“Terrific,” Daria muttered. “How do we get in?”
Ryon smiled grimly. “With the override code Nick’s security contact was able to provide, since August uses one of the same systems they serve. What’s more, the code deactivates the sensors until the doors close again. Brilliant, huh?”
She peered over his shoulder and frowned. “I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you.”
“Why?”
“Because the room is empty.”
Ryon spun and stared in disbelief. He walked inside, fists clenched. Solid concrete walls and nothing else.
“Son of a bitch.”
“No telling how long ago he cleaned it out. Apparently Nick’s all-seeing eye isn’t foolproof. Any other brilliant ideas?” She waited, glancing around nervously.
“I’m open to suggestions,” he bit off. He felt like a fool. Of course August would’ve moved his files the instant he learned that his estate had been breached. Ryon’s mistake had cost him and Daria time they couldn’t afford to lose.
“I think the files in his office are the real ones,” Daria speculated. “Dad said he’s been really preoccupied with some sort of construction off the far wing. He told Dad he was adding on to the estate, but now I think it’s possible that he’s building a better headquarters for his transactions.”
“Makes sense, but why wouldn’t he just leave the files down here until the new facility is ready? His data is more secure here than upstairs.”
“He’s a spider waiting to spring his trap. The million-dollar question is, do we take the bait?”
Every instinct he possessed was urging him harder than ever to get Daria the hell out, forget the whole thing. But he longed for August to roast for what he’d done to Ben, and to other humans and shifters. If nothing else, he could give Daria that much.
Ryon waved a hand. “We’ve come this far. Let’s do it.”
“Wait,” she said softly. Stepping close, she laid her palm on his chest. “I’m sorry I pushed you into coming back here, especially now. You’re sick and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“It’s all right, baby. If I didn’t want to try again, you couldn’t have made me.” He gave her a quick kiss. “We’re going to accomplish what we came to do and get out of here, trust me.”
Daria looked deeply into his eyes, as if trying to discern his sincerity. After a minute, she stepped back, satisfied. “All right. So, did Nick say what part of the house the corridor leads to?”
“The kitchen pantry.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. What better place to hide the other entrance than behind a wall of food? We can restock our packs, too.”
“Clever,” she admitted.
“We’ve got to hurry.”
Every cell in his body alert, Ryon padded toward the house, Daria pressed to his back like a second skin. The narrow confines of the bright corridor made him more uneasy than before. He half expected the passage to be booby trapped, then dismissed the notion. A man like August would prefer to mete out pain himself and witness the results.
They reached the stairs and ascended slowly. Ryon found the latch, and the mechanism emitted an audible pop, the wall creaking when released from position. He tensed. After a minute, he used the tip of his rifle to inch the gap wider. Light from behind them flooded the large walk-in pantry. Quickly, he stepped inside and motioned for Daria to close the panel behind them. If anyone in the kitchen had seen the strange light below the door, he and Daria would soon find out.
Nothing. Breathing a sigh, Ryon used the tiny penlight to scout for food to replace what they’d consumed. Being a man of finer tastes, August didn’t allow the cook to buy a lot of junk. However, Ryon did locate several packages of crackers, jerky, and a few granola bars. With a grimace, he stowed them in Daria’s pack, thinking he’d give his small fortune for a juicy steak and a baked potato. An open case of bottled water rested on the floor and Daria put several bottles in his pack. Ryon figured he’d rather collapse from carrying the extra weight than to starve or dehydrate. What a choice.
This done, he flicked off the penlight and opened the pantry door an inch. All was quiet. A clock on the wall revealed the hour to be one thirty in the morning. His tired, aching body felt every minute of it.
They made their way from the kitchen into the open, airy living room, placing their steps carefully, keeping to the perimeter. Moonlight filtered in through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the pool on one end of the room, the front lawn on the other. A burly guard stood next to the patio door with his back to the glass, facing the pool, shifting restlessly.
August’s office wasn’t far, just across the living room and a few feet down the hallway. Ryon barely made the safety of the shadows in the hall and turned to beckon for Daria to hurry, when the guard suddenly pressed his face against the window. The big man jerked upright in surprise, shouldering his rifle.
Shit, he’d spotted her!
Daria saw him, too, and froze, the SIG trained on the man’s broad chest as he strode inside, stalking her. His cocky smile flashed in a sliver of light. Totally ignoring her gun, he lowered his own weapon and pressed his body against hers.
“Well, what do we have here? August’s sweet little do-gooding niece can’t shoot, so what are you going to do? Shall we work out a trade for my silence?”
Ryon’s wolf snarled in rage, and he barely kept the sound from escaping. The claws on his hand lengthened, and he waited.
Daria didn’t answer, but began to back away, bringing the guard closer to Ryon’s hiding place. Good girl. Just a bit more. Ryon clenched his teeth as the dirtbag crowded her and cupped a breast, confident in his ability to overpower her. A sloppy fool, smelling faintly of whiskey. And groping his mate. It would be his last mistake.
“Very nice,” the man laughed, low and nasty. “You’re going to come with me, open your pretty legs, and learn how to treat a real man. Then I might be persuaded to forget you were here—”
Ryon had heard enough. Moving silently, he came at the goon from behind, reached around him, and delivered a vicious, lethal swipe to his neck. Blood sprayed over the pristine floor, and he could muster no sympathy for the slimy bastard.
Working fast, he lowered the huge man to the floor, laid the rifle on his chest, took him by the ankles, and dragged him away. The living room offered no place to stash the body, so he secreted it inside the pantry. Next, he grabbed a couple of kitchen towels and quickly wiped as much of the blood as possible from the floor. A hurried inspection would pass in the darkness, but the guard would be missed eventually. After relieving the man of his shirt, pants, handgun and bullets, he rejoined Daria.
She hadn’t moved, but stood like a small, pale ghost with wide, fathomless eyes that he couldn’t see in the dark. Only the firm line of her unsmiling mouth gave voice to her thoughts. He touched her cheek.
“I had no choice, baby. He would’ve killed us both.”
“I know.”
But her tone was dull. She was coming to terms with the fact that the man she loved was a natural-born killer. He wasn’t some romantic commando from a Stallone movie, but the real thing, and he had other abilities tacked on for good measure. Knowing that and witnessing it were different matters. Heart heavy, he dropped his hand and turned to head for the office.
Daria swept in ahead of Ryon, and he left the door cracked a bit before joining her at the computer. She settled into August’s black leather chair, retrieving the thumb drive case from her pack. She wiggled the mouse to wake up the sleeping machine, then stuck in the thumb drive. The password box immediately appeared on the screen.