Crushed (Partners in Crime Book 3)

Chapter 8

Jack struggled to keep his emotions intact. He had never told anyone about Maverick. Not even Dominic. And he just told Olivia right out of the bat. Something was wrong with him. And he didn't know what. Actually he did. He was falling in love with Olivia. Hard.

They drove in silence for about the rest of the ride. As soon as they entered Denver, Olivia turned to him. "What were you gonna tell me earlier?"

What was he gonna tell her? That he was madly in love with her? That he couldn't live without her? "Not sure."

Olivia raised her brows, "Really?"

He blew out a sigh, "No. I was gonna say-"

"There it is! Stop the car! We need to evacuate the building! Get the bomb squad over there immediately!" Olivia shrieked.

Jack whipped out his phone and dialed Dominic's number, "Hey Dom."

"Hey. I talked to the locals. They don't believe me."

"Place a call to the bomb squad. Get them to the hospital immediately. Tell them there's a direct threat on the hospital. That the feds are involved. We don't have much time!"

"On it."

Click.

Jack pulled into the parking lot, but far enough away that if the bomb went off the car would be fine. He glanced at his watch. 2:45. They had an hour before the bomb went off. Jumping out of the car he ran to Olivia's side. "Stay here."

Her jaw dropped, "What?"

"I said stay here."

Her mouth formed a straight line, "No."

"I don't want you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine." Man, was she stubborn.

"Olivia. Stay here."

"No. You can't make me."

He groaned, "Fine. But if you get hurt, it's not my fault." Except it would be. And he would have to face an angry Dominic and an angry Cole. Not on his list of things he wanted to do.

"Fine by me."

2:50.

Jack grabbed Olivia's hand and tugged. They raced to the entrance of the hospital. Bursting through the doors, Jack ran up to the front desk, still clinging to Olivia's hand. "Evacuate the hospital! Now! There's a bomb threat!"

The petite secretary froze in fear, "What?"

Jack showed her his badge, "Yes. And If you all want to stay safe, please evacuate the hospital. Bomb squad is on their way."

The secretary picked up the phone with shaky hands and pressed a few buttons. Talking into the phone, her voice rang throughout the hospital, "Please evacuate the hospital. There has been a direct threat. Please evacuate. This is not a drill." Then she stood and pulled an alarm. Immediately, the halls blared with noise and people rushed out of the building. Others rushed up the stairs to help those who needed assistance evacuating.

Jack felt Olivia's hand let go of his own. Turning, he searched for her. He caught a glimpse of her long brown hair flying behind her as she ran down a hallway. "Olivia!" He shouted. "Olivia come back!" He weaved in and out of the mass of people trying to catch up with her.

Finally he caught up to her. "Olivia!"

She turned to see him but then kept running. Deja vu much?

"Olivia!"

He watched as she ran to the deaf hearing hall. Of course. That brilliant woman wanted to make sure they were all safe. He slowed his pace as she escorted deaf people out of their rooms and pointed in the direction they were to go. He helped others as well. Eventually she reached the end of the hall and turned back to him.

Her eyes widened.

He glanced behind him.

Saw the clock.

Read it.

3:40.

Olivia took off running towards him, her eyes full of panic and yet still filled with determination. His heart practically tore in two. She barreled into his chest and pushed him to go. Grabbing her wrist, he ran, pulling her with him. The alarms were deafening.

Olivia let out a yelp.

Jack watched as she started to fall to the floor. "Olivia!" He steadied her. She winced as she started to put pressure on her foot. He couldn't resist himself. He picked her up and ran.

Surprisingly, she didn't resist and positioned herself so it was easier for him to run. They made it to the lobby just as the bomb squad was running out. They hadn't been able to deactivate it. A glance at the clock on the wall told him they had under two minutes to get out. While Olivia was light, she was still slowing them down.

A small blast shook the back of the building.

Olivia buried her head in his shoulder.

Jack's adrenaline surged. He ran faster. He had to get Olivia to safety. And fast.

Another blast.

Screams filled the air.

Jack ran faster than he had ever ran before.

He made it out of the building with seconds to spare.

The explosion rang in the air, knocking Jack and Olivia to the ground.

Jack and Olivia hid behind a car until they were sure the bombs had stopped. But the screams hadn't. Jack noticed that Olivia's entire body was shaking. He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "You okay?"

She shook her head. "No." It was barely audible.

"Olivia?"

"All those people... Not all of them made it." She couldn't contain her tears. "It's not fair."

Jack enveloped her in his arms. She stiffened for a second, then relaxed and let her emotions roll out. Sobs wracked her body and sniffles escaped. He stroked her hair, "Honey, I'm sorry. We did the best we could."

"It wasn't enough."

Jack sighed. No, it wasn't.