Shooting the SEAL (Saving the SEALs Series Book 1) (9 page)

Gage pulled out his weapon to check the clip. “We find Anna, we might find some answers.”

An hour later, Scotty leaned forward. “Slow down. The place is quarter mile away now.”

Kyle pulled over in a group of trees. They had steadily left civilization behind. The road had gone from highway to two-lane and then to gravel. City changed to suburbs, which turned into rural and then into emptiness. Gage hadn’t known there was still this much open land in Virginia.

The thumping in the trunk had died down—meaning the fake cop had worn himself out. Gage tapped on the hood, got a kick back, so the guy was still alive.

Gathering around Scotty with the others, Gage asked, “What’s the terrain?”

Scotty pointed to the tablet. “We’re here. Anna’s last location is here.”

“If she’s not there now?” Kyle asked. Gage shot him a look, and he spread his hands. “You know we need a plan.”

“If she’s not here, we find whoever is and beat the crap out of him until we know where she is now,” Gage said.

Kyle nodded. “Works for me.”

Gage turned to Scotty. “What else do we have?”

Scotty shrugged. “It’ll be an old house—means a lot of ways in and out. Google Maps gives a satellite view that shows it’s pretty open at the front, but we have woods close to the back. Good cover. The rest we’ll have to find out.”

Gage nodded and turned to Kyle. It was habit. Kyle was ranking officer, and they were still a team. Kyle stared back at them, eyes bloodshot, face still ragged with grief. But he did what he needed to do—Gage saw him button it up, rub a hand over his face. He gave a nod. “Check your weapons. Single file in.”

They headed through the woods and around the back. Gage followed Kyle, itching to pick up the pace, but they had to do this slow and easy.
Hang on, Anna, hang on.
He kept thinking that, willing her to still be alive, to still be coping. After this, she’d probably want nothing to do with a guy like him, but he could live with that so long as she was alive and well.

A steep incline led them to a rock outcropping. Kyle waved Scotty forward, and Scotty gave the all clear. He also pointed down.

A rusted, metal door had been set into the rock. The lock on the latch was new. They all stared at it. “What the hell?” Kyle muttered, leaning down.

“Edge of the Underground Railroad around here,” Spencer said. “During the Civil War, and before, slaves would run away, and a lot of abolitionists would help them escape to the North. Lot of folks needed hiding places—or quick ways in and out of houses.”

Kyle straightened. “Think this goes anywhere?”

Gage glanced over to the roof of the house, just visible now behind a thicket of pine. “Only one way to find out.” He leaned down, pulled out a hunting knife.

“You’re going to pick a lock with that?” Scotty said.

Gage offered a grin. “Hell, no.” He slipped the blade—Damascus steel—under the latch and popped the rusted screws out. “Lock’s new, but that latch wasn’t.” Spencer pulled out a flashlight and flicked it on. A ladder that looked more rusted than the lid led into darkness. Cobwebs clung to brick walls.

“Probably snakes, too,” Scotty muttered.

Sitting down, Gage threw his legs into the opening, tested a rung and started down. One rung broke under his weight, but he gripped onto the sides of the rusted railing. He made it to bottom and glanced up to daylight and their heads leaning. He gave a thumbs up, flicked on his own flashlight.

When everyone was down, Gage gestured down a tight corridor. “Looks one way. Not sure the timbers will hold. Lot of rot.” He flashed his light to the roof of the tunnel. Ancient beams held the roof of what seemed to be an earthen tunnel—the walls crumbled and roots had grown into the space.

Moving carefully, Gage headed forward, Kyle followed him with Scotty, and Spencer fell in at their six. Spencer dropped his voice low. “Hard to believe anyone using this to escape anything.”

Scotty shone his light on empty beer cans. “You can bet the local kids were using this place—until someone stuck a new lock on it.”

Kyle glanced at them. “Put a lid on it. Keep an eye out for traps.”

The tunnel ended in another ladder. There was no way to go but up, and no way to know what was waiting on the other side. Kyle motioned for Gage to go first, which was fine with Gage.

He headed up the ladder, and hoped like hell whatever was covering it on the top wasn’t locked. It wasn’t—but something was holding it down. Pocketing his flashlight and tucking his weapon into his belt, Gage braced himself and started to push. Sweat trickled down his back and dust drifted into his eyes. He kept thinking about Anna—he had to get to her. At last the weight shifted. Gage pushed hard and the trapdoor opened.

Climbing up, Gage glanced around—nothing but darkness. He flicked on his flashlight.

The room felt like a cellar—damp and cold. It smelled of mold and stale air. Gage shone his flashlight into down into the tunnel, flicked it on and off twice. The signal all was clear.

He turned and headed for the stairs and the doorway—and whatever lay beyond.
Hopefully, Anna was still here, and still alive.

She needed a plan.

Anna sat with her back against the wall and tried to think. She was tired, dirty, sore, confused, angry, and she just wanted to go home. That wouldn’t happen if she wasn’t smart.

So what should she do? Play dumb? The man who had been in here hadn’t seemed the type who would buy lies easily.

“You aren’t helping yourself,” she said aloud. She scrubbed at the dirt and dried tears on her face. She needed a plan. She needed to make this work for her.

All too soon it seemed, the door opened and the man with the scarred face walked in. He left the door open behind him and brought in a lantern with him this time—a camping lantern, but the solar/electric kind. The bright light hurt her eyes. She stood, pulling her blanket up with her and putting up a hand to shield her face. The man came over and stood in front of her. “Now, about that file?”

