SEALs of Honor: Dane (20 page)

“And so it should.” Mason pointed to the bedroom and the covers and the small envelope sitting on the top.

An envelope with her name on it.

*

D
ANE REACHED THE
bed in two strides. “What the hell is this?”

“A message apparently.” She lifted the envelope and carefully opened it. The letter was unsealed. Inside was a folded single sheet of paper.

She read the message out loud.

“Dear Marielle, I’m delighted to finally have you with me. I was hoping you’d come willingly. But rest assured, it was planned for you to be here anyway. There was a time when I thought you’d see things my way. Or at least open you to the delights of money and power. The thrill of the covert. The power of belonging to something bigger.

“Now I realize you will never be swayed to my way of thinking. Honestly I’m not a fanatical believer of anything but the power of the buck. I’m just a money hungry type of guy.”
She could almost hear his snigger.
“And be assured that what I am doing is bringing in very good money. But I need you to make the really big score. I know what you have discovered and the value that you haven’t.

“You’re so naïve that you don’t realize the potential gold mine in your hand. Well, I do. And I need your research so that I can make the big score and stop with the little drips and drabs. I have no idea how long I have left to live, but I do know that I don’t want it to be living like I have been. I’m meant for bigger and better things. You could win a Nobel peace prize – or you could earn a hundred million dollars. At one time I’d have loved the first. Now I realize that it’s only the second one that has any value.”

“And that you have the means to give that to me – and so far haven’t – is unacceptable.”
She paused and swallowed hard before continuing.

“You’ll remain here as my guest until you see things my way.”
She rubbed her temple, her mind struggling.

“PS. You might not see me for a while. But rest assured your keepers will take good care of you.”

Her voice fell silent as she lifted her horrified gaze to the men’s grim faces. “He was going to kidnap me and keep me prisoner?”

Dane hated to see the shock in her face. The betrayal of a friend. But the sheer fury in her voice restored his faith in her. She could deal with this.

And he could help. “Remember, he didn’t succeed. You escaped. We’ve kept you safe. You’re not going to be locked up in this hell hole.”

She flashed him a hard smile. “Glad to hear that.” She cast a final look around the cell, hating the proof of her intended future. She hated this and said, “Can we leave now?”

“Definitely. Come on.” He stepped aside so she could leave. Out in the hallway, Dane, Mason at his side, checked out the remainder of the rooms. Making sure there were no exits or secret rooms. “Looks like that’s it,” Dane commented as he ran his fingers over the old stone wall at the end of the hallway. “No other doors coming in or out.”

“Good. It’s an interesting layout, but not a place I’d like to spend much time in.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Marielle said. “He got out of the house while you were here. He didn’t walk out the front door, he snuck out somehow without you seeing him.”

“So you’re thinking there’s yet another exit.” Mason turned around in a slow careful movement. “If so, it’s not here.”

“It might not be,” she said. “But I definitely got the impression from him that he had a secret way in and out.”

Dane led the way back to the lab. He’d already gone through some of the paperwork. He’d hoped for a ledger, a little black book of some kind detailing his plans. It would likely be computerized, hopefully Swede or Shadow would have found it. The cell and letter went a long way to convicting the dead man though.

Back upstairs, the three stood in the main hallway for a moment, watching the hidden door close quietly and effectively disappearing into the hallway. Marielle turned to the office where Swede and Shadow were working on the electronics. She called back to the others, “Any idea if there’s a way to get a plan of the house? Blueprints showing all the secrets?”

“If there is, the guys will find it,” Dane said beside her. “Shadow’s a wizard but Swede is almost as good.”

Chapter 27

M
ARIELLE TOOK UP
the comfiest looking chair in the office and still winced. It might have appealed to the Victorian era crowd, but she’d take comfort over antique any day. And given the size of the house and the sheer amount of antiques in the house, someone was going to have a lot to deal with here.

“Okay, found the city planning department. There’s been no building permit issued in the last twenty years and the records are not online before that. Likely only in microfiche at this time. So that will require someone to go down and request the films to skim through if we think it’s of any value.”

“And that’s presuming there is anything to find.”

“You’d think he’d have something here that would give him the details of the house. Passed down from generation to generation.”

“There probably is.” Mason walked over to the bookshelves lined from floor to ceiling. “But where? They could be anywhere.”

She stood up and stretched. “I need to find a bathroom.”

Mason nodded to the hallway. “First door on your right.”

“Nice. I’ll grab Masters and bring him back here at the same time.” She headed to the hallway and the bathroom. When she was done, she washed her hands, sprinkled a bit of cool water on her face and returned to the men. Just as she was about to reenter the office, she caught sight of Masters dashing down a hallway. A hallway she didn’t remember. “Masters? Come here, sweetie,” she called out. “Stay close please.”

The place was huge. She couldn’t imagine all the hidey holes he’d be able to hide in. She ran after him.

“Masters? Masters. Masters!” she called out. But of course he wasn’t going to answer her or respond. First off he was a cat, and that meant he’d do things when he felt like it and never because she requested it. She laughed as she caught sight of him up ahead. Sitting and waiting for her as if to say, “What took you so long?”

She reached him finally and bent down to scoop him up. As she walked the small area he’d brought her too, she realized it looped back around to the kitchen. Nice. She looked down at him and asked, “Did you eat your dinner?”

In the kitchen she checked out his food dish and smiled. It was licked clean. She washed the dish and refilled it. Masters kept up a high pitched conversation as she worked. There wasn’t much else to offer in food from the cupboards. She could come up with a pasta meal in a pinch, but it felt wrong to help herself. The fridge was empty of all fresh fruit and veggies. As if the professor either hadn’t lived here or had been away and was only recently home. She wondered about that.

