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He glanced at her but said nothing. He drove to the keypad, slipped the card from the visor and input the code to open the gates.
Tess wasn’t afraid for her. She didn’t have the emotional capacity to fear for her own safety when Danny was there and at risk.
“Please,” she said as he drove through. “Please just leave. I promise I’ll—”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, tossing a glare her way.
It wasn’t like him to glare. His frowns usually meant confusion or that he was teasing.
Tess just wanted him to be safe.
He turned the truck around to face the exit and parked parallel to the building, nearer to the door than they’d stopped before. Thank God he watched crime shows. It wouldn’t have occurred to her a quick departure might be necessary.
“Danny,” she whispered when he killed the engine. “I don’t want you to get hurt because of me.”
“Tess,” he said, retrieving the gun from the door well. “We’re gonna go in there together and whatever happens, it won’t be your fault.”
He got out without so much as looking her way. Which gave her no option except to follow. They were going in and he was going to ride the wave with her, no matter what she said.
Danny waited by the door, gun in his hand. Having been the one to suggest returning, backing out wasn’t an option. With a heavy heart and stressing about Danny’s safety, she input the code. The line around the keypad flashed green.
When her fingertips were an inch away from the door handle, Danny spoke. “Tess,” he said, attracting her attention. His eyes were darker than usual, his expression somehow more intense. “You don’t deserve this.”
She didn’t understand. “This?”
“This life you’ve led… You shouldn’t have gone through what you did.”
Why was he saying that? The sentiment was appreciated, but it didn’t feel like the time to get into it.
He opened the door and peeked inside. Raising the gun, he went in first. This was it. They were going in. Tess held her breath as she stepped up to go in after him. The cavernous entryway held four staircases. One left and right of the door and another two facing them at either side of the space. A massive roll-up garage type door took up most of the back wall, though the ceiling was lower back there. Two of the staircases led up to the floor that ate into that space.
Danny went to the left, toward the staircase. “Come on,” he said, reaching back for her.
Distracting him while he held a weapon could be dangerous. Staying silent, she hurried to curl her pinkie around his, and let him lead her up the stairs.
On the top landing, there was one central door. Going through was the only course. There was a keypad next to it. Maybe it was locked. Danny paused and tried the handle. It opened without them putting in a code.
A whisper of a sound came from his lips. What was he thinking? Ha, she couldn’t figure out her own thoughts. Why would she be able to decipher Danny’s?
The building was cold, in temperature and color palette. The dark grey room they left became a long grey and blue corridor. Various identical doors led off each side.
How were they supposed to find what they were looking for when she didn’t know what it was? Danny took a left and kept going. The building could be a warren of corridors and rooms. Even someone who knew the plans could get lost there if everything looked the same.
Coming with a partner was proving smart. If Danny hadn’t been with her, she wouldn’t have known where to begin. By herself, adrenaline and determination would’ve waned by the time she discovered anything useful.
Danny took them through another door, and then they were ascending stairs. Confidence really did sell anything. He couldn’t possibly know anything about the compound or its layout. Though she wouldn’t be surprised if he knew something about search patterns or how best to get unlost. Many useless, fathomless facts lived in his lackadaisical brain. That moment was evidence it wasn’t useless all the time.
He took her through a door and along a corridor, swung a left and kept on going until the middle of the passage. The way he stopped almost sent her rushing into his back. Catching herself on her tiptoes, Tess inhaled.
Their physical link dropped when he laid a palm on the nearest door. The gun in his other hand pointed up at the ceiling.
She saw his lips move, but was more intrigued by the pulse point in his neck. His heart was pounding hard. He stepped to the side and grabbed for her, putting her between him and the door. The shelter of his body, the heat of his chest against her shoulder blades, reassured her they were going to be okay.
He reached around her to turn the handle slowly. Once it was at full rotation, he paused to inhale at the crown of her head. His lips touched her hair for the briefest moment. Without letting another second pass, he threw open the door and propelled her forward.
Off-balance, she didn’t go more than half a step. An arm shot around the doorframe to grab her, hauling her over the threshold. No time to think, she tried to call for Danny, but a hand clamped over her mouth, yanking her back against another hard body.
What the hell was happening? Terror coursed through her. Danny came in, gun aimed at whoever was holding her. The sight of his weapon snapped her focus to what was against her temple. A gun. The assailant was carrying a weapon of his own.
