Page 66 of Teach Me
She was almost to the tunnel entrance when a hand grabbed the back of her shirt. Brit snatched her backward, pulling her off the ground and slamming her spine against his chest. She lifted her feet, letting him take her full weight, but instead of holding her, he spun her around, flinging her to the ground in the direction she’d just come. She kept rolling, desperate to get away.
“No you don’t! Come back here, you little bitch!”
He lunged once more, his full weight pinning her to the ground and taking her breath with him. Even as she struggled, his hand came into view, a syringe in his fist, hitting the side of her neck like a cobra strike. Her panicked scream echoed in her head as darkness fell over her.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Conlan was halfway back to the house when his phone vibrated in his pocket. Three short buzzes.Jack.
“Yeah.”
“Con—”
The stress in Jack’s voice immediately sent Con’s heartbeat into his throat. “Just tell me she’s alive.”
When Jack remained silent, Con swerved the car onto the shoulder of the road and slammed on the brakes.
“Tell me.”
“I don’t know. Gaines is looking now.”
His grip on the steering wheel went vise tight. Questions tumbled through his head, but he narrowed it down to one. “What’s going on?”
“I did some digging into Holbrooke Technologies’ current projects. They aren’t just working commercial applications; they have government contracts on the books. Top-secret contracts.”
Con didn’t bother asking how Jack found that out.
“One of those projects just happens to work with high-altitude drones. I just found a purchase order on the same project for ground-penetrating radar, the kind they use in archeological digs. The kind used to find buried artifacts—and tunnels.”
Shit. Shit shit shit!
“Gaines has to get her out of there.”
“He’s doing that— Hang on.” Mumbling, a shout, then Jack was back on the line. “She’s gone.”
“No! Jack, no.”
“Yes.” Jack went back to the other caller, his words muffled. Con waited, throat desert-dry, until his friend returned.
“He took her out the tunnel?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Okay, they couldn’t be far. It couldn’t have been that long; he’d only been gone two and a half hours. It would be okay.
“Where’s Mark?” Con was going to kill the big man; he swore he would.
“Mark’s been drugged.”
“But he’s alive?”
“For now. He was luckier than the men outside the tunnel.”
Con squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to ask. “What happened to the men outside the tunnel?”
“They’re dead.”
Jesus Christ.“How?”
