Page 104 of Fatal Mistake
“Cloak?” June asked.
Cal turned his attention back to her. “They’ll cover you with a specially coated metallic shield that will prevent a radio signal from getting through and arming the device.” Cal continued to keep his focus on June while sneaking quick looks at the bomb, trying to see anything different from the dummy bomb. He spotted a hole on the right side and got up to circle her.
“I feel like an animal in the zoo.” She laughed.
Cal found no reason to laugh. He dug out his phone. “I’m going to snap a few pictures of the device.”
“Should I smile?” June chuckled again.
Cal admired her attitude. He doubted he would be so relaxed in her situation. “You’re taking this awfully well.”
“You’re here to remove this, so why should I be worried?”
Why? Because I don’t know how to render this bomb safe, and until I figure it out, I can’t remove it.
June continued to peer up at him. “Will you start working on it now or wait for the bomb squad to arrive?”
The six-million-dollar question. He could grab tools from his car and try to remove the device like he’d done with Hadil, but if that device hadn’t been a dummy, both he and Hadil would be dead right now. Once he had a chance to study that bomb, he might be able to figure out what went wrong with the device and finally discover how to render this one safe.
“If you’re worried about Tara, she’s strong and resourceful,” June said. “After all, she managed to evade you for months.”
Despite the turmoil, Cal smiled.
June’s expression turned hopeful, and Cal came to a decision.
He was willing to risk his own life, but June’s? The woman who meant so much to Tara? No, that he wouldn’t do. He opened his mouth to tell her that her bomb was like a disease and there wasn’t yet a cure, but he couldn’t get the words out.
“You’re going to look for Tara instead. I understand, and the local squad will be fine.”
“No, it’s not that.”
Hope faded from her face. “You can’t disarm it, then.”
“Not yet, but I’ll figure it out.”
Her chin lifted. “I know you will, and I can wait.”
His anger flared over the situation. Over Tara missing, over all of the evil in the world that ended precious lives. He raised a hand to strike something. The wall, the chair, anything within spitting distance to release the pressure cooker in his gut.
“Looks like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” June said, catching his attention and distracting him.
“Not the whole world,” he joked, and shoved his hands into his pockets to contain the urge to lash out.
“Maybe not, but you’re worried about Tara and me, and if I’ve read you right, I suspect you’re carrying more than that around.”
Cal wasn’t about to share his struggles with her. “Something like that.”
She studied him, her perceptive eyes digging deep. “You guys might be these big strapping men with skills that simple country folks like me can’t even begin to imagine, but you’re just that. A man.”
“I know.”
“Do you, or do you think that you need to be perfect? That you don’t have flaws or know that there are times that you can’t figure something out?”
“I know. Trust me. People have died on my watch.”
“But how many people have you helped? Saved? Embrace that and let the other things fall away.”
Her words gave him hope, but then she hadn’t a clue about the cost of his failures. “You don’t understand.”
