He wasn’t sure, but at first glance, he’d thought it might be a gray SUV.Yet he’d disabled the last steel-gray SUV that had come after them, and he thought it would be odd if the bad guys had gotten a replacement of the same make and model.
Unless it was a company type of car?Possibilities swirled in his mind as he quickly moved closer toward the back of the building.
When he was within fifty feet of the car, a chill snaked down his spine.The vehicle was a light-gray SUV, and it as empty.
Whoever had driven the car here was inside the building.He stared at it for a long moment, realized their theory about the data center was right.Somehow, Damien’s murder was connected to this data center.
Too bad he had no idea how or why this half-finished building had cost a man his life and Bryn to be framed for his murder.
12
Bryn kept her gaze on the spot where Micah had disappeared, silently praying he’d be okay and return to the car soon.Sitting there went against the grain, but she tried to be patient.Still, the minutes ticked by with excruciating slowness.She found it impossible to relax, turning in her seat to scan the area behind the car to make sure nobody else had driven around to find her.
There was nothing behind her but open land.The problem was that with the crane on one side and the mound of dirt on the other, she wouldn’t know if anyone came up behind her until it was too late.
After a long five minutes, she decided there was no way she was going to drive away from the data center in the fifteen-minute time frame as agreed upon.She couldn’t leave Micah behind.While it was tempting to drive to the closest police station to turn herself in, she wouldn’t do that until she knew he was safe.
Micah wouldn’t like that plan, but if this trip turned out to be a bust, that was the only reasonable alternative.
Another five minutes passed.She was beginning to fear the worst, that whoever had driven the SUV to the rear of the building had found Micah.The only thing keeping her in the car was knowing that Micah was armed.She knew he wouldn’t go quietly.
She listened for the telltale sound of gunfire.Hearing nothing was nerve-racking.Could they have somehow disarmed him?If so, she really should drive away from here to get help.
When a face appeared in the driver’s side window, she nearly screamed at the top of her lungs.A nanosecond later, she recognized Micah.Pressing a hand to her thundering heart, she battled back the fear gripping her by the throat.
Micah opened the driver’s side door and slid inside, offering a sheepish look.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You took ten years off my life.”She was still so rattled she could barely speak.“Next time make a noise or something.”
He reached over to touch her hand.“I was quiet on purpose.I didn’t want whoever had driven the SUV to this location to know I was out there.The building has no doors or windows, remember?”
“Yeah.Okay, fill me in on what you found.”Now that her heart had settled back down, sort of, she turned in her seat to face him.“Did you see anyone?Or recognize the car?”
“No, but I memorized the license plate of the SUV.It’s obviously not the same as the one I disabled.”He picked up the phone from the center console and typed on the screen.Leaning forward, she realized he was texting Rex Grayson.
“How long will it take him to get back to you?”she asked, feeling impatient.“You never heard from your friend Alex either.”
“Not on the weekend, he only works during the week.But Rex may be able to pull some strings.”Micah slid the phone back into his pocket.“Knowing who registered the vehicle would be nice.In the meantime, I plan to sneak inside the construction site to see if I can get a closer look at the occupants.I would have done that right away, but it’s a huge facility.I knew it would take longer than our agreed upon fifteen minutes, and I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Thanks for that, because I was already going crazy sitting out here by myself.But if you’re going back inside, then I’m coming with you.”She narrowed her gaze when he shook his head before she’d even finished speaking.“This is my life, Micah.My freedom at stake.Besides, I’m the one who knows Richard and the other employees from the company by sight.Not to mention Phillip Justin, the spokesperson for the data center.There’s a good chance I’ll recognize whoever is inside.”
“There’s no reason for you to risk your life,” Micah said with a frown.“I saw their photos, remember?I can probably identify them.I’d rather you drive out of here to safety.”
“That’s not happening.”She lifted her chin, locking her gaze on his.“I’m coming too.If we can find something that bolsters my case, then great.I’ll gladly head back here and drive to the nearest police station to tell them what we learned.But until then, I think it’s better if we stick together.”
He raked a frustrated hand over his short hair, glancing out at the dirt pile beside them.She didn’t care if he was upset or angry with her.Sitting there wondering what was going on was far worse than sneaking into the building with Micah.
“I wish you’d reconsider,” he finally said.“I can figure out who the players are and fill you in when I get back.”
“I’m coming with you.”She plucked the key fob out of the center console and held it out to him.“If anything goes wrong, we’ll run back to the vehicle to escape.”She held his gaze for a long moment.“Together.”
“And if that’s not possible?”He scrubbed his hands over his face.“You must realize there’s a chance we’ll get caught.”
“Then we’ll be in trouble together.”She wasn’t budging from this.“Please, Micah.We’ve come this far.Besides, we’re wasting time arguing.Let’s just get in there already to find out what’s going on.”
He sighed heavily and took the key.His unsmiling face was the only sign of his anger, and she decided to ignore it.She wasn’t going to change her mind.
Besides, he’d managed to sneak all the way to the SUV without being seen.She was certain they’d find a way to get close enough to learn something without the gunmen inside being any the wiser.
