Flash Burned (Burned 2)

No. Not a clicking noise.

A ticking one …

And a sharp dripping sound accompanied it.

“Oh, Jesus,” I hissed out. “Dane.”

He gripped my arm and guided me farther into the lobby, where the ticking echoed louder.

We weren’t the only ones to hear it now, and the ripple of, “What is that?” made the rounds. The electricians had flashlights on their tool belts, and beams of light swept the cavernous room.

Dane called out for my dad, and both and he and Kyle suddenly appeared at my elbow.

So, too, did Amano. “Dane.” The bodyguard pointed to the enormous table in the center of the lobby. The one situated below the to-die-for chandelier I admired every single morning when I came through the doors of 10,000 Lux.

At the table’s base, a little red light blinked.

My stomach dropped to my knees. “Oh, Lord,” I whispered. “Is that…?” I couldn’t even say the word.

“Bomb,” Dane ground out urgently. “And whatever’s spilling from the base … My guess is, it’s flammable. Somehow they shoved something up there. A pipe bomb? I don’t fucking know.” He thrust me toward Kyle. “Get her out of here. Now!”

“What?” I cried out, instantly distressed. “Dane, no!”

“Ari, just do as I tell—”

“I’m not leaving without you!”

“Fuck!” he roared. Then to my dad and Kyle, he demanded, “Get her out of here! Right this very minute! All of you”—he announced to the crowd in an urgent voice—“get as far away from the building as possible! Across the grounds!”

He shouted more orders for everyone to evacuate the lobby. Amano raced toward the bank of elevators and pulled the fire alarm. Then he was on his cell, issuing strict instructions to whoever was on the other end of the line to get out.

I was rooted where I stood, paralyzed by fear. Kyle’s arm shot around my waist and he yanked at me. My dad had my forearm. They started to pull me away from Dane.

“No!” I cried out as I gripped a fistful of his jacket. “I’m not leaving without you!” I yelled, fear seizing my soul. “You have to come with us!” My heart thundered. My pulse raced. Terror tore through me. “Dane!”

“Ari!” Kyle snapped. “Do as he says! Go with me!”

“No, I—”

Wrenching my hand free of his sleeve, Dane insisted, “Go!” Then he turned away, rushing about, getting the employees hustling toward the doors.

A mass exodus ensued. I struggled every step of the way, thrashing in Kyle’s strong embrace, screaming at him and my father to let me go. My arms flailed and I kicked at Kyle’s shins as he lifted me slightly off the ground to make a hasty retreat.

“I can’t leave him!” I cried. “Put me down!”

“Shut the hell up, Ari!” Kyle bit back.

I craned my neck to get a glimpse of Dane and Amano ushering out the kitchen staff as the flashlights provided just enough illumination for everyone to find their way.

“Dane!” I called out again just as we passed through the twenty-foot double doors of the lobby.

There were panicked and confused hollers above the eerily piercing fire alarm as we burst into the resort’s valet area, the outdoor lights from the decorations and fountains edging the glow of twilight. We were some of the last people out—making it well past the entrance and the circular drive and to the grounds and waterfalls beyond. I screamed bloody murder all the way as I tried to free myself of Kyle’s vise grip.

Then a thunderous roar filled the quiet night, simultaneous with a massive explosion that propelled those of us closest to the lobby off our feet and hurled us toward the marble-trimmed waterfalls, along with shattered glass and wooden splinters.

I hit the side of one of those short marble encasements, with Kyle’s body sprawled heavily on top of mine. The ground shook beneath us.

I screamed again as searing pain ripped through me. Tears flooded my eyes. Above the ringing in my ears, I heard—all around me—the others yelling, sobbing, screeching. The debris rained down, mostly landing in thick treetops or the water so that it splashed everywhere.