Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set by Patricia Rosemoor, Toni Anderson, REBECCA YORK, Dana Marton, Sharon Hamilton, Kaylea Cross, Debra Burroughs, Lori Ryan, Jill Sanders, Marie Astor

whooshed out of her as Hunter’s hard weight landed on her back, squashing her against the burning hot sidewalk. Someone near her screamed. A split second later she heard the loud bang of an impact, then the still air was ripped apart by a violent explosion. The force of it tore over her like a raging wind, whipped through her body like a shockwave. Her eardrums and lungs felt like they’d exploded from the pressure. For a split second the sidewalk rolled and bucked beneath them as if they were on a boat.
    It took a moment for the truth to sink in. A bomb.
    Her heart hammered against her ribs. Hunter was still on top of her, his arms crossed over her head and face to shield her. She didn’t dare move. People were screaming, running past them, even over them. Hunter grunted when someone stepped on him, but he didn’t budge from his position atop her. She could hear the sound of glass shattering close by, hitting the ground somewhere behind them with a sharp crash. The smell of smoke and burning wreckage was already thick in the air, as well as an audible roar that pulsed against her throbbing eardrums.
    When the mass of panicking people around them began to thin out, Hunter’s weight finally lifted from her. She sucked in a shaky breath, her compressed lungs aching with the effort, and dared to lift her head. Only to witness a scene straight out of hell.
    The truck had plowed straight into the front of the building, leaving a gaping hole where flames now poured out, belching huge clouds of toxic smoke. All the windows in the lower floors were blown out, in addition to those in the buildings on either side and across the street. People were running everywhere, shouting, their faces awash with panic. In the openings of the shattered windows she could see people sticking their heads out of the fiery building to look around. Some were waving articles of clothing out of the openings with frantic motions. They were trapped, she realized. Trapped in that crippled, burning building. Fear and helplessness gripped her.
    A hard hand cupped her jaw, turned her head. She blinked up into Hunter’s concerned face. He was saying something to her, frowning.
    “I’m okay,” she managed shakily, and got to her hands and knees. He grabbed her beneath the arms and hauled her upright as though she weighed nothing. When she was on her feet he kept hold of one upper arm and she was thankful because her legs wobbled. All around them people crowded into groups, gawking at the awful spectacle before them. As she watched, the first victims start to pour out of the ruined building, covered with blood and soot.
    Two men emerged carrying another and laid him down on the sidewalk away from the falling glass and debris. It took a moment for Khalia to realize the man was missing his right arm at the shoulder. She stared in horror at the lump of glistening bloody flesh sticking out of the sleeve, the blood pulsing out of him while someone tore off their shirt and frantically wrapped it around the severed limb. The wounded man’s mouth was wide open, his eyes squeezed shut in an expression of unimaginable agony.
    Khalia’s stomach lurched and she tore her gaze away.
    The wail of distant sirens rose over the cries of the wounded and the roar and crackle of flame. She felt a tug on her arm and looked up into Hunter’s grim face.
    “Let’s go,” he ordered in a voice made even scarier by his fierce expression.
    She wanted to. More than anything she wanted to turn and run as fast as her rubbery legs would carry her. “The wounded,” she began, feeling the first tremors of shock ripple through her muscles. It was almost a hundred degrees outside, yet she felt like she was freezing. “We have to help.” They had to do something . People were trapped inside. Hunter had training, and they were close enough to the victims to maybe get some of them out.
    Rather than answer, he began dragging her in the opposite direction. She stumbled, realized she’d