She tipped her head to the side. She let her arm down so her blanket dragged at her side. “You’re Becks? Right? I heard Coran say your name. But, don’t worry, I don’t care what you’ve done with Coran.” That wasn’t true, but she’d decided if she lied a lot, this guy wouldn’t know what was true. “How much is that file worth to you? I mean it’s got to be worth a lot, right? I mean, to you.”

His face remained immobile, but even in the dim light she thought she saw his eyes sharpen. “It might be worth your life.”

Shaking her head, she said, “No, I mean money. Look, I’ve never been paid crap at my job. And this…this file sounds like it’s worth something. So, I figure why don’t we cut a deal. If I had enough, I’ve always thought the Bahamas sounded like a great place to live.”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “Live is the operative word here. If you don’t tell me—”

“
Lavender Lille
,” Anna whispered.

The man lifted his head. “What’s that?”

“
Lavender Lille
…it’s a book. I thought, well, that doesn’t matter what I thought about the writing. It’s a book that doesn’t make sense. A file on my tablet.”

“Well, now we’re getting somewhere.” He stared down at her. “Tell me what you read.”

She shook her head. “My memory’s not that good. Something about Florida? And ghosts. I can’t remember all of it.”

“Where’s your tablet now?”

Anna licked her lips. If she told him she’d left it in her purse, would he just go after it? “I…I left it with a friend. She was hurt at the explosion at work, and I thought she’d like something to read. She was going into rehab.”

Becks lifted his hand and hit her across the face. Crying out, she held her cheek as she stared at him. He shook his head. “You didn’t visit the hospital.”

“Hitting me isn’t going to get you anything,” she told him as she rubbed her cheek. “And you may have had someone following me, but haven’t you ever heard of messenger services? They go in and out of our offices all the time. I can get you want you want—but only if we have a deal.”

He reached out, grabbed her by the front of her shirt and pulled her to her feet. He smelled like antiseptic. “I’m getting tired of games.”

Clutching at his wrist with one hand and holding her blanket with the other, Anna shook her head. “You hurt me, you get nothing. Nothing!”

He swept his gaze down her body. “We’re a lot alike, you and I. We’re both…damaged.”

She twisted out of his grip. She heard cloth tear. She backed up until she hit the wall. A shot echoed and Becks turned. Grabbing her blanket, she threw it over his head. He fought at it, but Anna slipped past him and out the door he’d left open.

She ran blindly, looking for open doorways, for escape. She had no idea who’d fired that shot, but she had to get out of here. Something snagged her wrist, and she brought up a fist, but Gage pulled her to him. “Relax. I’ve got you.”

***

Gage held Anna. She sagged against him. “He’s back there.” She pointed down a hallway. The house they’d come up in was a maze of rooms and halls. So far, they’d spotted one guard who’d shot at them. Scotty had taken the guy down. Now, Gage glanced around. They’d fanned out, and he had no idea where the others were. His job now was simple—keep Anna safe.

He pulled her with him, but she braced herself against his tug. “No, you don’t understand, he’s back there.”

“Who is?”

“Becks. The guy who paid someone to kidnap me. And I heard him with Coran. Coran’s in trouble.”

Gage was tempted to say ‘so what’. As far as he could tell, Coran Williams had gotten Anna into this, meaning the old man was not on the side of the angels. However, if Anna was putting on the brakes about getting out of here, then maybe getting Coran out would help convince her she had to go.

He put Anna behind him, and put a finger to his lips. Slowly, he eased down the narrow hall. Three doors opened, all of them to the right. He kicked open every door, and found no one. Anna wouldn’t look into the third room—the one with the mattress and a pack of MREs in a box. Gage was going to go for that being the one she’d been held in. It had no windows, and only the one door. Great place to lock up someone. Judging by this house, Becks’ family had all been weird.

Taking Anna with him, Gage poked into two more rooms—no Coran. But he started to smell smoke.

“That’s it, we’re getting out.” He threw Anna over his shoulder and carried her out. The smoke was starting to coil now, gathering at the ceiling and thickening. Gage stumbled, half blind, choking on it. He knew he should get down on his knees, get below the smoke, and Anna’s pounding on his back finally convinced him to put her on her feet.

They both dropped and crawled toward fresh air.

They came out on a back porch, coughing. Gage stood and picked up Anna to carry her a safe distance from the house. He could see orange flames licking out of a downstairs window. “Kyle! Scotty…Spence!” He shouted their names.

The guys stumbled out from all directions—Scotty coming out of an upstairs window and down a drainpipe that barely held his weight. Soot streaked his face. Gage glanced at Anna. “We can’t stay. The fire department will be here soon. Can you move?”

She nodded.

They took off for the woods at a fast pace—none of them were up to a run. From there, they watched the house burn to the ground. Fire trucks arrived far too late, but firefighters put water on the structure and kept the fire from spreading.

Gage turned to Anna. Her shirt was torn, her hair looked a mess, but she was alive. Shivering, too. He noticed then that it was getting cold. “We’re losing daylight,” he said.

Kyle pushed off from the tree he’d been leaning against. “We’d better move.”

Slowly, they made their way back to where they’d left the car. Only to find it gone. Kyle swore and kicked at a rock, and Spencer threw up his hands. “So much for evidence. Anna’s tablet was in there—along with her purse and the rest of our stuff.”

“It’s not all bad,” Scotty said. He held up Gage’s phone. “I copied a few files. The real question is, do we walk back to town or, looking like we do, do you think we can bum a ride? Besides, my bet is we find the car’s been ditched not too many miles from here.”

Gage glanced at Anna. She wasn’t looking at him and had moved away from him, and he couldn’t help but think that the real question was, did she want anything to do with a man who seemed to bring her only danger.