Page 32 of Trust No One

When they’d gone as far down as they could, Dev eased open a door that led into a workshop. He quickly assessed the lathes, milling machines, saws and drill presses filling the room. The hand tools hanging on the walls. Lights were on, but fortunately, no one was in the workshop, so they stepped inside. “Start opening doors,” Dev said quietly.

The first two she tried were locked. The third was a closet, full of aprons. The fourth door opened into dense blackness. Could be a tunnel.

“Dev,” she hissed. “Come look at this.”

He hurried over as Mel pulled out her phone and turned on the flashlight app. She saw a narrow corridor shrouded in total darkness.

Dev turned on his flashlight app, as well, but their combined beams only reached ten feet or so. Dev looked at her. “You want to take a look?”

She really didn’t want to walk into that utter blackness. But she swallowed and said, “Yeah. Let’s take a look.” She ran her hand over the wall on either side of the door and found a light switch. “I found a switch,” she whispered. “Should we turn it on?”

“Absolutely,” Dev said. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to walk into that darkness.”

Dev’s words made her feel better. If the tough SpecOps guy didn’t like walking into the pitch black, she shouldn’t feel bad about it either. “Okay. Here goes,” she said, flipping the switch.

A series of lightbulbs hanging low on the ceiling flickered on. They illuminated the corridor spooling out in front of them.

Melreallydidn’t want to walk into that. But she said, “Do you have something to stick in the door so it doesn’t lock behind us?” she asked.

“I’ll get something,” he said, stepping back into the workshop. A minute later he came back with a piece of sturdy corrugated cardboard. He folded it into a small rectangle, then inserted it between the door and the jamb near the floor. He eased the door closed, but the cardboard prevented it from closing completely. Locking them in the tunnel.

Dev took her hand, twining their fingers together. “You ready to check this tunnel out?”

The sight of their joined hands made her breath flutter in her chest, but she ignored the sensation. This was part of a job. Nothing more. Ignoring the feel of his callused hand on hers, Mel took a deep breath. Cleared her throat. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Chapter 12

They walked down the corridor in silence, Dev listening carefully for any sounds that would indicate someone had found the door propped open and followed them. He heard nothing but the ragged sound of Mel’s breathing.

“Okay, babe?” he whispered.

“I’m fine,” she said. But she gripped his hand so tightly that his fingers ached like he’d shoved them into a vise and tightened it. He felt her glance at him and turned his head to meet her gaze.

“You’re enjoying this,” she said, her voice incredulous. “What the hell’s wrong with you?”

“Are you kidding me?” he said, trying to suppress his grin and not sure he succeeded. “This is my jam. I love this shit. Creeping around in tunnels beneath the nation’s capital? Not sure where we’ll end up or who we might run into? It’s like running an op in Afghanistan all over again.”

“Oh, my God, Dev.” She gripped his hand more tightly and moved a tiny bit closer. “Why have I never seen this side of you before?”

“You’ve never been on an op with me,” he said immediately. “All the SpecOps guys eat this stuff up. We live for this. Delta Force, Seals, Rangers – every one of them would love this tunnel.”

“You’re making me feel like a wuss,” she muttered.

“You shouldn’t,” he said immediately. “This isn’t your thing. You’re a desk jockey. You’re one of the people running the ops. Keeping us safe.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll stick with my desk,” she said, blowing out a breath.

“Hey,” he said. “We’re not going to run into anyone. And if we do? I’ll come up with a reason we’re down here. Nothing to worry about.”

But her grip on his hand tightened. “Which way do you think we’re heading?” she finally asked.

“No idea,” he said cheerfully. “But I’m betting there’ll be signs along the way. Entrances to other buildings. Once we see one, I’ll be oriented. We’ll figure out which way we’re heading.”

“Okay,” she said. Swallowed. “I trust you, Dev.”

“Thanks, Mel,” he said quietly. That meant a lot to him. He knew for a fact that Mel didn’t trust easily. He’d tell her he wouldn’t let her down, but why would she believe him? He’d already let her down in a big way.

They walked in silence for a handful of minutes, then he spotted a sign on the wall ahead of them. He jerked his head toward it. “There’s a sign,” he said, walking a little faster. “Let’s see what it says so I know where we are.”

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