I came so damn hard, for a split second I didn’t recognize the sound for what it was.
Then the deafening boom registered as the windows shook, glass shattered, and the fire alarms went off.
The explosion rocked the entire fucking floor.
With my cock still buried deep inside her, her entire body went rigid. “Ronan!”
“Easy.” My hand on her abdomen, forcing myself to stay calm, I gently pulled out.
A second explosion popped through the suite, and concrete groaned. Debris rained down on us.
“Ronan.”
I grabbed her arms. “Up, Songbird.” Fuck fuck FUCK. “Where’s your luggage?”
“Oh God,” she cried, scrambling off the bed in a panic.
I lifted the mattress. “Get underneath, right now.” The fucking ceiling over the living room caved in as buckling rebar echoed through suite. Hot air swept in from the yawning opening that was once the slider door to the balcony, and I feared the whole damn floor would collapse.
She clutched at me as I held the mattress. “I’m scared.”
The sound of fifteen tons of concrete dropping an entire story boomed around us, and the floor shook violently.
She lost her footing, and I swept her up with one arm. Dumping her under the mattress, I lowered it over her and barked orders. “Stay. Do not move until I tell you too. Where are your clothes?” I never should’ve ripped her dress.
“O-o-other suite.”
Goddamn it. “I’ll be right back. Do not move, you hear me?” Dust, debris, chunks of ceiling fell around me.
Sheer panic twisted her features. “Don’t leave me!”
Grabbing my clothes, I squatted for a second I didn’t have. “I’m not leaving you for long. Hold the mattress over you. Try not to breathe the dust in.” I grabbed her ripped dress off the floor and shook the debris off. Bunching it up, I reached under the mattress and pressed it over her nose and mouth. “Breathe through this. I’ll be right back.” I made to stand.
She grabbed my wrist. “Do you promise? You have to promise me, Ronan.”
“I promise.” She would see me again. Hopefully it wouldn’t be in a fucking box. “I have to go. You need clothes, and I need to find out what’s going on. Stay here.” The floor shook again, and I lifted the mattress just enough to give her a chaste kiss before dropping it back down.
Grabbing my cell, I threw on my clothes and boots and dialed Luna.
He answered immediately. “Madre de Dios, you’re alive! Is Sanaa with you? What the fuck happened?”
I tried to open the door to the suite, but it didn’t budge. “Explosions. I don’t know where yet.” I yanked the door harder. “Sanaa is alright. We’re in the northeast suite. Where are the others? I can’t get into the hall to see what the fuck is going on. There were two detonations. Do you have eyes on anything?” I yanked again. Goddamn fucking door. “Shit’s caving in around us. I need to get her out of here, Luna.” I glanced up. The fucking frame was bent. There was no way I was going to be able to open the door.
“I need to get both of you out of there, mi hermano.” Static cut in on the line. “I’m leaving base now, on my way. ETA… Harm is… He went radio silent after… Tyler and… in lobby… Vance… Emergency services… Bomb squad… They’re evacuating the rest…”
“You’re cutting in and out. Where’s Harm? I need to get out of this suite.” Static crackled over the line, and I glanced at the signal strength. Fuck. “Luna, if you can hear me, I’m going to look for another way out of the suite and then assess. It feels like we’ve had structure collapse and we’re not secure. Let the bomb squad know there could be more explosives rigged. If there were two, there’s probably more.”
“Ronan? …Fuck. Conlon, you hear me?”
“Copy, you read me?”
The only response was static.
I hung up and shot off a text to him.
Me: There could be more explosives. Not secure. Structure compromised. Need safe exfil STAT.
Then I shot off a group text to Harm, Ty and Tyler.
Me: Sanaa and I are trapped in the penthouse suite. Looking for exit plan. Structure compromised. Bomber on site? Sitrep.
Both texts stuck in a queue, I didn’t know if either had been sent, but I couldn’t stand here and wait. I needed to get us out of here.
Circling back through the suite to the opposite bedroom that had an adjoining door to the other suite on this floor, I stepped over chunks of ceiling and a crack in the floor. Neither of which were good signs. Whatever explosive had been used I was guessing was detonated on the floor below or somewhere outside the suite, maybe in the stairwell.
Opening the adjoining door, I checked the second door that was locked from inside the other suite. No heat. After a quick inspection of the frame, I took a calculated risk and stepped back a foot.
Then I kicked the fucking door by the lock.
The frame splintered, but the deadbolt held. One more kick, and the door swung open. Unholstering my Sig, I trained first left then right. “Harm!”
No response.
“Tyler, Ty!” I yelled as the building fucking creaked and wind whipped in from more shattered sliders.
Still no response, my gun at the ready, I stepped carefully into the bedroom. Quickly clearing the bathroom and closet, I saw her suitcases, but I didn’t pause. No idea if Abernathy was up here, I wasn’t risking any chances.
Taking a defensive position by the door to the living area of the suite, I glanced around the corner. Seeing no one, I walked thru the space to the second bedroom. The sliders were cracked, the ceiling was coming down and the floor was buckling in the corner.
Clearing the second bedroom, I hurried back and grabbed leggings and a long-sleeved sweater from Sanaa’s suitcase. I found a pair of sneakers in the closet and her large purse on the dresser. Shoving everything in it, I shouldered the bag.
Praying the door to this suite wasn’t damaged, I stepped over a light fixture that’d fallen and put my hand against the door to check for heat. The fire alarms were still going off in the hall, but the sprinkler system hadn’t activated. I didn’t think there was a fire, but I wasn’t taking any chances on opening the door if there were flames in the hallway.
Not feeling any heat, my gun aimed, I tried the handle.
Whisper quiet, the door opened, the shit went from bad to worse.
A fucking cloud of dust and debris so thick I couldn’t see through it choked out any breathable air.
“Harm!” Switching on the laser on my gun, I covered my nose and mouth with my left elbow and scanned.
Jesus Christ.
I dropped my arm only long enough to call out again. “HARM.”
Tempered wind blew in from the broken sliders in the suites and the debris in air dissipated enough for me to get a look.
I almost wished I hadn’t.
A fallen support beam was blocking the door to the northeast suite, the elevator doors were buckled outward as if blown from the inside, and the lights were flickering. The fire door to the stairwell was blown clean off.
I scanned the length of the hallway twice for Harm or anyone else, but it was empty.
Holding my breath, keeping my gun aimed, I fished in my pocket for my cell and snapped a couple pics before hitting send to Luna. Then I retreated into the suite.