Paige swallowed. “I’d really prefer that you come out in less than ten minutes.”
“I’ll do what I can,” Damian promised.
Chapter 39
“We can’t wait any longer,” Vanessa insisted, speaking in hushed tones to Brent. “Damian should have been back by now.”
“I still don’t like you going in first,” Brent said.
“It makes the most sense. So far it appears they want me alive. The rest of you may not rank that status.”
“I’m going to let the others know we’re ready. Wait until I signal before you go in.”
“I will.” She settled back in the shadows with Jay, studying the side door Brent had chosen for her entrance point.
She knew the others would wait two minutes for her to try to draw Seth’s captors away from the basement. When that time elapsed, the squad would enter, Brent and Jay taking the responsibility of protecting her while Tristan and Quinn searched for Seth.
A minute later, Brent returned and shifted into position.
“Be careful,” Jay whispered.
“You too,” Vanessa said.
Then Brent signaled to Vanessa. Drawing a deep breath as well as her gun, she gathered her courage and crept slowly forward through the darkness. She examined the door, found it clean, and holstered her gun long enough to pick the lock.
* * *
Damian picked the lock on the building Paige had indicated. The business listed on the sign hanging outside claimed it was a women’s boutique, one that had supposedly closed two hours earlier.
He drew his weapon and took all the precautions he had learned during SEAL training, checking the doors for wires and alarms, covering security cameras so he couldn’t be identified or located remotely.
Inside he discovered exactly what the sign claimed. Women’s clothes hung from racks arranged around the room and off hooks on the walls. Purses, scarves, and jewelry adorned the area by the checkout counter.
He checked the main floor, including the dressing rooms and the storage room in the back. Finding nothing suspicious, he located the staircase to the basement.
Cautiously, he opened the door, expecting someone to jump out at him at any moment. The third stair from the top creaked under his weight. He froze, again listening for any indication that he wasn’t alone.
All he heard was silence. A lingering floral scent carried from upstairs, but he didn’t smell anything clashing with it. He would have expected some sort of cologne, perfume, deodorant, or even body odor.
His training told him to expect the unexpected. Remaining alert, he continued downward.
When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was alone with a doorway on either side of him. Checking them both for tampering and finding none, he opened the one to the right to reveal another storage room, this one with bolts of fabric and sewing supplies rather than completed clothing.
To his left, he slowly opened the door and found several tables laden with sewing machines, a design table in the far corner, and many pieces of apparel in various stages of completion.
He looked at the floor and saw the most important factor. Tile. This floor was finished. Determined to be thorough, he made sure there weren’t any hidden rooms or closets before heading back up the stairs.
* * *
Paige really hated this. She sat in Damian’s truck, watching the street in front of her. The waiting was likely going to drive her insane.
The cop car was somewhat hidden behind Damian’s truck, and no one seemed to have noticed that the policeman who drove that particular vehicle was locked in the backseat.
A door opened, and she saw a splash of light coming from the building on the other side of the parking garage. A man stepped outside and lit a cigarette. Extinguishing his match beneath his shoe, he walked from one corner to the other, looking down the sides of the building. Even from this distance, Paige noticed the slight bulge at the back of the man’s waistband.
She watched as he marched back and forth twice before disappearing back inside.
A sign hung outside the doorway, and Paige strained to read it in the dark. She didn’t understand all of the words, but restaurante was one she recognized.
Why would a restaurant need a guard? She leaned forward, gripping the steering wheel as another thought struck her. It was only nine o’clock. Why would a restaurant close so early?
She was so focused on the building that she didn’t notice Damian beside the truck until he opened the door. Her hand flew to her heart, and she gasped in surprise.
“Sorry,” he said in a low voice. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”
Willing the adrenaline coursing through her to steady, she took a deep breath before asking, “Did you find anything?”
“Nothing. Seth’s not there.” Damian looked around the area. “Almost a dozen buildings were affected by that fire. I may have to check them one at a time.”
“You should start with that one over there,” Paige suggested.
“Why?”
She described the man she had seen and her observation that a business that should be open at this hour wasn’t.
Damian clicked back into his Navy SEAL mode, all of his focus now on his objective. “Same rules apply. Give me ten minutes.”
“Okay,” Paige said, but she was talking to herself. He was already sneaking off into the shadows in search of Seth.
* * *
Vanessa ducked down as she entered the door, knowing someone was waiting for her somewhere inside. Security lights overhead illuminated the tiled hallways and a bank of elevators to her left. Knowing the stairwell would be near the elevators, she fought against instinct and turned to her right.
Her footsteps were nearly silent, but the lack of any other sound caused her to keep each step slow and deliberate. She would have to make some noise eventually to draw Seth’s captors out, but first she wanted to put some distance between herself and the path to Seth.
She passed a series of office doors, each one with a mounted sign outside identifying the business within. No light was visible beneath the doors, and Vanessa didn’t sense anyone in the building. Surely they were here somewhere. Or had they guessed wrong? Maybe Seth really was being held in a laundry room or some other place that wasn’t a basement.
