Handcuffed While the City Burned

Summary

The yellow police tape flickered in the wind, a thin plastic barrier between the world and the nightmare inside. I stepped toward the line, reaching for my badge, but the detective blocked my path.

"There’s a suspected explosive device inside," he barked, hand hovering near his holster. "Back away, civilian!"

I was halfway through pulling my ID when Lexi, the intern I’d been stuck with for three months, let out a choreographed gasp. She pressed a manicured hand to her mouth, her voice going high and breathless—the sound of a woman playing a victim in a Lifetime movie.