Page 42 of Shane

“’preciate it,” Shane replied.

Smoke turned to Everlee and nodded his chin toward the back of his house. “Follow me.”

“Breakfast at six,” Jared called after them. “You need anything before then, dial one for room service.”

“Are you serious?” Everlee had to ask. Room service? Really? In a safe house?

“Hell, no. Just making sure you guys aren’t dumb enough to believe everything you’re told. Goodnight, folks.”

“Goodnight, smartass.” She lifted her take-out bags where he could see them. “And for your information, I brought room service with me. We’ll be fine for the night.”

While Jared chuckled, Smoke led the three of them through his kitchen. He paused at a panel beside the rear exit to release the lockdown panels that covered all windows. Then he led the way to his patio, the edges lined with beautiful, brightly painted Talavera pots in graduating sizes. A motion-activated light flashed on overhead, and Everlee could see the pots were filled with yellow and orange flowers. She stopped to take in the wide-open landscape behind his place, looking for any bushes or trees that could serve as sniper hides or fast getaways. But the Texas night was dark, and Everlee couldn’t see much past his backyard, except for the barn and corral and what looked like rows of sapling trees.

“You planted a forest back here?” she asked.

“Live Oaks, yeah. They’re slow growers.”

“I heard you lost most of your trees a couple years back. These replacements?”

“Something like that,” Smoke replied as he led them across the lawn to what looked like a tornado shelter, if that’s what the slanted wooden doors in the middle of his backyard concealed. Sure enough, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a little black remote, and voila. The two doors slid to the sides, like pocket doors, to reveal a lighted concrete staircase that led below ground.

She gestured at Shane to head down with Ms. Smart. “You two get settled. Thanks, Smoke. I’m serious. We really do appreciate this.”

“Yes, thanks for everything,” Shane said, his foot on the top step and his left hand on Ms. Smart’s elbow.

Everlee winced at how protective—and gentlemanly—Shane was with Smart. But that was just him, a gentleman, polite and courteous with everyone. Right? Even with Everlee after she’d spit coffee all over him. Even then, he hadn’t been an ass, and he could’ve very easily called her names, could’ve blasted her for ruining his shirt and his interview, his one chance at a decent first impression. But he hadn’t. Hadn’t belittled her, and…

Jiminy Christmas,he prayed over his food. She’d never seen anyone do that before. So maybe that was all he was doing, being gentlemanly and decent to their prisoner.

“There’ll be a vehicle here tomorrow for you guys, and I’ll find a couple pairs of shoes for your friend. Don’t bother saying goodbye. I won’t be here, and Jared’ll be too busy working to see you off.”

“Thank you for the shoes, Mr. Montoya,” Ms. Smart spoke up, her voice so damned gentle that Everlee wanted to smack her and tell her to shut it. “I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

He didn’t answer, just nodded at Smart before he turned back to Everlee and said, “Too bad you guys can’t stay long enough to reconnect with Jessie. She would’ve liked that.”

“Yup, not this time,” she told him. “We’ve got to get our client back to DC, the quicker, the better.”

“Understood.” Smoke handed over the remote. “The green button’s for these doors, the red’s the weapons vault. Take what you need. There’s a wall phone down there that instantly connects with mine and Jared’s cells. Call if you need anything. We’ll be here till sunup.”

“There’s a kitchen and a microwave down there, too, right?”

“You bet. Sleep tight.”

“Goodnight, Smoke.”

Without another word, he walked away and left Everlee standing there, looking down at the hole in the ground that would be home for the night. She couldn’t help but feel that where one adventure ended, another was beginning. Just like Alice through the looking glass. Only this rabbit hole had steps.

Chapter Fourteen

The storm cellar dropped Shane into a small living area with a couch and loveseat to his left, a tidy kitchenette to the right. The furniture was pleasant but nothing special. Generic. Two bedrooms lay opposite the steps. He caught a glimpse of twin beds in both and nightstands between them beyond their open doors. Another doorway revealed a shared bathroom connecting the bedrooms, complete with a shower/tub combination and individual overnight kits on the counter. Made Shane wonder how many other guests Smoke put up for Alex. The secure overhead steel door was concerning. Shane would’ve preferred at least two points of egress, but there he was, stuck in an underground hideout with only one way out and a woman who’d had no problem burning her children to death.

As soon as Everlee activated the remote, the overhead doors closed them in for the night. Despite the bright lighting in this comfy underground dungeon, Shane’s claustrophobia kicked in, and right on its heels, the sneaky tap, tap, tap—slam! of hypervigilance. A man like him could go crazy locked in here with a murderer like Smart. He swallowed hard, forcing the panic back where it belonged, down deep in his gut. But Smoke said there was a phone—

Oh, there it is, on the wall.Not like that helped much, but relief flooded Shane’s insides anyway. He fingered the burner phone in his pocket, the one he’d nearly forgotten. It was another way out, of sorts. At least another way to yell‘fire!’if things went to shit down here. Sure’d be nice if his heart stopped yammering up his windpipe. But hypervigilance didn’t back off easily. He took another slow breath, and…

“You can let go now,” Ms. Smart whispered, her other hand’s fingers gentle on the tight hold he had on her wrist. “I’m not going anywhere. Are you okay, Agent Hayes?”

What a lie. Looking down at her wrist, he noticed how dainty and slender it was. He also noticed where his much thicker fingers had left marks from him gripping her too hard, too harshly, too—

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