No. The video feed had been more than evidence of Seth’s capture. It had been an invitation.
She reached a cross-section of the hallway, slowing to give her senses a chance to catch up to her forward movement. The faint scent of coffee and fried meat caught her attention.
Her arms tensed, both hands clasping her weapon. Leading with her gun, she swung around the corner, aimed, and saw a woman standing calmly, facing her, a detonator in her hand. Her hair was longer and darker than in the image Paige had shown her, and her eyes were brown rather than green. Yet Vanessa had no doubt she was facing Andrea Kemper.
“I suppose now would be a good time to tell you this has a dead man’s switch. Shoot me and your husband dies.”
“Where is he?” Vanessa demanded.
“He’s close by.”
“What is it you want from me? You’ve obviously gone to great lengths to get me here.”
Andrea cocked her head to one side. “I need you to be Lina Ramir again.”
“Lina? I don’t understand. How do you even know about her?”
“You’d be surprised at what I know,” Andrea said with arrogance. “More surprising is what you don’t know.”
“Like?” Vanessa prompted. She forced herself to keep her focus on Andrea even though her hearing was tuned to anything that might indicate the Saint Squad was nearby.
“Like the millions of dollars belonging to the Ramir family in the bank.” At Vanessa’s blank stare, Andrea laughed haughtily. “I bet you didn’t even know your name is on the account.”
Vanessa spoke the simple truth, reminding herself to take her time and to stay calm. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.”
“
I’m talking about more than fifty million dollars hidden in a numbered account in the Cayman Islands, money you’re going to get for me.”
“I worked undercover for more than a year, and I never heard about this money. What makes you think it really exists?”
“Because I found the account number while working for Morenta. It’s the money he paid Ramir for the helicopters he bought the last time you had a run-in with him.” She spoke confidently, her hand steady as she held the detonator up higher. “Akil Ramir was captured before he ever got a chance to access the money, but he put a second name on the account. Yours.”
“I don’t care about Akil’s money. Give me my husband alive, and I’ll sign whatever you want.”
“Of that, I have little doubt. Now give me the gun.”
“Not until I see Seth.”
“It sounds like we have a stalemate.” She gave a cocky grin. “You have less than fifteen minutes to change your mind.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because that’s when the bomb will go off if I don’t disarm it.” She held her arms out like she didn’t have a care in the world. “Your choice.”
“It sounds like I have a few minutes to consider my options,” Vanessa said stiffly. “I think I’ll take them.”
Chapter 40
Damian opted to enter through a window after seeing the alarm system on the doors because the window sensor was easier to disarm. Unfortunately, it took several minutes longer than he would have liked to pry it open.
He slipped inside, finding himself in the main section of the restaurant. Using the tables for cover, he steadily worked his way through the dining area in search of a basement stairwell.
Being overly cautious, he cleared each room of the main floor as he went, ultimately not finding the stairwell until he reached the final section, the huge kitchen.
Unlike in the boutique, he immediately felt someone else’s presence: a strong scent of cigarette smoke, the sound of rubber soles against a concrete floor.
The stairs hugged the back wall, and Damian felt a sense of relief when he saw they were concrete. They were also open to the kitchen so he didn’t have to worry about a door at the top of the stairwell. The footsteps stopped briefly before starting again, this time heading his way.
Remembering the element of surprise was on his side, Damian squatted beneath the half wall that separated the stairwell from the rest of the kitchen. His whole body throbbed with the adrenaline now coursing through him. He fought to keep his breathing quiet, to battle against the sweaty palms and the shakiness in his hands.
Flexing his fingers and tightening them again on his gun grip, he counted the steps as the person drew closer. The thought flashed through his mind that this guy could be an innocent bystander, someone who worked here in an honest fashion. Knowing he couldn’t take the chance, Damian waited for him to emerge at the top of the stairs.
He sprang from his hiding place, knocking the man on the back of the head. The moment he dropped to the floor, Damian did a quick search to find he had not one gun but two. Taking care not to make any unnecessary noise, Damian relieved the man of his weapons and secured his hands and feet with some zip ties he had in his pack.
Not certain if another guard might be present, he crept down the stairwell slowly. He heard sound coming from close by but couldn’t determine the source. This wasn’t footsteps; it sounded like metal on rock. It took him a moment to recognize the tapping for what it was: a message.
Deciphering it in his head, Damian felt almost simultaneous surges of relief and frustration. He had found Seth, but now he had to figure out how to get to him safely. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he assessed the situation.
Apparently the guard upstairs was the only one in the building, but the door was armed with twin explosives. Retrieving a small flashlight from his vest pocket, he illuminated the bombs. One appeared to be rigged to a pressure plate and would go off if the door opened.
