounded in his ears.

Charlie pulled Ryker’s headset off, his smile tightening in concern. “You all right, buddy?”

He rubbed at his ears, his hearing slowly returning. “Sure, sure.”

“Then why aren’t you howling with success?”

He didn’t know. “I can’t tell what it will look like on camera. I only know it went off as we planned.”

Charlie squeezed Ryker’s shoulder and pointed through the glass. “That’s how it went.”

Ryker looked that direction and found Jax clapping over his head. He’d been looking at an iPad that played back the footage of the filming immediately. But what thrilled Ryker was the sight of Rachel jumping up and down next to Jax, her hands meeting in enthusiasm. That was what told Ryker the footage was really good.

A thrill coursed through his chest, twining with something deeper, richer, something brimming with emotion. That finally brought a smile to his face and relief to his shoulders. He straightened, turned to the others, and shook hands, bumped fists, accepted congratulations.

When he turned back, his gaze seeking the sight of Rachel, he found her wrapped in a hug with Marx. His grin faded, and his chest compressed.

Charlie slapped Ryker’s back again. “Come on, buddy. Let’s make sure they all blew, then celebrate.”

Ryker focused hard on each hole he and the team had drilled and stuffed with RDX, making sure no explosive, no undetonated blasting cap was left behind.

By the time they cleared the bridge, Rachel was long gone, and the other members of the staff drifted back toward base camp.

“Go grab a shower, boss,” Charlie said. “The boys and I will clean up.”

Ryker didn’t want a shower. He wanted to talk to Rachel. Gauge her mood. Read her eyes. “Nah, I’m here until we put it all to bed.”

“We got this, boss.” Ray’s grin was infectious. “Go on. You deserve a break.”

Ryker glanced around the bridge. There wasn’t much to clean up, and he relented. “Call if you need me.”

He hustled down the hill with a mix of anticipation and fear forming a knot in his belly. When he stopped in at the office, it was dark. Then he heard laughter coming from the dining room and turned that direction. Peering through the lit windows, he found Rachel mixing drinks for the crew. Disappointment lowered his shoulders. He planted his hands on his hips and paced a large circle. Going in and getting trapped in the celebration wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Rachel. Alone.

He blew out a breath and paced another circle, staring at his feet. Maybe he’d go shower and check back.

The dining room door opened, and voices and laughter spilled into the night. The screen squeaked, and Ryker looked up. Rachel came through the door and closed it behind her.