Page 21 of Cease and Desist

She looked around, and any denial she might have harbored that her grandfather couldn’t have known about this place disappeared. His sweater hung on a hook by a steel door. Her stomach churned… he had lied to her. Her heart hurt with the knowledge of his betrayal. It was past time for her to admit her grandfather wasn’t the man she’d thought he was. No, that was unfair. She still didn’t know anything yet. And that was the problem. It was like she didn’t know her grandfather at all.

Hawk studied the door. He tried the knob, but it didn’t turn. There was a keypad with some sort of screen next to the door, and at about eye level, there was another device. “That’s a biometric set up using both eye scans and handprints to grant access.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He pointed to the keypad with the flat screen. “I’m pretty sure we would need to key in a code and then put a hand on the reader. The electronics inside would read the prints.” He stopped and looked up at the wall. “That, in turn, will activate the retinal scanner, which then scans the person’s eye. I’m guessing that would unlock the door.”

“Jesus,” she muttered. “What the hell is down here?” Her heart thundered in her chest. What had her grandfather been into? She was becoming more and more convinced there was a criminal nature to whatever it was.

He pointed to a small cut out in the door. “Or someone on the inside can open the door once they see…someone. That’s a window. Like a window to see who’s there without opening the door. Maybe people have to be verified before they are let in.”

“You mean like showing ID?”

He shrugged. “I have no idea, but I assume whoever is on the inside needs to get a look at who’s at the door before they open it.”

“How long do you think this has been here?” she asked, dreading the answer.

He glanced at her. “The door is fairly new and in good shape, and the electronics are close to state of the art. Also, the light switch on the wall is brand new by the looks of things.” Hawk let his gaze travel along the walls. “But the stairs are old. If you look at the wall hooks, they are also old. So, I think this entrance has been here for a long time but has had some recent upgrades in security.”

“Do you think we can find a way in?”

He glanced at her. “At this moment? No. I’d need tools.”

“What kind of tools?”

He squatted down to get a closer look at the panel and the keypad. Then he stood and peered at the retinal scanner. “Tools I don’t have, but I know who does.” He glanced around the foyer they were standing in and then swore. “I don’t think we can break in anytime soon.”

“Why? I need to know what’s behind that door.” She’d come this far. She wasn’t stopping now.

“Because”—he pointed to the ceiling—“we’re on camera.”

In the corner of the room, there was a tiny round circle. It blended in so well with the dark stone walls, she could hardly pick it out. Until it moved slightly. “Shit.”

“Someone knows we’re here.” Hawk confirmed her suspicions.

All of a sudden, a wave of pure rage washed over her, and she yelled, “Hey you fuckers! Open the damn door!” She needed to know what the fuck was going on, and she wasn’t going to stop until she figured it out. The camera moved a bit again. “Hey, asshole! Open the door.” She kicked it for good measure which didn’t hurt the door but killed her foot.

Hawk put a hand on her arm. “Yelling and calling them names is not going to work. They’re not going to let us in.”

“How do you know?” she demanded.

“Because if they were going to, they’d have already opened the door for us. We’ve been down here long enough, and they’ve been watching us. No one is going to suddenly open the door now and invite us in.”

“So, what are we going to do? I need to know what’s going on.” She turned back and banged on the door, yelling again.

Hawk grabbed her arm. “Stop. It’s not going to work.”

“But I need—"

“Not now,” he said through clenched teeth, grabbing her attention. “We need to get out of here.” She wanted to argue with him, but the tension evident on his face made an impression. He’d gone from lawyer to something else…predator or protector? She didn’t know but it set her heart thumping in her chest. His eyes had darkened, and she would guess every one of his senses was on high alert. He’d become a dangerous man.Thank God he was on her side. Wasn’t he?

He turned her and shoved her back, pushing her up the stairs ahead of him. “Move,” he growled.

She took the stairs two at a time and burst into the store again. She turned to see Hawk come out behind her, and then he froze.

She turned around to find three men standing in the middle of her shop. “Who the fuck are you?” she demanded, “And how did you get in here?” She looked at the door, but the lock didn’t look broken.

Hawk came up and touched her arm. “These are the men that run whatever is downstairs.”

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