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It was too important. Emerson was too important. And the hairs at the nape of his neck tingled at the thought of letting the location out, even to the admiral.
Nathan nodded sharply as the inner city streetlights became further apart and the dimmer, more distant lights of the residential areas threw longer, darker shadows into the truck.
“Can I sit up now?” She was tired of lying on her back and staring at Macey or the ceiling. Not that Macey wasn’t a fine thing to look at, but he wasn’t paying any attention to her, so it made the discomfort a bit more noticeable.
“Not yet.” His hand tightened on her knee again and gave her a thrill. She was pathetic, really. Creaming her panties for a shift of fingers against her knee. How low could a woman sink?
“This is uncomfortable, Macey.”
“So is death.” Clipped and impersonal. She hated that voice.
“Do you believe death is uncomfortable? I’d think you’d be unaware—”
“You’re going to be gagged if you don’t shut up.” He glowered down at her.
Emerson twitched her nose. The imp inside her was shaking in fear and staying quiet wouldn’t be easy. If she wasn’t talking, goading, or taunting, then she was going to start crying. And she really hated crying.
“Here we go.” Macey jerked the door open, jumped out, and grabbed her legs, pulling her across the leather seat as she jerked up in response.
“Let’s go,” he ordered as he gripped her waist and set her down on the sidewalk of a less than reputable residential area.
“I don’t have shoes,” she reminded him.
He began dragging her through a row of scraggly hedges as the pickup pulled away from the curb and drove off.
She was nearly hysterical with fear, well aware of the fact that she was in a bit of trouble. After all, terrorists didn’t drag you out of a bed on the spur of the moment unless they had very bad plans for you.
She shuddered at the thought and thanked God Macey was too busy dragging her through someone’s backyard to notice.
“We’re almost there.” His voice was low, smooth, a stroke to her shattered emotions as he led her into the thick overgrowth of a neglected backyard and into the side door of a garage.
“Where are we?” she asked as he let her go and stalked through the darkness.
A second later, flashlight in hand, he moved back to her and took her arm once again.
“Watch your step here.” He led her through a maze of rusted vehicle parts before they came to the back door. He pulled aside the panel of an electronic alarm, pulled out the wires, and accessed the hidden dual security panel where he punched in the security code, waited a few seconds, and reconnected the wires to the front plate before replacing it.
Dummy security plate, she thought, checking it out as he pulled her in through the door. Unusual and unexpected. Anyone who attempted to access the code, no matter the tools, jammers, or methods, would active an alarm simply by attempting to deactivate it.
The inside of the house was darker than ever, the smell a bit musty, as though it was rarely visited. There was the slide of a door, fresher air as he pulled her into a hallway, then downstairs.
Emerson tried to get her bearings. Behind her she could hear the slide of a door, then something else. A muted hum, a click, and then a burst of lights.
She brought her hand up to shield her eyes, blinking as the lights dimmed marginally.
“Sorry, I left them on full power before leaving last night.” Macey stood in the center of what she assumed was the “cave.”
She looked around. Across the room were a computer and server terminal, routers, secondary systems, and external hard drives. A metal cabinet held a stack of monitors that blinked up, the images showing the inside of a house. Each room and hallway was displayed and several others covered the darkness outside with infrared and heat-seeking capabilities.
Her gaze slid to Macey as he stalked to the main station, sat down in a chair she would give her eyeteeth for at work, and with his large, broad hands began a delicate series of commands over a straight keyboard.
Emerson eased closer to the command center, her eyes tracking over the electronics, both surveillance and stealth, her brows lifting at the impressive setup.
“Give me a minute to set up security and I’ll show you around.”
Emerson looked around and took in the small kitchen/eating area tucked into the corner beside the stairs. On the other side was an open living room with a sectional couch, plasma television with satellite reception, and a complete surround-sound speaker system. A few bookshelves. A scarred coffee table and a door that led into another room of some sort. She hoped there was a bathroom somewhere.
“Where are we?” She rubbed her hands over her arms and fought the chill beginning to invade her system.
