Edge of steele, p.1
Edge of Steele, page 1
Edge of Steele: A Christian Romantic Suspense
Steele Guardians Series - Book 6
Susan Sleeman
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Nighthawk Security Series
Truth Seekers Series
Cold Harbor Series
About Susan
Published by Edge of Your Seat Books, Inc.
Contact the publisher at contact@edgeofyourseatbooks.com
Copyright © 2023 by Susan Sleeman
Cover design by Kelly A. Martin of KAM Design
All rights reserved. Kindle Edition Printed in the United States of America or the country of purchase. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Characters, names, places, and incidents in this novel are either products of the imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real people, either living or dead, to events, businesses, or locales is entirely coincidental.
1
Ryleigh’s future was going up in smoke. Literally. Right before her eyes.
She cupped a mask over her mouth and plunged into the smoke and blowing sparks. Roaring, intense flames consumed the sawmill down the hill. Building by building. Sparks jumping. Walls burning. Flames higher than the nearby tree canopy eagerly waiting to catch fire. One building nothing but sticks of charred wood.
Smoke. Dark. Swirling like fire-filled dust devils. The sky yellowy-orange. Ominous.
Armageddon.
What on earth had caused this?
She’d never expected this sight. Not ever. She’d simply driven to Shadow Lake this morning to perform a surprise evaluation on the Steele Guardians’ guard working at Shadow Lake Logging.
Ward. Their guard.
Ward Byler, a veteran deputy and now one of their finest workers, was on duty. Had he been caught in the flames? And the millworkers? What happened to them?
Her vantage point didn’t allow a clear enough view to assess. She had to move closer. To see. To help. To find Ward.
She adjusted the N-95 mask she kept in her SUV and hurried ahead. The heat grew in intensity on the already warm July day. Neither deputies nor fire department had arrived on scene.
She scanned ahead. Couldn’t see anyone. Early afternoon on a Friday and the workers should still be milling lumber. Flatbed trucks lined the side of the road, their beds empty and waiting for freshly sawn Oregon logs. Cars filled the large parking lot, all signs pointing at a crew working this location.
Her throat tightened. Had all the workers perished?
Maybe Tobias Hogan, the owner of Shadow Lake Logging, knew. Or was he here? Inside? He was usually at the company office or explosives’ depot located only minutes down the road. Surely he knew about the fire and would be here checking on his employees.
She reached the mouth of the driveway, sparks jumping on the heated air down a slight incline, the nearby trees charred black. The fire raged through the front buildings, the rear structure already consumed. Took everything in its path and burned out. Mostly smoke in the back of the complex now. Some flames sizzled at the top of trees. Other trees stood like blackened sentries guarding the mill.
A door on a truck parked ahead opened, grabbing her attention. Ward, dressed in a Steele Guardians’ uniform, dived out as if in a race for his life and bolted her way. He settled a mask over his soot-splotched face and square jaw.
“I’m glad you’re here. It was a bomb.” His words tumbled out like a gymnast at the Olympics. “No threat this time. Just an explosion.”
No threat? Odd.
The company had received several bomb threats. The reason they’d hired Steele Guardians to stand watch over the people who worked at the sawmill and the loggers clearing land nearby. But the threats stopped after they’d put a guard on duty twenty-four/seven and added security cameras around the main office area.
Now this. An actual bomb. Unbelievable!
What should she do? As a former FBI agent, she was the closest thing to a first responder and had to do something. But what?
She stared at the fire devouring the stacks of wood in the distance. The rear building looked like a pile of burned toothpicks dumped in every direction—the explosion.
She looked at Ward. “I assume you called 911 and the fire crew is on the way.”
“Called right after the bomb went off, but they’re a volunteer department so it takes time.”
“Anyone hurt?”
“Don’t think so. Today is a maintenance day and all the workers are on a trip with the boss.”
“Say what?”
“Mr. Hogan takes one day a month to maintain his equipment. While that’s happening, he rents one of those fancy Greyhound-type buses and takes all the workers out for lunch, and then they do something fun. They’re going bowling today. Says the perk helps retain workers.”
Explained why Tobias wasn’t on site yet. “What about the maintenance crew?”
“They meet up with the others for a long lunch, then come back to work while the others go out for some fun. The night shift joins them too. So only one guy was on site when the bomb exploded.”
He took a long breath and pointed at the white Chevy pickup he’d tumbled from. The driver sat behind the wheel. “The day supervisor, Virgil Eckles. I was on my way to ask him a question when kaboom. If I hadn’t gone, I…” He shuddered and looked over his shoulder. “I’d have been right there by the buildings. As it was, the blast threw me a good distance. Nothing broken, thank God. Anyway, Virg got a call from his wife. She’s pregnant. Due any day. So he stayed back and was just about to go home when the bomb went off.”
