Deadly Game (Fortress Security #5)(34)

When he lifted his head a minute or an hour later, Rowan’s gaze was clouded, a soft expression on her face. Brent inched away and nudged the door closed with his elbow.

“Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“Safe room.” Brent clasped her hand and led her toward his bedroom. When she balked at his door, he glanced over his shoulder. “Trust me, Rowan.”

He crossed to his walk-in closet. At the back wall, Brent pressed on two of the mirrored panels simultaneously. A soft click and he moved aside the panel to key his security code into the pad. The mirrored wall slid aside, revealing yet another key pad into which he tapped another security code. When the green light flashed, Brent opened the heavy steel door and turned on the light. He stepped aside for Rowan to enter the secure room. “Welcome to the bunker.”

Four computers hummed quietly. One screen was split to show each of the different rooms in his house. A second split screen showed the front view outside of his house. The third screen was filled with camera angles from the back. A dialog box was on the fourth screen, waiting for him to login and start a search.

Rowan glanced at the leather couch and chair, small refrigerator, and half bath. “Have you ever had to use this?”

He stilled, studying her. Would too much information scare her off? How much he didn’t want Rowan to walk away shocked Brent. “Once, a year ago.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

Appreciating the careful way she phrased the question, he searched for the best explanation that wouldn’t reveal too much. “Fortress had a cookout here. Someone with a grudge against me and the company followed one of my rookies.”

“Sounds like a watered down explanation. I can’t see you hiding out, so you must have come here to see the computer screens.”

His lips curved.

“You want me to stay in here while you hunt for the watcher?”

“Please. That way I won’t worry about your safety while I’m outside.”

“Will I be able to see everything?”

“I’m not sure. Depends on where I catch this clown.” He lifted her chin with the edge of his hand. “Promise you’ll stay inside this room.”

“What if you need help?”

He smiled. The woman had guts, he’d give her that. She was afraid, yet willing to toss safety aside to help him. “I won’t.” Besides, if she had to come to his rescue, the situation was dire and in all likelihood, neither of them would survive.

Brent tapped the number on the card he’d laid on the desk top. “If I don’t come back within an hour, call Zane. He’ll know what to do.”

“Shouldn’t I call the police?”

“After you call Zane.” He grabbed a piece of paper from the desk drawer and wrote down the safe room codes in bold, black strokes. “These are the codes for the safe room. Don’t use them unless Zane tells you it’s safe to come out. Not for the cops or anyone else claiming to be from Fortress. Only me or Zane.”

She frowned. “I better not have to use this, Brent Maddox. I want more kisses from you.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Do you now? Good to know.” He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and stepped around her. At the door he glanced back, reluctant to leave her.

“Go. I’ll be here when you return.”

With a nod, he left and secured the door. Brent tapped the screen on his watch. The screen changed. He’d already had the techs check his perimeter sensors which hadn’t gone off during Carstairs’ run at the house two nights ago. The minor malfunction had been fixed which meant the watcher either hadn’t crossed the perimeter yet or he’d eluded the sensors. Knowing his system, he voted for the former.

Brent checked his weapon, grabbed his night vision glasses from his Go bag, and slipped out the back door. A few steps onto the patio, he glanced at the security camera hidden in the eaves and gave Rowan a salute.

That done, he turned his mind to the hunt, pushing everything else aside for the moment. Weapon in hand, he hugged the shadows as he worked his way into the woods surrounding his home on three sides. If he had to guess, he’d say the watcher was hold up on the right side of his driveway. There was a particularly thick stand of trees two hundred feet from the house he’d been meaning to thin. Definitely a new priority if that was where his unwanted visitor was hiding.

He moved silently through the shadow-drenched forest. The cool breeze nipped at his skin. Though he hadn’t seen a tail as he drove home earlier, that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. If the watcher was connected to Rowan’s situation, Brent wanted to have a chat with this one before turning him over to the cops.

He circled the rocks and skirted the creek. When he shifted closer to where he suspected the watcher might be, Brent slipped on his NVGs. Immediately, the world lit up.

Quartering the area, Brent spotted the watcher right where he figured. Careful to place his feet where he wouldn’t alert the other man to his approach, he came up behind the crouched figure. A man from the build, one with a phone in his hand.

Brent frowned as he eased off the glasses and laid them aside to retrieve later. If one of his operatives had been messing with his phone on a mission, Brent would have fired him on the spot. In a rush, he took the guy down from behind. Shadow Man twisted loose like a slippery eel and spun to face Brent.