“I can’t think about anything else.”
She broke eye contact, returning her attention to the sandwich in her lap. She picked up the half she’d started on, then spoke without looking directly at him. “Want half? I doubt I can eat all of this.”
Jake’s stomach growled an affirmative, and he took the seat across from her. “Sure.”
She wrapped a napkin around the uneaten half and offered it to him. Max’s hopeful gaze followed her every movement. Jake lowered his hand and said, “Down.”
The dog stretched out between their feet, resting his muzzle on his paws and shamelessly working her over with nothing but his expressive eyebrows. “Poor guy,” she cooed. “I’d share mine, but I bet the mean man won’t let me.”
“The mean man is responsible for keeping his partner as healthy as possible,” Jake said without rancor. “If I fell prey to puppy-dog eyes, this beast would weigh over a hundred pounds, easy.”
Cass chuckled as she chewed. “But he has such handsome puppy-dog eyes.” She beamed at her new best friend. “Tell me about the Swine Barn.”
Jake shrugged and sat back. “Not much to tell. The team found a duffel bag. Max confirmed the presence of explosives, but we had to back off before anyone could take a closer look.”
“Colonel Aronson told me your computer whiz got the file Vesta sent with information on the arrests I made,” she informed him. “They’re supposed to let me know if they have any questions or find a pattern.”
“Let’s hope they find a thread we can tug.”
“I hate thinking this is all connected to my past.” She gave a sort of laugh-snort, then shook her head ruefully. “I don’t even feel like I have a past, you know? All I’ve done is go from school to the service, and then to work.”
“No disgruntled exes?”
The question came out before he could check himself. The last thing he wanted to hear about was her love life. The only comfort he could take was in knowing she wasn’t about to start singing the praises of their old classmate, Robby McAvoy. Whatever they’d had going in college must have fizzled out quickly, Jake assumed. Last he’d heard, Robby was married to someone else.
“I don’t know, you tell me,” she said, arching her eyebrows and fixing him with a pointed stare. “How disgruntled can a guy be if he’s the one who did the breaking up?”
“Depends—”
But Jake didn’t get to finish his thought.
A flash followed by an ear-splitting bang that went off way too close. Everything around them shuddered. Max let out a sharp yip when Jake yanked Cass off the bench, covering both of their bodies with his. The remnants of their half-eaten sandwiches littered the floor. Jake found himself staring at a piece of cheese dangling from the edge of the bench where she’d sat. A dozen dull blows rained down on his back. Like someone was pelting them with tennis balls. He lifted his head enough to peer out, but they were at the back of the ride, away from the fallout.
By the time they came around to the concourse again, the initial tremor was offset by a rush of footfalls. He turned his head and something yellow rolled out from under the bench.
Max growled, deep and menacing.
Cass panted, then pushed against him. “Let me up. I’m squishing poor Max.”
Jake eased off enough for her to push up but did not pull back enough for her to rise. Not until he could wrap his head around what had happened. Max growled again, and Jake forced himself to focus on what the dog might be warning them about. Following the line of the shepherd’s snout, he spotted the yellow orb rocking listlessly on the metal platform.
It wasn’t a tennis ball. It was a rubber duck.
Cassidy fit the puzzle pieces together first. Pointing to a spot at the center of the stuffed-animal-strewn midway, she said, “I think they blew up the duck pond game.” She slid back onto the bench, battling her hair back from her face with impatient swats. “That’s six.”
“What? No. It’s number ten,” he corrected, catching hold of a nearby pole to steady himself.
She shook her head; her forehead puckered in concentration. “No, six blown,” she says, sounding a bit breathless. “They’ve detained half the devices.”
“Oh. Yeah.” Jake nodded as he surveyed the chaotic scene, every muscle in his body tensed in an effort to hold back. All he wanted to do was hop off this infernal ride and run over to help. They needed to put a stop to all this. Sooner rather than later. “You’re right. But we’ve identified another four.”
“Only two more to go,” she said with a decisive nod. Cass tilted her head in the direction of the assembled emergency workers. “Go find out how bad it is and if anyone was hurt. Give me your map and I’ll try to pinpoint some other likely locations.”
Jake unzipped the pocket on his vest and pulled out the crumpled map he’d been marking with each new discovery. “I haven’t had a chance to circle the Swine Barn,” he said as he handed it over.
She groped around in the crevice of the bench for the pen someone had brought to her. “I’ll do it. Go. Let me know what’s happening.”
Jake glanced down at his partner. “Max, stay.”