Ryleigh kept her attention on the site, searching for what she didn’t know. She did know she felt like a failure. Shadow Lake Logging was her first client since she joined Steele Guardians and everything had been going fine.
Until today. Until this. A bomb. A fire. All under her watch.
Now what? How did she not only ensure the safety of anyone here, but save the reputation of the family business? Of course, safety was first and the only thing she should be concerned with, but she’d be lying if she didn’t admit the other issue would remain in the back of her mind.
Please don’t let it impact my decisions.
“I need to talk to Eckles.” She hurried toward the man sitting behind the wheel. From this distance, all she could see was his bald head and blue shirt.
Could he be their bomber and was he in his truck because he’d set the bomb? Or was that simply a coincidence?
She stopped next to his truck and signaled for him to lower his window. He opened the door instead as Ward stepped up to them.
Eckles put on a mask, pushed out of the truck and slammed the door, the sound echoing in the eerie air. “Don’t want my truck to take on more smoke than it already has.”
She introduced herself. “Are you sure this was a bomb?”
“Positive. I’ve used my share of explosives on the job enough to know an explosion when I hear it. The blast occurred in Building A. Then a fire broke out. Jumped to the next building and soon everything else went up. Didn’t take long, what with all the lumber and sawdust around.”
Okay, sounded like his explosives background gave him the know-how to construct a bomb. “Are explosives stored on this site that might’ve been set off by mistake?”
He shook his head. “Closest ones are at the main office under lock and key in the explosives’ depot.”
Thank goodness for that, at least. “Who has a key?”
“Tobias, of course. Me and Uri. He’s the night supervisor. That’s it.” Eckles tugged on his mask to shift it higher. “You aren’t thinking one of us done it, are you? It’s them tree huggers, I tell you. Probably the ones who have been sending the threats too. They’ve protested all over the state but haven’t shown up here. At least not until today.”
She agreed. The ecoterrorist group Sovereign Earth seemed to be the likely culprits behind the threats, but her research hadn’t uncovered any proof yet.
A vehicle slowed and parked down the road. She glanced that direction. A large pickup. Not the sheriff.
“I’m going to check the area that’s burned itself out,” Eckles said. “See what I can see.”
“Not looking for victims, are you?” she asked. “Because Ward said all of the crew went to lunch except you.”
Eckles’s eyes creased. “Right. But I’m in charge of the day shift, and I have to be sure. See with my own eyes. You know?”
She did know. Being an FBI agent was all about teamwork and making sure you never did anything to put another agent in harm’s way. She still carried that commitment with her.
“Could be another bomb in the area,” she said.
“Lady, if there was, the heat and flames would’ve made it blow.” The burly man started ahead.
She stepped in front of him. He pushed past her.
“You’re going at your own risk,” she called after him. “Watch for an explosive device. If you see anything, hightail it back here.”
She or Ward could tackle Eckles to stop him, but the man knew the risk, and he had a point. If the bomber had planted another device, it would have to be between them and the original explosion, and the whole area had burned now. That left the possibility near zero. But not zero, and she wouldn’t let Ward follow if he even wanted to.
She faced him. “Is Eckles a solid guy or do you like him as a suspect for the bomb?”
“Solid. Couldn’t see him behind the bomb, but then, if my years as a deputy told me anything, it told me you can’t trust a superficial opinion.”
“Yeah.
Ward lifted his shoulders, his gaze tightening. “Here comes the company’s new security manager. Been here for a couple of weeks but only met him once. Seems like a stand-up guy.”
“A security manager? No one mentioned him.” She spun to look down the road at a tall, broad-shouldered man. His face was turned toward the fire, and he marched toward them, purpose in his step.
“Sorry, I figured Tobias told you he’d hired the guy.”
The owner hadn’t said a word to her. Now why was that? Did this new guy plan to fire Steele Guardians? “What’s his name?”
“Oh, man, sorry.” Ward rubbed his forehead with a sooty hand. “I don’t remember. An unusual name though.”
She changed her focus to the manager as he strode her way. Sure steps. Confident. Authoritative. Would he become a problem for her and their company account?
“What do you want me to do now?” Ward asked.
Ryleigh faced him. “We need to set up a perimeter and make sure anyone who arrives stays behind it until the property is deemed safe. That includes us and this manager.”
“But what if someone needs our help down there?”
She glanced at the devastation. Could anyone survive that blast and inferno? Doubtful. “They’d likely be calling out. With the possibility of another bomb, I can’t risk anyone else’s life. Emerson County Sheriff’s Office isn’t big enough to have a bomb squad, but hopefully, when they get here, they’ll have someone with explosive experience who can clear the area.”
