Alpha One (Shadow Agents #1)(10)
Author: Cynthia Eden

After a moment’s hesitation, Juliana nodded. “Yes.” She cleared her throat. “Thanks for all you’ve done today… I just… You’ve always been so good to me.”

Charles offered her a sad smile. “And you’ve been good to me.” He gave her a little salute and shoved the back door closed. “Take care of her,” he said to Logan.

I intend to do just that.

Logan caught Juliana’s hand and steered her away from the grave. “I’m not leaving town yet,” he told her. “In fact, I’m going to be staying in Jackson for a while.”

Her eyes widened. “Why?”

They were moving faster now. His truck waited just a few steps away. There was no sign of Gunner. “Because I want to be with you.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “But— What?”

An engine cranked. The limo. It would be pulling away soon, then they could—

The explosion threw Logan right off his feet. The heat of the fire lanced his skin and lifted him up into the air. He clutched Juliana, holding her as best he could. They flew through the air and slammed against the same magnolia tree he’d stood under moments before.

Son of a bitch.

“Juliana!” Fear nearly froze his heart.

But she was fine. She pushed against him, and he raised up to see a gash bleeding on her forehead. Her eyes were wide and horrified with understanding. “Oh, my God,” she whispered and her head turned toward the burning remains of the limo. “The driver…”

There wasn’t anything they could do for the poor guy now. Logan didn’t waste time speaking. He grabbed Juliana, lifted her into his arms and raced for his pickup.

Gunner was out there. He’d seen what happened—he’d be radioing for backup and making sure EMT personnel were called. There were injured people on the ground, folks who’d been burned and blasted. Law enforcement who’d been at the funeral were swarming as they tried to figure out what was happening.

Chaos. That was happening.

Logan kept running. Right then, Juliana was his only priority. The others would have to attend to the injured. He had to get her out of there.

“Logan, put me down! We’ve got to help them! Stop it, just stop!” Fury thundered in her words as she fought wildly against his hold.

That fury didn’t slow him a bit. With one arm, he yanked open the truck’s passenger-side door, and with the other, he pushed her inside.

She immediately tried to jump out.

“Don’t.” A lethal warning. Fury rode him, too. She’d come too close to death. He could have stood there and watched her die. “Who do you think that bomb was meant for? The driver…or you?”

Juliana paled even more and shook her head. “But…the people… They’re hurt…”

She’d always had that soft spot. A weakness that just might get her killed one day.

But not today. “Stay in the truck.” He slammed the door and raced around to the driver’s side. Two seconds later, he was in the truck, and they were roaring away from the scene.

The limo was supposed to have been swept for bombs. Every vehicle linked to her should have been swept. Someone had screwed up, and Juliana had almost paid for that mistake with her life.

The driver had.

“That was…an accident, right?”

The woman was trying to lie to herself. “I don’t think so.”

Sirens wailed behind them. Logan glanced in his rearview mirror and saw the dark clouds of smoke billowing up into the air. His gaze turned toward the road as he shoved the gas pedal down to the floorboard. The truck’s motor roared.

His hands tightened on the wheel. A deadly mistake.

“But…it’s safe now.” She just sounded lost. “It’s supposed to be safe.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw her hands clench in her lap. Her voice came, soft, confused. “You said…you said once I got back to the U.S., I’d be safe.”

“I was wrong.”

* * *

LOGAN TOOK HER to a cheap hotel on the outskirts of Jackson. She didn’t talk any more during the drive. She couldn’t. Every time she opened her mouth to speak, Juliana could taste ash on her tongue.

I’m sorry, Charles. He’d been with her father for over twenty years. To die like that…

She swallowed. More ash.

The truck braked. She followed Logan, feeling like a robot. Only, her steps were slow, wooden. He tossed a wad of cash at the desk clerk and ordered the kid to forget that he ever saw them. Then they pushed inside the last room, the one located at the edge of the parking lot.

A ceiling fan fluttered overhead when Logan flipped the light switch. Juliana’s gaze swept around the small room. A sagging bed. One bed. A scarred desk. A lumpy chair. The place had pay-by-the-hour written all over it.

“You’re bleeding.”

Juliana glanced over at the sound of Logan’s voice. She saw that his stare was focused on her forehead. Lifting her hand, she touched the drying blood. She’d forgotten about that. “It’s just a scratch.”

Her dress was torn, slitting up a bit at the knee. And said knee felt as if it had slammed into a tree—because it had.

“You’re too calm.”

What? Was she supposed to be screaming? Breaking down? She wasn’t exactly the breaking-down type. Right then, all she could think was…

What’s next?

And how would she handle it?

“Shock.” He took her hand and led her to the matchbox bathroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

She wrenched away from him as anger began to finally boil past the numbness holding her in check. “I’m not a child, Logan.”

He blinked his sky-blue eyes at her. The brightest blue she’d ever seen. Those eyes could burn hot or flash ice-cold. Right then, they held no emotion at all. “I never said you were.”

“I can clean myself up.” She took slow, measured steps to the bathroom. Took slow, deep breaths—so she wouldn’t scream at him. “Stop acting like I’m about to fall apart.”

“Someone just tried to kill you. A little falling apart is expected.”

Near the chipped bathroom door, Juliana paused and looked back at him. “Why do the expected?”

He stared at her as if he’d never seen her before. Maybe he hadn’t. “Your father’s gone.” Now there was anger punching through his words. “Your car just exploded into a million pieces all over a graveyard. Want to tell me why you’re so cool?”