Chapter 3 - The Blast Radius
Panic seized my chest as the digital numbers rapidly ticked down.
Roman did not waste a single millisecond.
He grabbed me by the waist and practically threw me toward the front door.
I screamed for Titan to follow us.
The massive dog bounded after me, his heavy paws slipping slightly on the bloody floor.
We burst through the front doors of the pet store and spilled out onto the rain-soaked Boston sidewalk.
Roman shoved me behind the heavy steel frame of his armored SUV just as the timer hit zero.
The explosion ripped through Second Chance Pet Supply with absolute fury.
A massive fireball shattered the storefront, sending burning pet food and melted plastic flying into the street.
The shockwave knocked the breath from my lungs and shattered the windows of parked cars on the block.
I covered my ears, coughing violently as thick black smoke poured out of the building.
Everything I owned, everything I had built for the last five years, was entirely gone.
Titan pressed his large head against my chest, whining softly as the rain washed the ash from his dark coat.
Roman stood up slowly, seemingly unfazed by the destruction of a city block.
He opened the heavy armored door of his vehicle and ordered me to get inside.
I shook my head and told him I needed to wait for the fire department and the police.
Roman looked at me with a cold, unforgiving stare.
He told me that the police were the ones who had just tried to blow me up.
He explained that Detective Vance had clearly framed me for the handler’s murder and destroyed the evidence.
A screech of police sirens echoed in the distance, growing louder by the second.
Roman stated that if I stayed here, I would be arrested for terrorism and murdered in a holding cell.
I looked at the burning wreckage of my life and realized he was right.
I climbed into the back of the SUV, and Titan instantly jumped in right beside me.
Roman got into the driver’s seat and slammed on the gas, tearing away from the scene.
I pulled out my phone to check the local news alerts.
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The screen lit up with a breaking news bulletin featuring my driver's license photo.
The headline claimed I was a rogue domestic terrorist who had just assassinated the police commissioner.
