Alarm flashed in her eyes. "That's not what I was saying. I don't doubt you. Not now. Knox, I . . . yeah, I'm struggling with confidence at work and with my family, but after the last couple of days, I know I can trust you. I can't even explain that. Except that I've prayed about it. A lot. And I know without any doubt that I can trust you. You make me feel safe, safer than anyone else in the world. I have a peace about you that I—"
She believed what she was saying, and he felt it all the way to his core. Her trust in him—and the confidence behind those words—triggered an avalanche of relief and emotion that obliterated his awareness of everything around them. He stopped thinking, cupped her face, and crushed his mouth against hers.
He hadn't planned on it, but he didn't regret it.
Her arms wrapped around his neck in an embrace that matched the intensity of his kiss.
The warehouse, the guards, and any thought of danger fled his mind for a precious few moments. He felt her entire body melt into him, her mouth inviting him to continue. She felt perfect against him, like she was created for him alone.
He didn't want their moment to end, but the reality around them eventually paused his lips.
He pressed his forehead against hers, willing his heart rate to return to normal.
Her hands squeezed the back of his neck before sliding across his shoulders and down his arms.
Easing back a few inches, he looked into her eyes.
"Hey," he said. Because offering anything more profound in that moment was impossible.
He swallowed. "Your trust in me means a lot."
A smile lit her face. "I gathered that. I—"
Voices downstairs halted their conversation.
He watched Allie's focus switch—from their tender, post-kiss conversation—to full agent mode.
She pointed to the windows and started crawling over, apparently hoping to increase her chances of hearing the guards more clearly.
Good idea.He followed her lead and was glad he did. He held his breath, straining to hear. Not many words were distinguishable, but the guards' tone was more serious than before. They obviously weren't discussing pizza.
Then, a specific squeaky sound tensed all his muscles.The closet door. He'd opened every door downstairs during his earlier reconnaissance. The closet door—the bomb closet door—made that particular squeak.
It was a little risky, but he needed to get eyes on the situation. Were they making more bombs? Moving the bombs? Or had they found his trackers?
He inched himself up to the closest window until he gained a line of sight with the closet. Three of the guards faced the open, squeaky door and were talking to someone inside. One of the guards was pointing. He heard the word 'careful' stressed more than once.That's not good.
The pointing guard stepped back as another guard exited the closet, holding one of the bombs. The pointing guard kept gesturing to him and the other two. Over the next minute, Knox watched the guards relocate all three bombs from the closet to the far side of the warehouse. Then he heard the loading bay door open.
Allie lowered her face within an inch of his ear. "They're loading the bombs on a truck."
"I know," he whispered.
Without needing to discuss it, they both repositioned themselves a few feet to their left to gain better optics on the situation. They watched the guards secure the bombs in the back of the truck. A minute later, all four guards boarded the truck.
Knox grabbed Allie's arm. "They're all leaving. We have to follow that truck. We're getting out of here."
"Their cameras will see us leave."
"Doesn't matter much now. We have to stop them."
They heard the truck engine start.
He tugged her arm. "Come on."
They burst out of the dark office and flew down the steps. The truck sat idling near the bay doors. To avoid being spotted, Knox and Allie halted near the bottom of the stairs while one of the guards shut the bay door. When they heard it slam shut, they took off for the front exit.
Dear God, help us stop those men. And please don't let them hurt anyone.
