“Milk and sugar, please.”
“Sure thing. And don’t go anywhere without a Marine or me.”
“I won’t.” She had no desire to wander around after being abducted and held by terrorists. Not knowing who had changed the systems, thus requiring her to travel here, scared the crap out of her. It could be the woman who had been murdered, the guy on vacation, or someone else she wasn’t really aware of. Not knowing was frightening.
Bean headed downstairsand found his pack. He brushed his teeth and freshened up, changing shirts because he thought he smelled a bit. He heard someone behind him and saw Chase stepping in.
“Hey, get any sleep?”
“I did. Sleeping with Marines standing guard makes it a little easier.”
Chase chuckled. “In a way, yes. I’d sleep a lot easier at home, though.”
“True. So did you guys learn anything?”
“The guy who is on vacation, he’s not at the hotel where he had his reservation. No one can find him. So we’re not sure where he is.”
“I’m getting coffee. Did anyone bring in anything for us to eat?”
“They did. There is food?—”
An alarm blaring cut Chase off. Bean rushed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. He had to find Garnet. He was going against the flow, squeezing past a rush of people heading out. A part of him feared this was a trap, pulling everyone outside to pick them off. Fear for Garnet rose.
It was a little too convenient to be just some random fire alarm going off without any smoke. If there had been a fire, someone would have screamed about it, and he hadn’t heard anyone yell out.
He made it to the stairs on the second floor when a Marine rushed past, yelling at him. “You’re headed the wrong way. Time to evacuate.”
“Where is Garnet?”
The guy gave him a strange look before he ran past. “Who?”
“Shit.” What was up? Was anyone watching Garnet? Where the hell was she?
He was in the hall, looking in each room for her, when a door swung open behind him. He spun, placing his hand on the wall to steady himself as he changed directions.
Garnet stood in the hall, light from the window in the room to her right shone on her, highlighting her. “I was washing my face.”
“We have to go.” He’d just reached her and pulled her close when the windows exploded. A canister landed in the hall next to them. Gas. “Run.”
He held onto Garnet’s hand as they raced away from the tear gas spewing from the can. The teargas confirmed someone was after Garnet. He had to get her to safety.
The sound of feet pounding on the stairs below filtered upstairs. They were trapped. They had to find a hiding spot.
He pulled Garnet to a stop and whispered in her ear. “We need to hide. I don’t trust whoever is running up here.”
She nodded, and they moved to the rooms on the opposite side of the building from the window that had exploded above. The third office he looked into had a door at the back. They dipped into the office, and he pulled open the door, finding a half-empty closet.
“Behind the boxes,” Garnet said.
When he closed the door, darkness cloaked them. He pulled a small flashlight from one of his pockets, illuminating the boxes. He handed the light over to Garnet, then moved the boxes so they could squeeze behind them.
If the people searching for her looked hard enough, they would be sitting ducks. They were on the floor, their legs pulled in close, the boxes keeping them hidden. Hopefully, this office would be bypassed, but he doubted whoever was looking for her would skip this closet.
Fear was like an explosion,filling Garnet to capacity, so breathing was difficult. She held in the scream threatening as the noise sounded in the hall outside the room where they were hiding.
Brady’s hand on her arm helped keep her calm. But if the voices got any louder, she was going to lose it. The noise died down. After a few minutes, the noise from the fire alarms cut off. She could breathe a little easier without the annoyingly loud beeping in the background.
She wanted to ask Brady questions but feared any noise would reveal their position. Whoever was searching for her wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Brady. He was strong, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t be hurt. His body armor had been abandoned while they were in the embassy. This place should be safe, but she was finding that the safety she’d always considered intrinsic had fled after being abducted.
