Ryley's Revenge (Gloves Off #2)(79)

“I doubt we can simply pry it open. This isn’t going to be easy.” I examined the edges closer. “Can we get some tools to try?” I asked the guys from the drilling crew.

“This door is designed to be unlocked only from the inside,” Special Agent Cornell confirmed my theory. He crouched next to me and rapped his knuckles on the metal surface. “And it is soundproof, so she wouldn’t hear if we tried to communicate with her.”

As expected, there was no response from the room. This was a real-deal safe room, not the stuff you see in the movies where a person inside might be verbally coerced to follow the attacker’s plan. Sound insulation in real life was done to eliminate such nonsense and also to prevent anyone on the outside from hearing what was going on inside, like a phone conversation with the police.

But with such a powerful explosion, there was no doubt the woman inside knew something went very wrong. So why wasn’t she trying to get out?

Special Agent Drasco stood a few feet away with three other dark suits, quietly talking on his cell phone.

“Ethan. Here!” Chief Holton handed me a crowbar.

I stood up and hooked it under the edge of the door.

A guy from the drilling crew carried another crowbar. He walked to the opposite side and did the same.

“If it doesn’t budge easily, we might need to try the excavation machinery to lift that door up,” Chief Holton announced. “By the looks of it, it’s too thick to spring free with the tools.

“Yeah. We can’t even make a dent,” I murmured, repositioning the crowbar. “Let’s get the tow equipment in here.”

At that moment I heard a muffled sound like a distant scraping, coming from the trap door. Everyone else around us must’ve heard it, too, because the quiet conversations ceased, and we all gaped in that direction.

The door slowly lifted an inch and then a few more. I was kneeling right by it, so I grasped the handle with one hand and hauled up the door, opening it completely. A pair of wide-open, bright-green eyes stared at me from under a shock of dark, tangled curls covered by a thin hood of her jacket. Lush, pink lips parted slightly, but not a sound came out.

“Miss Glass.” Cornell stooped down, his hands on his knees. “I’m Special Agent Cornell, FBI. This is Captain McCoy and Chief Holton, both from the Portland Fire Department.

The green eyes darted from Cornell’s face to mine to Holton’s and back to mine. They locked with my eyes, holding me hostage, spellbinding me with almost a child-like intensity. God, she was gorgeous, breathtaking even, with her pale complexion highlighted with a little splash of a natural pink over her high cheekbones. Those green eyes were huge, framed in thick, long lashes. She was scared, too; I could sense it, although she fought not to show it. She bit on her lower lip to keep it from trembling.

I extended my hand to her. “We’re here to help, Miss. Are you hurt? The paramedics can see you now.”

She took my hand. “My name is Gloria,” the girl whispered. Her skin was warm against mine, her hand fitting perfectly inside my hand.

“I’m Ethan,” I whispered back. Why was I whispering?

“What happened here? It was horrible to be down in the bunker and not know.” She looked around, her eyes wide.

“There was an explosion. I’m sure the FBI agents will explain everything to you.”

“Where is Special Agent Vera? Special Agent Kolaski?”

I slowly shook my head from side to side. “The whole structure was leveled. Nobody survived. I’m sorry.”

She stared at me, open-mouthed, and then said, “Gone? They’re gone?” She looked away. “I slept in the safe room, as always. Special Agent Vera told me to secure the door last night and only open it when instructed by her or Special Agent Kolaski. How… what caused the explosion?”

“We don’t know yet. Here, let me help you out. Careful now.” I gently grasped her elbow with my other hand. She had small bones and not much meat over them.

Before climbing out, she hastily pulled her hood down, concealing her face.

Chief Holton and one of the feds were on Gloria’s other side, trying to assist with guiding her out of the chamber, but she pushed herself up, swinging one knee out onto the ground covered with chunks of concrete and other debris. She still held onto my hand, though, squeezing it hard until it hurt.

I winced. For such a slim woman, she packed some muscle, at least in her grip.

The feds swarmed around us like black crows. Special Agent Cornell was quietly asking her questions and declaring her absolute safety. Gloria shied away from them. A deep frown settled between her dark brows, while her delicate mouth curved down as if in resolve to block out his assurances.

“Are you a paramedic?” she asked me hopefully. “I feel nauseous.” She was shaking and pleaded with her eyes.

I wrapped my turnout coat over her shoulders, and she accepted it with a look of gratitude on her face. “Yes, ma’am, I’m trained as a paramedic.”

Drasco came up to Gloria and said quietly, “Miss Glass. As soon as you’re checked by the EMTs, I have an order to take you to an undisclosed location.

“No!” she backed up, bumping into me.

The contact made my body aware of her even more than before. The top of her hood brushed the spot under my chin, and a shiver ran through me.