The explosion didn’t come with a roar; it came with a blinding, white-hot vacuum that sucked the air from Lila’s lungs.
The remote detonator in her father’s hand didn't trigger a bomb on the motorcycle. Instead, the streetlights for three blocks in every direction shattered simultaneously, plunging the bridge’s underpass into an artificial midnight. The surge of electromagnetic energy fried the bike’s engine, sending Lila and Marcus skidding across the asphalt.
Lila tumbled, the world a blur of grit and sparks, until she slammed into a rusted support beam. Her head throbbed, a warm trickle of blood seeping into her eye, but her hand stayed clamped over the documents tucked into her waistband.
The vintage sedan coasted to a stop ten feet away. Its headlights flickered back on, two predat
