She had no time to get her irrational fear of being torn apart under control before a pair of boots appeared alongside the mower inches from her face. From the corner of her eye, she saw Maria quietly tapping out a text on her phone.
“Where’s the damn kid?” a deep voice demanded.
Talia immediately recognized it from the big man they’d seen on the surveillance van videos and audio feeds.
It was Keller.
The men started moving away from the mower, forcing Talia to wiggle as close to the side as she could to hear more of the conversation.
“How hard can it be to find a kid and her nanny?” Keller added. “Rybak is playing games and I need that little brat to get him in line. Now, find them! They couldn’t have gone far. Tear this place apart if you have to!”
Keller and the other man continued talking but had moved too far away for her to make out what they were saying. Part of her was relieved they were going but the stuff Keller said about tearing the place apartstill had her worried. Talia didn’t think anyone would stumble over her and Maria, but what about Katrina and Beverly?
Having no answer to that question, all Talia could do was lay there under the mower and worry until another thought struck her. What the heck had Keller meant about Bogdan playing games? Weren’t they already working together?
That thought was interrupted when the lights in the building went out, plunging the space into darkness once again. It was all she could do not squeak in alarm.
A few moments later, there was a series of thuds as heavy boots moved across the concrete floor followed by the sound of the door closing. Maria immediately started wiggling out from under the mower, but Talia caught her arm. Only after a full two minutes of silence passed did she finally relent, allowing Maria to slip out. It took a little more effort for Talia to do the same. It was harder to get out from under the mower than getting in there had been.
“Head for the back of the shed,” Talia whispered as soon as they found Katrina and Beverly. “The safe room is behind the metal shelves. Once we lock ourselves in there, we’ll be okay.”
Those words had barely left her mouth when the lights turned back on, revealing Keller and three other men standing there, all of them smiling as they held their weapons casually in their hands.
“I thought you’d crawl out of your hiding place once the lights went out. Guess I was right,” Keller chuckled, turning his attention toward Maria and Beverly. “I didn’t realize the McDaniel kid would be here but I’m certainly not complaining.”
At a gesture from Keller, one of the other men stepped forward and grabbed Maria and Beverly, turning to drag them toward the door, with orders to take them back to the vehicles. Both Talia and Katrina charged forward, reaching for the girls, who were screaming in fear.
“You ladies aren’t going anywhere,” Keller said in a menacing tone as the other two men reached out to grab Talia and Katrina by the arms, holding them back easily no matter how much they struggled.
As the other man dragged Maria and Beverly out of the maintenance shed, Talia realized that Keller intended to kill her and Katrina.
“Deal with them quickly,” Keller said as he turned and headed for the door after Maria and Beverly. “Then get back up to the main house and figure out what all that shooting was about. I’m leaving now.”
The confirmation that they were about to be killed terrified Talia so much she could barely breathe. But worse than all that was the thought that Maria and Beverly were alone now just as afraid. It had been her job to keep that little girl safe, and she’d failed.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“Maria is going to have a cow,” Lennox murmured as he glanced at the clock on the dash before turning off the road and onto the driveway that led to the shack guarding the entrance to the Rybak property.
While he’d been hesitant about coming over tonight when he was sure Talia was going to be kicking his butt to the curb right after the movie, he hadn’t wanted to disappoint Maria. Not that it mattered. In a few hours, he doubted he’d ever see the little girl again.
Still, he’d tried hard to get here in time, for Maria’s benefit if nothing else. But work had been a nightmare today, with headquarters putting them through a seemingly endless series of training drills, then hours of equipment maintenance, followed by more hours of meaningless paperwork. He swore, it was almost as if the Navy knew about the crap he and his Teammates had gotten involved in last night and were punishing them for it. Or maybe it was just karma for keeping secrets?
Regardless, the day had been a nightmare, which was why he’d been a little terse with Talia when she’d texted to remind him about movie night with her and Maria. Okay, maybe it wasn’tonlyabout the crap day at the office that had him so snappy. Knowing that the real reason Talia wanted to see himwas so she could dump him was eating at him a little. More than a little.
Lennox slowed as he reached the guard shack, expecting the security guard to step out to clear him, like the guy had every other time he’d been here, but when he got to the gate, the man didn’t step out.
He stopped and lowered his window, leaning out a little to try and see in the window of the guard shack. But from this angle, it didn’t look like there was anyone in there at all. That couldn’t be right.
His phone dinged as he put the pickup in park and reached for the door handle. He paused to pull it out and saw that it was a text from Maria.
bad guys here
going to the house with Talia to hide in the safe room in the basement
His gut clenched.
Shit.
