Page 54 of Deadly Threat
They hugged again. Mia and Malachi returned to the pickup. He banged his hands against the steering wheel, frustrated.
Mia touched his arm. “What’s next?”
Malachi started the engine. “The lab.”
He drove right up to it this time, not hiding but staying wary all the same. There were no other vehicles, and the place looked as dead as ever. Gathering a bag of cameras from the back, he climbed out, hand on his weapon, just in case. He made Mia stay inside, while he made sure they were alone. Once he was, he motioned for her to join him at the rear entrance.
As she climbed the stairs next to the ramp, she stopped and looked at the dilapidated delivery truck next to the dock.
“What is it?” Malachi asked. “Another memory?”
She whirled, started back down the steps, snapping her fingers. “This.” The white panels were dingy and dirty. She smacked the side of one with a gloved hand. “There’s something about it that’s bugging me.”
He felt the rush that he always got when something clicked into place. He moved to the rear double doors. There was another padlock. It didn’t look as pristine as the one on the basement tunnel, but it still didn’t seem as old as he expected from the condition of the truck. Had someone purposefully made it appear more broken-down than it was? “They transported you in this?”
“Maybe,” she said, looking sick.
Even if her mind didn’t know it, her body did. He’d seen similar reactions from others like this.
He made quick work of breaking the lock. He and Mia stood shoulder to shoulder, as they opened the doors. The inside was shadowed and he flicked on his flashlight, shining it around the interior. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
She flinched. “That’s...it.”
A walk-in refrigeration unit, complete with a drain at the center of the floor.
“Cahill?” It was Thomas, once again coming out of nowhere and making them both jump. “Boy, you get around.”
Mia sank down on the edge of the loading dock, hand going to her heart, her breath coming in gasps.
Thomas strode up the ramp. “What did you find?”
Malachi bent down beside her. “Look at me. You’re okay. You’re in control. Just breathe.” To him, he said, “We found where they held Mia.”
Thomas eyed the vehicle and nodded. “Interesting. They could move her at a moment’s notice.”
Mia burst out in tears and reached for Malachi. He took her by the arms, turning her to face him. “I’m right here, and we’re a step closer now to finding Amber.”
Thomas stalled, a look of fear on his face. A woman crying could do that to the toughest man around. “He’s right. This is good news.”
Lips quivering, her tearful gaze rose to Malachi’s. She searched his face. “I know about…Horvat. How you failed to capture him. Are you only helping me to relieve your guilt?”
Malachi felt like he’d been punched in the gut. The pain in her eyes stole his breath. “Of course not. I would help you regardless of how I felt, but I’m all in. I seriously was not stalking you that day in the library. It was a coincidence. I didn’t even recognize you at first. Like Sue, what happened between us is…”
She was gasping for air again, and he drew her to her feet, encircling her in his arms. “Shh. It’s okay. I know the memories are awful, but you’re not them. You’re a strong, confident, intelligent woman. You have the strength to overcome this. I’m right here with you, and I’ll do anything to help. I’m totally—”
Thomas’s phone rang. “Sorry. It’s Coop. I gotta take this.”
Mia’s breathing became easier. She wrapped her arms around Malachi’s waist. “You’re what?” she whispered.
“Head over heels infatuated? Stone cold in love with you? Take your pick.”
He heard Thomas speaking off in the background, but he kept his focus on Mia. The bastards who had done this to her were going to pay. He was going to make sure of it.
“There’s no way…” she sucked in a breath. “You can’t be.”
He chuckled, feeling her relax and her breathing becoming more normal. “I usually do things by the book, but in case you haven’t noticed, you’ve blown that book all to hell. I don’t want to scare you, and I don’t want to come on too strong, but I’m not kidding about my feelings.”
She took a long, deep breath, and laughed. “You better reconsider. My life has been a horrid disaster for the last year and a half, and I’m a hot mess because of it.”