Ward made a grumbling sound. “It’s hard to stand down. I’m sure you get it since you just left law enforcement too.”
He got that right. If only she were still an agent. This bombing could well be domestic terrorism, and the FBI would offer their services to the local sheriff. As an agent, she’d be in the thick of finding whoever committed this crime instead of standing on the fringes and watching her family’s company lose a much-needed account. Maybe lose their reputation.
That was if the ATF allowed the FBI to get involved when they usually had priority on bombings. The sheriff would have to notify them as soon as possible.
“I have to ask you both to move back for your safety,” the deep male voice came from behind, familiar to her as it had often filled her dreams.
She spun. Stared at the man who’d walked up the driveway. The man who’d walked out of her life a few years ago.
“Finn,” his name whispered out on the last breath she could manage.
She blinked. Blinked again.
“What are you doing here, Ryleigh?” he asked through a mask, sounding none too pleased.
She drew in a breath and let it out. Tried to draw in another one, her brain acting sluggish as if every bit of oxygen had burned in the fire. She knew why she was there. She just couldn’t find the words.
Ward looked at Finn then at her, his forehead creasing.
Ryleigh couldn’t think about her guard right now. She couldn’t think at all.
“Excuse me. I…I gotta make a call.” Ward bolted toward Eckles’s truck.
“As far as I know, no one has called in the FBI,” Finn said, ignoring Ward’s movements. “Means you can’t be here in an official capacity. So what gives?”
She took a step back and lifted her shoulders, a reply finally forming in her brain. “I came to check in with Tobias on how my guards were performing and happened upon the fire. Why are you here?” she asked. She knew the reason but needed to buy time to digest the fact that he was standing there. In front of her. All six-foot-two of him, solid as a rock.
He cocked his head, drawing her attention to his red hair that fit his Irish heritage on his mother’s side. “I’m the new head of security. Didn’t Tobias tell you?”
Best to stick to short replies before she said something she would regret. “No.”
“That’s odd. He said he was going to send an email to the Steele Guardians rep to introduce me. You sure you didn’t get it?”
Trust me. If I saw an email containing your name, I would remember.
“No email.” She needed to move on. “Took you long enough to get here.”
“Had to evacuate the office and depot, then checked the area to be sure a bomb hadn’t been planted there as well.”
Of course he’d done the right thing. And likely without hesitating—unlike her. SEALs were trained to assess and act. Not that she hadn’t been trained for emergencies too, but he had far more experience in facing life-threatening situations. She ought to know. She’d worried for his safety long after he’d bailed on her.
Car doors slammed from the area where Finn had parked. Two men in turnout gear pounded toward them, moving at a high speed in the afternoon heat. Both guys were tall. Both took sure steps. But only one of them was a childhood friend.
“Ryan?” Ryleigh asked. “You’re a firefighter?”
“Hey, Ryleigh.” Ryan Maddox flashed her a smile, and she remembered the years as a kid following the lanky, blond boy around the Maddox family resort every summer. “We’ll catch up later. Who’s in charge here?”
Finn held out his hand before she could speak. “Finn Durham. Security manager.”
“Ryan Maddox.” Ryan gripped Finn’s hand. “What do we have?”
“A bomb detonated in the back building about twenty minutes ago now.” Finn jerked a thumb over his shoulder, pointing at the buildings that had been decimated.
“Anyone injured or trapped in the blaze?”
“Not that we know of,” Finn said before Ryleigh could. “All the workers are offsite all day. The supervisor was in his truck at the road, and the guard was on his way to talk to him.”
“That’s good news.” Ryan looked at the other firefighter. “Go ahead and radio this in and update others. We could need a wildland crew if this spreads to the surrounding trees.”
The guy nodded and stepped away.
Ryan turned his attention back to Ryleigh. “We’re a volunteer group. Troy and I live the closest, and the others should be here with the equipment soon. For now, you all need to—”
“Ms. Steele,” Eckles shouted from behind what was left of the front wall of the back building. He stepped out. “You’ll want to see this.”
“What is it?” Finn demanded in his Navy SEAL domineering tone before Ryleigh could respond.
“A body,” Eckles said. “I found a body.”
Ryan bolted toward the supervisor before Finn could even turn. Finn should wait for Ryleigh to head to the scene, but she stood frozen in the swirling heat, and he didn’t really want her to see the body anyway, so he jogged down the drive.
Please let her stay behind.
Her footfalls sounded, and she caught up to him.
Drat.
She grabbed his arm, slowing him down. “Hold up. We do this together.”
He jerked back and rubbed the area she’d touched. Earned him a raise of her eyebrows, but he wasn’t about to tell her it impacted him. A lot. Or make some stupid comment. Seeing her again had turned his brain to mush, and he wasn’t functioning at full capacity.
