“I’m terribly sorry,” he said as he quickly slid the tube of lipstick and a few coins back into the purse. “How clumsy of me.”
“No problem.” Sara had reached him by that time and took the handbag, digging through for her key. “I’ll be just a few minutes.”
Both men watched her go and, again, the hair began to bristle on the back of Lucas’s neck. Caldwell turned to look at him and gave him a cold smile.
“She’s going to be mine, Highlander. I just wanted you to know.”
The wolf growled, straining to be released.
“Well, well,” Mr. Smith said. “This should be interesting.”
****
Sara latched the door to the library and crossed the thick Aubusson carpet to reach up and tug at one of the leather-bound books. The bookcase slid silently to one side and Sara pressed her thumbprint against the small technology pad that would allow her access. The door clicked and she descended the steps into the concrete-lined bunker that her boss had especially built in case of nuclear fallout. It was comfortably furnished with overstuffed leather chairs and sofas and a huge master bed. In a strange mix of the twenty-first century and the Middle Ages, there was storage for six months of Army rations,supplies of batteries to run the laptops, radios, and a small TV present, plus oxygen tanks and protective body gear and several thousand beeswax candles. The one thing the bunker lacked was a generator. There was no way to ventilate it. The other intriguing thing about this underground secret was the vaults. She didn’t have access to the big walk-in one, but the files she was looking for were available. She pulled several portfolios and stacked them. Then she paused.
There was another, smaller, vault recessed into a wall, hidden by a rather imperfect replication of theMona Lisa.The irony of her smile in a cheap painting protecting the valuables in the safe always made Sara smile too.
She glanced at her watch. In five minutes the timer would go off and she would have exactly one minute before it reset itself. Should she wait?
Sara knew Professor MacDonald would be diligent in his work, but she knew also that Lucas did not want to wait. And, she admitted to herself, neither did she. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, his dire prediction had struck a note of alarm deep inside. The Sisterhood was going to meet tonight. The moon was full. If she knew where the danger lay, she could use the energy of the circle to call on the power to help.
The vault clicked softly. She swung the picture out, opened the door, and removed the manila envelope. Returning the picture to its place, she gathered the portfolios and climbed the stairs. She slipped the document behind a book and returned to the study.
“Ah! There you are,” Mr. Smith exclaimed.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” Sara explained a bit breathlessly. “One of the files was misplaced and I had to hunt for it.”
Her boss frowned, but she didn’t give him time to react. “Mr. Caldwell, if you’ll follow me?”
“Call me Al,” he said with a smile and took the portfolios, letting his hands run over hers slowly. “Will you help me sort through these?”
Sara hesitated. There was something unsettling about the man. Maybe it was just that he was too smooth-talking, or maybe it was the fact that he had actually held her hands in a most proprietary way. His touch made her shiver.
“I believe I had an appointment for this morning,” Lucas spoke from across the room.
“Yes,” Sara turned quickly and caught Mr. Smith trying to hide a grin. “You did.” She turned back to Caldwell. “I’m sure you’ll have no trouble sorting things out. The billiard hall is the first door on your left.”
His eyes hardened, although his smile stayed in place. “I may have some questions later.”
“Of course,” Mr. Smith interrupted. “I’ll just show you to the room myself.”
Sara waited until they were both gone. “I pulled the document.”
Lucas’ eyebrow rose. “Do you think that wise?”
Now he was questioning her? First he made it sound like the Apocalypse was headed their way, and now he had time to wait? “I thought we needed to save the world before something evil destroyed it.” She softened the tartness in her tone with a small smile.
He didn’t return it. “Don’t even jest, Sara. It’s too close to truth.”
She stopped herself from rolling her eyes. What could a document written in middle-Gaelic say that would have such an impact? She wondered if he were trying to go allThe DaVinci Codeon her with his grim predictions of news that would shake the world. Well, she’d soon find out.
“Come,” she said and then, as the corner of his mouth quirked up, she realized how that had sounded and felt herself grow warm.“I’d like to,” his eyes said, and heat blazed through her. Damn, but he was unsettling.
Sara ignored the look and led the way to the library, closing the door behind them but not locking it. She didn’t need to be giving this hot little fantasy of hers any more ideas. She pulled the envelope out from behind the book and handed it to him.
He sat down at a small desk and spread the papers in front of him and began reading. Sara sat down on the sofa near the desk and watched him. He was as tense as a mountain cat ready to spring. The fingers of his large, strong hands flexed and stretched on the table as he read, reminding her of a big cat retracting its claws. He raised an eyebrow from time to time, and on occasions he frowned, but he didn’t look up.
It was nearly lunchtime when he finally gathered the documents and put them carefully inside the envelope. He sat back and rubbed his eyes.
