Page 64 of Deceit
Once I’d straightened up, I tapped at the screen again, dialing Connor, butafter several rings, the call diverted to voicemail.
“Fuck! Why the fuck is no one answering their fucking phones?”
“I’m scared,”Sofia whispered, her voice barely audible over the rushing ofblood in my ears.
I whipped my head to her, her face pale, and her blue eyes wide. Terrified.Forgetting the screen and my desperate attempt to call someone for backup, I reached across to squeeze her knee.“You’re okay, Sofe. I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
It was a promise I was determined to keep.
Without anyone answering their damn phones, I was on my own. I had a gunstashed in the car, but this wasn’t a fucking action film; I couldn’t hang out the window, shooting, while steering the car, so we didn’t crash.
There was only one option.
Pressing harder on the gas, the car lurched as we flew through the narrowroads leading further and further into the hills. Adrenaline flooded my system, and usually, I would have loved the rush, but not with Sofia in the car. Not when it was clear how petrified she was.
Every so often, my gaze flicked to the mirror, and relief seeped through mewhen the cars following started to fall behind. Nearing the spot where I needed to turn, I reached over and pulled Sofia’s seat belt, tightening it.
“Hold on.”
She squealed when I suddenly turned the car off the road, driving betweentwo thick trees. There wasn’t a road, orevena dirt track,justthe rough terrain of the forest, but it meantthatthere was little chance of us being followed.
Checking the mirror again, I unclenched my hands from where I’d grippedthem around the steering wheel at seeing we weren’t being followed. But I wasn’t taking any chances.
Exiting out of my contacts on the computer screen, I loaded another page,keeping one eye on the trees ahead. Finding the app I needed, I tapped in a code.
“Miles, what the…?”Sofia started, trailing off as she gaped at the groundahead, rising.
I didn’t answer her, concentrating on the narrow tunnel opening up. Ensuringthe car was lined up to fit into the small space, I switched the headlights onjustas we entered the tunnel, and the car descended to the underground safehouse.
The bunker had been one of my brighter ideas. I’d discovered the old WorldWar Two bunker when I’d been identifying places we could use for safehouses across the city. Kai had spent a fortune transforming it into a usable location, and until now, we’d never had to use it.
I tapped in a second code into the screen, and behind us, the door began toclose again, shutting us in. When we reached the bottom of the tunnel, sensor-triggered lights flickered on, lighting up the space big enough for two cars.
Coming to a stop, I switched the engine off and grabbed the gun from thecenter console.“Stay here,”I instructed, getting out and locking the door behind me.
Ensuring no one had discovered the bunker and was lurking insidesomewhere, I passed through a doorthatrequired another code to be entered before checking the open-plan space, and hoping like fuck we wouldn’t be in here long.
The bunker was small, and aside from a bathroom, there was nowhere toescape. The thought of being trapped in there for more than a couple of hours with Sofia made it impossible to breathe.
Contentthatthe place was as it should be, I returned to the car and openedSofia’s door, offering her my hand.“Come on, it’s all clear inside.”
Of course, the defiant mare ignored my hand and pulled herself out of thecar, strolling into the bunker with her nose in the air. I rolled my eyes and followed behind. Guess she wasn’t scared anymore.
She stopped several feet inside, taking in the couch and coffee tablein the middle of the room, the tiny kitchenette, the double bed at one end, and the desk with a computer at the other, before spinning to face me.
“Will we run out of air down here?”she asked, taking me by surprise. I’dbeen bracing for her to tell me the bunker was not to her tastes and she wanted to leave immediately.
“No. There’s a ventilation system installed, along with backup generators.There’s also electricity and water down here. Kai and I made sure this place was fully functioning when we converted it a couple of years back.”
“Oh,”she replied, walking further into the space, her shoulders relaxing.
“There’s a bathroom in there if you want to…clean yourself up,”I said,pointing to the closed door.
She raised a brow in question before her delicate features twisted into ascowl as if she’djustremembered my come was still between her legs. Huffing, she crossed to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
Nowthatthe adrenaline was leaving my system, and I was satisfied no onehad followed us, I pulled my phone out to ring Kai and get to the bottom of what the fuck was going on.
The safehouse was fitted with signal boosters feeding into antennas outsidethe bunker. It was how I still had a signal on my phone, and how the computer could still connect to the interneteventhough we were deep underground.
