Cade picked it up. He looked at the clock above the pie display. Eleven minutes.
"Mia," Cade said, his voice a steady, comforting rumble. "I'm going to do a magic trick. But for it to work, you have to be completely still. Close your eyes. Count to one hundred."
"One," Mia began, her voice quivering. "Two... three..."
Cade slipped the ceramic blade under the thick black tape. He carefully peeled back a layer, exposing the copper housing of the pressure switch. There were two wires soldered to the switch: a red one, and the blue bypass wire.
"Fourteen... fifteen..."
Sweat stung Cade's eyes. He knew Rusty's designs. Red was always the decoy. Blue was the true ground.
"Twenty-one... twenty-two..."
Cade wedged the ceramic blade under the blue wire. He held his breath. He applied pressure.
Snap.
The blue wire severed. The device didn't beep. The red LED continued its steady, slow blink. The pressure plate was dead.
Cade let out a breath he felt like he’d been holding for a year. "Okay, Mia. The magic trick worked. You can stand up straight now. You can sit backward."
Mia collapsed backward with a sob, her legs giving out. Cade caught her in his arms, the heavy vest pressing against his chest. The device didn't detonate.
But the main cell-phone receiver was still active. Silas could still trigger it remotely if he didn't get the lockbox.
Cade’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. A text message from Silas: Five minutes. Bring the box out, or the kid burns.
Cade looked at Sarah. "Are the deputies coming?"
"Sheriff said they're staging a mile out, approaching on foot through the woods behind the diner. No lights, no sirens. Three minutes away," Sarah whispered.
"That's too long," Cade said. "Silas is getting impatient. If he sees the cops, he hits the button."
Cade stood up, grabbing his heavy leather jacket. He looked at Mia, who was finally sitting on the floor, rubbing her sore legs.