Joanna's Highlander (Highland Protector #2)(46)
“It’s no’ an elevator,” Grant said as he stepped onto the platform beside her.
The grating groaned and shifted and the rock-on-metal scraping noise made Joanna grab hold of the chain with both hands and wrap one leg around it. “Shit! Is this thing safe?”
Grant chuckled. “Aye, lass. Safe as a mother’s arms.” Grant held the lantern higher, squinting at the wall just past Joanna’s head. “I’ll need ye t’switch places with me, though. I hafta, t’reach those stones to open the door.”
“Switch places?” Joanna looked down at the platform. There was barely enough room for them to stand side by side. How the hell were they supposed to switch places? She resettled her grip on the chain and hugged up closer to it. “You’re gonna have to figure out something else because I’m not about to let go of this chain.”
“Verra well then.” Grant placed his right foot tight against the back of her heel and snugged his left foot in between the toe of her shoe and the rock wall. Straddling her, he leaned across her, stretching to reach over her head.
“What exactly is it that you’re doing?” All she could see was his massive linen-covered chest. Normally, she quite enjoyed that view, liking it even better naked. But the possibility of plummeting down through the darkness had effectively caused her libido to pack up and leave.
“I am…” Grant held the lantern higher with his left hand, leaned in even closer, and maneuvered with his right. Whatever he was doing, it was rocking the platform and she wished he would stop. “…unlocking the doors so we can enter the tunnels.”
“Hurry up before I puke.” She didn’t care where the tunnels went or what they looked like as long as they were solid. There was definitely no going back the way they came. At least not for her.
The muffled sound of grinding gears and shifting metal made Joanna close her eyes and take deep breaths to keep from passing out. I can do this. I’ve got the chain. I’m not falling. I can do this. The thick, heavy chain she’d coiled herself around started vibrating. “Son of a bitch. Grant, what are you doing?” If she got out of here alive, she was going to kill him.
“There now, lass,” Grant said in a soothing tone paired with a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Open yer eyes. ’Tis all well and good now, aye?”
Joanna barely cracked open one eye and peeked out from behind the shield of her arm. The double metal doors had opened, revealing a softly lit passage. A safe, solid-looking passage encased in military bunker–like sheets of riveted metal. Joanna dove in, rolled across the space, then pressed her back against the wall farthest from the opening. Heart racing, breath coming in quick gasps, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Solid ground. Under her butt, against her back, and under her hands. Thank you, Jesus!
Grant squatted down beside her, amusement written all over his face. “Good now, aye?”
“You think this shit is funny?”
“Absolutely not,” Grant responded in a serious tone, but Joanna could see impishness sparkling in his eyes. He held out his hand. “Come. Ye’ve caught yer breath. Time t’finish this day’s journey.”
Taking his hand, Joanna pushed her way up the cool, smooth wall at her back and stood. The metal doors slid shut with a shushing thud and a mild wave of claustrophobia washed across her. She lifted her chin and took in a deep breath through her mouth. I’m okay. There’s plenty of air. She swallowed hard and looked around. Wire cages covered bright incandescent lightbulbs mounted close to the ceiling. The lights marched down both sides of the tunnel, placed no more than four feet apart, leaving no opportunity for shadows to gather anywhere in the passage. The slightest movement of cool air brushed across her face. She shivered and hugged closer to Grant’s side. “Where exactly are we?”
“Do ye ken the mountain that rises behind Castle Danu?”
“Where the explosion was a little over a year ago?” Joanna remembered the explosion caused by the film crew Sadie used to work for before she married Alec. It had blown away a good chunk of the mountain and forced the MacDaras to close Highland Life and Legends early in the season—putting a lot of people out of work. It had been a dark time for both the town and the MacDaras.
“Aye. The same.” Grant slowed as they came up even with a bronze plate engraved with several odd-looking symbols. The plaque was mounted between two of the wire-caged lights, and Joanna didn’t recognize the strange symbols etched across its surface.
Grant studied it for just a moment, then pointed in the direction they were headed. “A bit farther and then we take the tunnel to the left. I wasna certain. It’s been quite some time since I was down here.”
The fact that Grant might not remember where they were going did nothing to ease the nauseating knot of “oh shit” tightening in the pit of Joanna’s stomach. Her self-preservation paranoia was back in all its jittery raw-nerved glory. This little jaunt had gotten too weird to be some kind of quirky romantic rendezvous. Joanna stopped, pulled away from Grant, and backed up against the wall. “I’m not going any farther. You’re scaring the living shit out of me. What the hell is this place? Some underground nuclear facility or something? Is your family some kind of secret contractor for the DOD?” They were strategically positioned here in North Carolina. No one would ever suspect Highland Life and Legends to be a covert military facility for testing secret weapons.