A place this size needed a housekeeper or a cleaning lady at the least. There was a notice board on the wall beside the fridge. Something you’d see in almost any home. It was empty. Mostly. She stood in front of it and read off the one number handwritten with the name Bettina. “This could be her,” she muttered. She pulled out her phone and wrote down the number. She turned to head back to the office and the men when she realized she couldn’t see Masters. She peered around the corners. “Masters? Where did you go?”

But he was no longer in the kitchen. Groaning, she walked back toward the men, her phone in her hand, to show them the number. If nothing else, this Bettina might know something of value. She didn’t think Michaels would have done his own cleaning. Perhaps he had a cleaning lady?

She could hear the men talking up ahead. She stopped in the middle of the hallway. “Masters? Where are you?”

What was it about cats that they never came when called? She looked around but there was no sign of him again. Then she heard a meow. Loud and close but muffled.

“Masters?”

“Marielle?” Dane stood at the doorway. “What’s wrong?”

“Masters,” she said. “I just fed him, he disappeared and now I can hear him as if locked in somewhere.”

On cue, the cat meowed again. A long plaintiff sound as if he could hear them speak. “He couldn’t be back in that downstairs stairway again, could he?”

“Did you open the door again?” Dane walked toward her, his gaze on the wall and the secret door.

“No, I didn’t.” She turned to look around her as if Masters would magically appear. “So if he’s in there then there’s another entrance.”

“Time to find out.” He reopened the secret staircase door.

And Masters hopped out.

“There’s your answer.” Mason walked toward them. “Obviously we missed something.”

“Let’s find it,” Dane said. He led the way back downstairs.

Marielle grinned. “This is fun.”

Mason snorted. “Except we don’t know what we’re missing and time is short.”

She nodded as she raced down the stairs. “I’m thinking there might have been another access point through the lab. It was the only place that was really lived in or the office.”

“But why two exits?” Mason asked.

“In case of an accident, I’d think. Chemicals are deadly. In the event of an accident such exits are needed. Even then, in many cases, you’re dead.”

On that note, they finished the rest of the trip in silence with Dane opening the lab door and walking in. She followed, Mason right behind them. Dane walked to the far end and searched. There was no apparent opening. Not a visible door anywhere.

She stepped back out into the hallway for another look and heard the door slam behind her. She spun to look and the blow came out of the left side. And smashed into her temple. She fell to her knees, her hands sliding down the wall before she collapsed to the floor.

Her gaze was wide in shock at the figure leaning over her.

Dr. Michaels.

*

D
ANE WATCHED
M
ARIELLE
walk out of the lab. She was enjoying this. Then again most people loved the idea of secret rooms and hidden staircases. The whole treasure hunter mentality. They frustrated him. He wanted to see clearly, and the idea of a house riddled with places like this was irritating as hell.

Still, it put smile on her face so that was good.

The door closed in front of him. Hard.

He frowned and jumped forward the last steps. Had she meant to close it? He reached for the handle but it didn’t turn. He threw his weight against it but it wouldn’t budge.

“Shit.”

“Are we locked in?” Mason asked incredulously. “Really?”

“Apparently.” Dane stopped to study the door and had his small tool kit out of his back pocket instantly. “And that means we aren’t alone.”

“I’m warning the others. Swede can come and get us out.”

“No!” Dane said sharply. “Send him after Marielle. Whoever locked us in is likely after her. As she hasn’t tried to open the door from the other side, he either has her or she’s incapable of opening it. Neither is a great option.” He studied the hinges and the lock. As they were in such a secure place, not much attention had been given to the security of the door locks. Perfect.

“I’ll have this open in a second.” And he went to work on taking the door knob off. When he popped the deadbolt, the door shifted, releasing its tight connections to the door.

“Got it.” Mason pulled the door toward them. He peered out and whispered, “She’s gone.”

Shit.

The two did a quick search of the other rooms. Someone raced down the stairs toward them. They melted into the background. Swede tore around the corner and came to a sliding stop.

“She’s gone,” Dane said hoarsely. “We have to find her before they go off the grid.”

“Shadow has locked down the entrances we know about. And Hawk is outside.”

“It’s the ones we don’t know about that are the problem,” Mason said. “Masters knows of another way in and out of here, and that’s the one we need to find.”

“Where is the cat now?” Dane asked, looking around. And there he was on the bottom step of the same stairs that Swede had come down. If he could close off that exit then maybe the cat would lead them to the other one.

He slipped alongside the cat and stepped behind him. Mason walked to the end of the hall. “Masters, come here boy.”

Masters sauntered closer. Then lay down, completely disinterested.

“We don’t have time for this,” Swede said, running his hands along the stone wall. “Why the hell would there be two exits down here anyway.”

“There might not be. He could have secreted her out the same way you came down. This house is huge.”

“Then let’s be methodical and clear it completely.”

Moving in unison, they quickly searched the house. Nothing. There were no signs of anyone inside.

Dane’s phone buzzed. “Hawk says no one has left the house and there is no movement in the circle of houses. So she’s still here.”

They spread out and searched the basement again, for the direction she’d been taken. With fear riding him and knowing they were running against the clock, Dane studied the prison cell. There was no point in having two doors to this room. He moved on to the next room and an anomaly caught his eye. The stones at the end of the wall looked to be a different type of rock. He stood in front and studied it. They’d checked it earlier, but as he stared at it now, there was a small, too even, space between the floor and the rock. A mere shadow but there should not be one at all if the rocks were part of the whole system. He ran his fingers over the different formations and his fingers clicked on a metal object. The wall pushed open in front of him.

As if sensing he’d found something, the other two raced toward him. Silently, gun out and down, Dane climbed the new set of stairs.

She was here. He knew it. And he was going to find her.