Evidence of Passion (Shadow Agents #7)(24)
Author: Cynthia Eden

“Rachel!” It was a man’s scream. The man running across the street. “Get. Out!”

The car’s engine sputtered. The vehicle was in top condition—always perfectly maintained because it belonged to the EOD. It shouldn’t have sputtered.

I know what that sputter means.

And he knew who the man was—the man shouting because he was so afraid.

“Get out!” Dylan yelled as fear froze his own blood. Not fear for him, but for Rachel. Her fingers were fumbling with the seat belt. He jerked the belt free. She opened her door. He shoved her toward the sidewalk. “Run!”

Then Dylan pushed open his door. He lunged out—

The car exploded.

Dylan felt a wave of fire rush over his skin, and then he was flying, hurtling through the air as the force of the blast picked him up and tossed him ten feet.

He landed in the middle of the street. The pavement tore off the skin on his lower arms. He rolled, tumbling, and car lights blinded him as the vehicles screeched to a stop near him.

The thunder of the explosion slowly faded. Dylan shoved up to his feet. He had only one thought then—only one person mattered.

“Rachel!”

He spun back toward the car.

And saw nothing but a wall of flames.

* * *

RACHEL LAY ON the ground like a broken doll.

Her hair was spread beneath her. Her arms limp.

Jack crouched over her. Others were running toward them now. His fingers slid to her throat. Felt for her pulse.

Alive.

Jack exhaled slowly. “You shouldn’t have been in the car with him.” This was all Dylan’s fault.

“Rachel!”

Jack jerked at the bellow. His head snapped up and his eyes narrowed. So Dylan had survived, too.

Unfortunate.

But Dylan was on the other side of those flames. Dylan couldn’t see him. Not yet.

It had been so long since he’d touched Rachel. Jack’s fingers slid over her throat.

Her eyes fluttered, then cracked open. It was dark, and the flames were behind him. He wasn’t sure that she could see his face.

Even if she did, would she recognize him?

Doubtful. He slowly slid back. Bodies bumped into him. People who were eager to help Rachel.

And the EOD agent was fighting to get to her side.

He backed up a bit more and took off his baseball cap. It would be easier to just blend in with the crowd.

He was good at blending in.

Dylan Foxx rushed by him, so close that their shoulders collided.

Dylan didn’t even spare him a second glance. The man was too consumed, too focused on Rachel.

Anger churned within Jack. She isn’t yours, Agent Foxx. She never will be.

* * *

RACHEL OPENED HER EYES and saw a swirl of faces above her. And just behind them, flames shot into the sky.

She was pretty sure those flames had been a car a few moments before.

“Dylan!” She shoved to her feet and pushed through the crowd that had gathered. Where was he? Where—

Hard hands caught her and yanked her tightly against a strong, muscled body. The scent of smoke clung to Dylan as he held her in a grip that crushed her. “I was afraid you wouldn’t get out,” he whispered. His mouth was close to her neck, his breath rushing over her skin.

She held him just as fiercely. They’d both nearly died in that car. “He did it.” Jack. He’d set Dylan up to die.

Only… You came back to warn me. He’d wanted her out of the car, and he’d rushed toward them just before the vehicle exploded.

If Jack had been at the scene then… Rachel pushed against Dylan. “He’s still here.” Her gaze scanned the crowd of onlookers. Some were staring at the flames with wide eyes. Some were even snapping pictures on their phones.

“He had on a baseball cap,” she whispered. That part she remembered.

And she remembered the sound of his bellowing cry. Rachel! Get out!

He’d been ready to watch Dylan die, but he hadn’t been ready to let her go.

Fury churned within her. She turned so that her back bumped into Dylan’s chest. There was one man close by who wore a baseball cap. He was snapping a picture of the flames. But he was too small to be Jack. He appeared to be barely five foot seven, and Jack—he was well over six feet.

Where are you?

“Rachel! Dylan!” Thomas pushed through the crowd. His gaze flew over them. “You need medics.”

She didn’t. Okay, her head had slammed into the concrete pretty hard when the blast had knocked her down, but she was fine. Rachel looked over at Dylan. Her breath expelled on a hard rush when she saw the dark splotches on his clothes. Blood. She’d been so happy to see him before that she hadn’t even realized he was hurt.

But Dylan shook his head. “We search the crowd. Now. He’s here.”

Cops were there. EMTs. A fire truck raced toward them.

“It was a bomb,” Dylan said, jaw hardening. “Set to go when I turned the ignition.”

She didn’t want to think about how close she’d just come to losing Dylan. Despite the heat from the flames, Rachel’s skin felt chilled.

She straightened her shoulders. “I’ll find him.” She took a step forward.

The world seemed to grow darker then. Was the smoke thickening? Her head throbbed, and her knees gave way.

Rachel would have slammed right into the ground again but strong hands caught her. She was lifted up, held tightly and a voice said, “I’ve got you.”

That wasn’t Dylan’s voice. Dylan didn’t have a faint Irish brogue.

She looked into Aidan’s eyes. Aidan looked stunned. Scared. His eyes were wide as he tried to settle her on her feet again.

Only her legs didn’t quite seem to be working the way they should.

“I heard the explosion. It reminded me…back in Ireland, there were so many attacks when I was a boy,” Aidan told her, pain echoing in his voice. His beard was gone and his face seemed to reflect the terror he felt.

Dizziness rushed through Rachel before she could respond to him. Her body swayed. This time Dylan was the one to steady her. “Rachel? Baby, what is it?”

Then Dylan’s fingers were sliding through her hair, and she jerked when he touched the spot that hurt and throbbed the worst. “Concussion,” he said. “Damn it, Rachel, you should’ve told me!”

It was a bump on the head. Nothing more. So small. She’d walked away from plenty worse.

But her legs weren’t walking now. And even though Rachel tried to talk to Dylan, she couldn’t.

Because the darkness claimed her once more.