Page 55 of The Rough Ride

“I’d like to make it up to you somehow. Lunch is unpredictable around here, but maybe a happy hour drink after work sometime. Or a girl’s night this Friday?” She grinned.

“There’s no need for amends, Erin. It’s fine. We’re fine.” So much penitence, it was hard not to believe her.

“Please don’t say no. I’d really like to get to know you better, and we could invite some other work people. It’d be fun.”

Carmen stuck her head in the open door and grinned. “Did I just hear you two talking about a girl’s night this Friday? I’dkillfor a happy hour after work. Say yes, Liz. For the sake of working women everywhere, say yes to the happy hour.”

Erin chimed, “Just the three of us or invite the others from your bullpen. Whatever you want.”

Liz crossed her arms. Shecouldgo if Nick or her mom didn’t mind covering for several hours. Maybe she’d put herself out there. Although, she’d never considered Erin a friend, more like a coworker to avoid. “I’ll think about it. It could be fun. Let me check with my babysitter.”

Carmen reached over and high-fived Erin. “Best idea you’ve had yet, goth girl. Oh wait, no goth today?”

“Back to work, ladies. Chat in the hallway on your way to your desks.” Liz shooed them out of her office. It hadbeen years since she’d gone to a happy hour.The possibilities.

She sat and woke up the desktop and the laptops, checking the workload before heading into the bullpen. Something was different with the new laptop. The red camera light stayed engaged no matter what she did to turn it off.

She grabbed her landline, called IT, and ended up leaving a message for the department supervisor. “Morning, Pat. I’ve got a problem with my new laptop. The camera light stays on. There could be a short in it or it needs a tweak or something. You guys would know better than I. When you get a minute, send somebody over to fix it, please. Thanks a bunch.”

Liz gathered the papers she’d printed and glanced at the new laptop as the camera light blinked off.Odd.She grabbed a piece of opaque tape to put over it but changed her mind. Maybe there were new security measures in her office she wasn’t aware of.

She locked her door and walked toward the bullpen. An eerie unease tiptoed across her neck like a damp chill.The same weirdness she’d felt in Major Chan’s office.She looked around, backtracked, and made sure her office door had latched.

Something was amiss,but damn if she could put her finger on it.

31

Liz pulled into the Big4Less lot and parked far from the entrance. She really needed to walk after sitting all day. And shehadto get diapers, lots of them. Maybe she’d fill the backseat so she didn’t have to buy them for a while. But what if Ella changed sizes? She’d be stuck with a ton of the wrong size. On second thought, she’d get enough for a month.

She gave the steering wheel an affectionate love tap. The accessories in this car were brag-worthy. Like a sound system solid enough for a block party, remote start, and frigid air conditioning for Indian summer days like today.

Liz grabbed her purse, locked the car, and headed for the entrance, pausing to claim a stray cart. She loaded up on diapers, wipes, two adorable blue outfits for Ella (because Nick had teased that Ella’s drawers looked like a bottle of Pepto Bismol blew up in there) and a rotisserie chicken. Her stomach growled. The veggies and yogurt she’d eaten for lunch were long gone.

She stopped at the crosswalk, fished the key fob from her purse, and peered down the aisle for her car as she put on hersunglasses and looked again. It waswayout there. She leaned into the heavy cart filled with purchases and got moving.Hmm. She’d only tried the remote start feature once at the dealership and then just never got into it. Today’s weather offered a perfect day to give it a whirl and slide into a cool car.

But for the life of her, she couldn’t remember how close she had to be for the thing to work. She tried the remote about halfway there. Nothing. Every two or three cars, she pushed the remote again. When she was ten cars out, the car finally blinked and engaged. She pressed the button to open the trunk, andvoila. Why hadn’t she used this awesome feature before now?

A hiss danced in the air, and she glanced left and right before a vicious force tore her fingers from the cart and launched her airborne. She landed in a heap with a thud.

Somewhere in the distance, her grocery cart crashed, followed by an explosion and a blast of heat. Voices screamed far away. Her head throbbed, and her ears roared.What happened?She tried to open her eyes, but the ache, oh, the ache. She couldn’t do it. She’d just lie there, breathe a few minutes.

But the incendiary heat burned. Liz had to move. She forced her eyes open, insisting they blink. Once, twice. A two-story inferno raged in front of her.Move. Move, soldier. Survive.Another explosion and the heat rolled over her like a steamy, lead blanket. She couldn’t lift a limb and curled in on herself.

Move. Now. Move.

Liz rolled, sliding down the front of the car where she’d landed. She covered her head with her hands and focused forward. She combat-crawled and slithered under a large vehicle, tearing her blazer half off. Blast it all, her brain was lost in a thick fog. But it was cooler here. She squeezed hereyes shut to think. Her only rational thought repeated several times.Call Nick.

People were running past her and screaming but she couldn’t move. She remembered the phone in her pants pocket and fumbled for it. The space was tight. Good. Tight was safe. She turned her face to the side and tapped the screen, but zoned out as it rang.

“I was just thinking about you, gorgeous. Did you leave work yet?”

Liz lifted her head and hit it on something metal. Her mouth was so dry and her tongue was thick, like a wad of gauze. She spit out a pebble and tried to wet her lips. “Nick. Big fire. Help me.” Her voice sounded like a distant echo in her head.

“What? Where are you? Liz? Dammit! Talk to me, honey.”

The line went dead.

Nick screeched onto the shoulder of the DC beltway and threw his truck into park. He grabbed his phone and checked Liz’s location. He’d set their phones onlocation sharing. She could call him an asshole later.

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