Page 43 of Deadly Threat
“No.”
“I got that call from Harris right before this went down. Do you really think he and his team would sit at their office if they believed Amber was here?”
She hadn’t thought of that. “So they figured there was a possibility and covered their asses by sending SWAT, but since the chances were slim, they stayed put to keep working.”
He nodded.
“I wish everyone would stop trying to protect me. This is total bullshit, misleading us and getting my hopes up.”
“I agree, but they think and act differently than you and me. They have systems and resources we can’t touch, and layers of bureaucracy and red tape to go through. They see us as outsiders and ones who could get in the way, get hurt, or cause a mission to fail. We can’t take it personally.”
“Bullshit. I take this very personally.”
She could tell he actually did, too, but realized that wasn’t going to help.
He gave her arm a squeeze. “Would you rather be at their office going over details and analyzing the bad guys?”
She tilted her head slightly, thinking about it. “No.”
He took her by the hand and led her out, avoiding the agents completing their search of the grounds. They gave the building a cursory sweep as Malachi and Mia stayed hidden yards from them, then they began to load up.
When they were finally leaving, Malachi guided her past the bushes. “Now we do our own inspection.”
Her adrenaline surged as he flicked on his flashlight. She pocketed the stun gun, doing the same with hers.
“I noticed something earlier.” He led her to the back of the lab. His beam slid over a section of ground near the loading dock, and she saw it flash off metal.
He stopped and bent down, using a gloved hand to brush debris from a metal door embedded in the ground. It had a handle and padlock.
“What is it?” Mia asked, shining her light on it as well.
“A door to a basement or a crawl space.” The lock didn’t give when he tugged on it. He tapped his fingers against it. “See anything odd about this?”
“You mean, other than there’s a door in the ground?”
He smirked. “Look at the lock. The door is old and rusted, the handle pitted from sun and weather. But the lock…”
His meaning struck like a bolt of lightning. “It’s new.”
“It certainly hasn’t been here long.”
“We need to find out what’s behind it,” she said.
Malachi’s phone must have vibrated. He reached into a pocket, checked the screen, and frowned. Then shoved it in and glanced at the door once more. He narrowed his eyes, his gaze catching on something next to it on the ground.
“Hello,” he muttered and Mia saw what had caught his attention. He held it up to get a better look, and her legs went weak.
The glitter of gold flashed in the illumination from the beam, the twinkle of a diamond with it. Sensing her reaction, he held the earring toward her. “Do you recognize this?”
All she could do for a second was stare and hope her legs didn’t give out. Swallowing hard, she found her voice. “It’s Amber’s.”
“I’m on your left, Cahill,” a familiar voice rang out. “Don’t shoot, okay?”
A figure emerged from behind a tree. His hands were raised, a crowbar in one, and he blinked when she swung her light in his direction.
Malachi straightened, reaching for his gun, then barked, “What the hell, Mann?”
Thomas gave a lazy smile and motioned at Mia to lower her beam. She did, and he strode toward them, swinging the crowbar. “I called, but you didn’t answer.”
