Page 33 of Best Laid Plans

And something tells me that there will be a next time.

As I head in, I pull out my cell phone and call Mitch. He answers after the first ring. “I’m heading to the chopper now.”

“Might as well turn around.”

“Ah fuck. I can still come.”

“No need to paint a target on your back, but I’ll call if shit changes.”

“Fine. Though I want to hear what the fuck is going on later.”

“You got it,” I tell him before hanging up. Right now I have shit to do and a woman to find.

Chapter Eleven

LIL

I’ll admit, I jump out of my skin when I see a firefighter charging at me, but then I spot Lucy running full pelt and recognize the way the man moves.

“Powers?”

He rips off his helmet a second before I’m up in his arms, and his lips crash down on mine. Relief surges through me, cool and crisp like summer rain after a month-long drought.

“Fuck, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too. I heard the explosion. I was so worried.” I brush my thumb across his forehead, noticing a small cut.

“We were far enough away when it blew that the worst injuries were a blown eardrum or two and some scrapes. I’ll make sure people know to watch out for primary blast injuries, but we were lucky.”

“We all were. The principal didn’t want to listen to start with. I get it—I could have been a crazy person—and with the danger kids already face in school thanks to guns and shit, I didn’t blame her for being wary. I just didn’t have time to argue my point. I tracked down Theo and pulled the fire alarm outside his room, not wanting to have to look for him in a crowd.”

“Smart. Any injuries?”

“Not from the blast itself. Got a sprained ankle from someone taking a tumble down the stairs, and a diabetic had a hypo, but she’s doing much better now. I still want the paramedic to check her out. They here yet?”

“Arriving on scene now,” a voice says from behind me.

I turn and find the fire captain with his helmet under his arm. “Hear we have you to thank for the evacuation.”

“Sorry about pulling the alarm. It was all I could think of.”

“No, you did well. You both did.” He looks at Powers. “You sure there was nothing else?”

“As sure as I can be. Nothing caught Lucy’s attention, at least. But I’d talk the principal into keeping the school closed tomorrow for a long weekend anyway, as a safety precaution until the cops can get a team out here to sweep the place again.”

“Already working on it. Not sure the principal likes me much, though.”

“Join the club.” I chuckle, feeling exhausted now that the adrenaline is wearing off.

“Why don’t you go home and crash? I bet there are a lot of anxious people wanting to see with their own eyes that you’re both okay.” He offers Powers his hand, and they shake before he holds his hand out to me. I shake it too, happy it worked out today. But I can’t help but feel the tendrils of panic racing up my spine, telling me this is just the beginning.

I slip my hand into Powers’s and let him lead me out before I remember I’ve left Nathan behind. “Shit, we forgot about Nathan.”

“I passed him on the way in. He was talking to one of the cops. Said to take you home and rest. You’ve had a long day. He knows what he’s doing.”

“Don’t we need to stay and talk to them, too?”

“After the way they treated you this morning? They can suck my fucking dick,” he snaps, making me glad the building is empty of kids.