The other was much more complicated. It didn’t appear to have a timer or pressure detonation system, but after another minute of study, Damian understood. This one could be remotely detonated. Someone had a button they could press, and instantly, he and Seth would die.
He didn’t want to die. That thought popped into his mind, along with an image of Paige and the future they could share.
The tapping continued, bringing Damian back to the moment.
“Seth? Can you hear me?”
“Damian?” Seth’s voice came through the door. “Careful. The door’s wired.”
“I see it.” Damian described the two bombs.
“You’re going to have to disarm them,” Seth said. “Start with the one with the pressure plate.”
“I thought you’d want the other one disarmed first.”
“I do, but you might inadvertently set the other one off while you work on it,” Seth said. “Talk to me as you go through the steps. I’ll help you through it.”
“Good, because I think I’m going to need the help.”
Seth talked Damian through the first device, Damian describing the locations of the detonator, the power source, and the various wires.
Several minutes ticked by as Damian studied the wires, retrieving the knife from his pocket to cut the wire that would hopefully disarm the bomb. “Are you sure about this?”
“As sure as I can be without seeing it,” Seth said.
“Okay. Here it goes.” Damian grimaced, bracing for the unknown, and cut the wire in one clean swipe. His breath rushed out when the light on the bomb went out, indicating it was no longer active.
“One down,” Damian told Seth.
“Tell me about the other one.”
Damian looked at it closer, discouraged. “It has a twin power source. I don’t think I can do this alone.”
* * *
Brent stood around the corner and listened to Vanessa begin her subtle interrogation.
“I can understand why you wanted to draw me back into the field, but why did you fake your own death? Was that really necessary?”
“It was the only way for me to get off the radar. My father was watching me too closely, trying to protect me.” Andrea’s voice turned derisive. “Besides, he didn’t approve of my choice in men.”
“I gather you’re talking about Terrance Gunning,” Vanessa said.
Brent couldn’t see Andrea’s reaction, but the sudden silence indicated her surprise.
“I see you know more than I gave you credit for.”
“That may be, but I’m having a hard time understanding how you could let yourself get mixed up with Morenta.”
“He was a means to an end. I gave him a way to get to the Saint Squad, and without knowing it, he opened the door for me to lure you here.”
“So you’re betraying your country for money?”
“A lot of money,” Andrea corrected. “Money is freedom. Terrance and I will never have to work again, and we’ll be able to disappear somewhere where no one will ever bother us.”
Vanessa continued to probe Andrea, and Brent processed everything. The dead man’s switch was a contingency he hadn’t planned for but one that could be remedied. He knew Tristan and Quinn were headed to the basement right now, and they would deal with whatever explosives they might encounter.
Still standing silently in the hall, he listened to Andrea’s phone ring.
After offering a brief greeting, Andrea said, “I found her. Any sign of any of her friends?”
Brent guessed the answer was a negative by her reaction.
“Keep looking. She probably has someone lurking around here somewhere.”
Silently, Brent backed away from the hallway. His squad needed to neutralize this woman’s partner before he stopped Quinn and Tristan from disarming the bomb. What he wouldn’t give for working communications equipment right now.
* * *
His ten minutes were up, but Paige couldn’t bring herself to leave Damian behind. She considered that Damian
wanted her to go signal his team for help, but what if the distraction caused more harm than good?
She couldn’t call him for fear that he was hiding somewhere within the building, trying to find his way to Seth. The possibility of the guard prevailing in a struggle between them was one she could barely stand to consider.
Overwhelmed and confused, she uttered a quiet prayer, searching for guidance and inspiration. An engine revved on a nearby street, and a thought popped into her head. If the man she had seen really was here to guard Seth, then Seth was inside. Maybe he was hurt, and Damian couldn’t carry him out by himself.
Hoping for some communication from within, Paige decided to use the only thing accessible to her that would also blend into the sounds of the night. With the heel of her hand, she pressed hard against the center of the steering wheel, honking the horn three times.
Chapter 41
“Did you hear that?” Seth asked.
Damian glanced down at his watch. “That must be Paige. I told her to wait ten minutes and then go signal the rest of the squad at the office building.”
“What office building?”
“It’s where we thought you were being held. They were going in knowing it was a trap, but they also thought they would find you there.”
“Is Vanessa with them?”
“Yeah, she’s with them.”
“I’ve got to get out of here,” Seth insisted. “Go get Paige. See if she can come help you disarm the second bomb.”
His stomach clutched at the thought. Bring Paige into harm’s way? The bomb could go off any minute. Then he thought of the rest of his squad and how Seth must be feeling knowing he was helpless to protect his wife.
If he didn’t reach out to Paige, she might go in search of the others and land in the middle of the trap these people had laid.
“I’ll call her.” Damian pulled his cell phone free and dialed her number.
“Are you okay?” she asked breathlessly.
“Yeah, but I need your help. The guard is already tied up,” he said. “Come down to the basement, and bring the toolbox that’s in the back of the truck.”
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