He held on for a couple more seconds before releasing her, falling into his anchor position without direction, the captain in him never truly standing down. Not that she minded. While she’d been the team’s leader for over a year, she didn’t deny he had more experience — had led far more missions into enemy territory than she ever would. The fact he’d defaulted to her command meant more than he knew.
Scout took lead, weaving them through the underbrush and over to the property line. It only took a couple minutes to scale the ornate metal fence, time the camera angles, and dart over to the employee entrance at the rear of the building. Zadie moved into the alcove, had lines of code running on her tablet before a hushed click sounded from the door, the entire unit releasing a fraction.
She tucked the device away. “I’ve bypassed the magnetic lock and jammed the internal systems. Cameras should be offline, along with cell service and wi-fi. I’ll have to temporarily stop jamming if we want to talk to Shepherd.”
Neve grabbed the handle. “Noted.” She glanced at the black SUV parked off to their right at the mouth of the automatic gate leading to the front parking lot. “Everyone notice the Hummer?”
Scout snorted. “You mean the one that screams Ramsey’s already here? Caught a glimpse.”
“Be ready for this to go south in a hurry.”
Neve showed the countdown on one hand then reefed open the door, waving Scout ahead. Her friend slipped inside, cleared the immediate area before taking a knee, rifle snugged against her shoulder, her focus zeroed in on the adjoining hallway.
Bright fluorescent lights bathed the corridor in a blinding white glow, the scent of antiseptic and lemon floor cleaner saturating the cool air. A hum sounded in the distance, the rhythmic beating noise raising the hairs on the back of Neve’s neck.
She crouched beside Scout, feeling more than a bit exposed. “I hate being out in the open like this. We need some cover before Ramsey saunters by.”
Scout moved forward, body skimming the wall, weapon trained at the end of the hall. The rest of them fanned out, Zadie and Wynn following after Scout while Neve and Coulter crossed to the other side. Coulter slipped in front of her, jaw set, his gaze straying to her neck then back to the hallway, and she knew the bruising already darkening her skin irritated him. Had his protective instincts working overtime.
Warmth spread through her chest. He’d always been fiercely vigilant over his teammates, but she couldn’t deny he’d taken it to a whole new level since she’d dragged his ass out of the fray at Blackridge.
Since he’d admitted he wouldn’t survive burying her, again.
Scout stopped at the end of the hallway, glancing down both sides before turning left toward that humming noise. Hushed voices sounded from deeper in the building, the whoosh of a door opening and closing drifting to them.
They reached the next connecting hallway, turned right and stopped. A floor polisher had been tipped onto its side, the pad still oscillating against the air. Blood drops trailed away from it, what looked like twin scuff marks marring the surface.
They bolted ahead, weapons at a high ready, Neve half-focused behind them in case one of Ramsey’s men tried to ambush them. The droplets disappeared beyond a closed door, the edge of a larger puddle just visible beneath it.
Scout grabbed the handle, counted it down as Coulter readied himself. He stepped forward when Scout tossed it open, avoiding the blood as he swept the room, leaving enough space Wynn could dart inside — check the man heaped on the ground.
She crouched beside the guy, fingers pressed against his neck before she shook her head.
Coulter moved back into the hallway. “Guess we know how far Ramsey’s taking his sanitation mission.”
Wynn sighed. “I hope he’s the only person who was on shift.”
Neve rolled her shoulders, easing the tension straining her muscles. “All the more reason to find Ramsey, secure his ass so we can link him and Blackridge to Finch. End this whole ugly mess.” She motioned down the corridor. “Any idea which way the record room is because I bet my ass Ramsey’s in there, grabbing all the files.”
Wynn pointed back the way they’d traveled. “Offices are usually at one end. Since they don’t seem to be on this side, I’d suspect they’re the other way. Patient files should be somewhere close.”
Coulter stepped out as Scout took point, looking as if he wanted to lead before pursing his lips, waving her forward.
Neve stopped next to him. “If you’d feel better leading…”
He glanced at her, his gaze once again dropping to her neck, then back. “Scout’s our best tracker, even if this isn’t a forest trail. Just old habits…”
“Or maybe, it’s a few new ones.” She gestured to the hallway. “Are you going in front so you can challenge anyone who jumps out at me, or covering my ass?” She smiled. “Same reason.”
He snorted. “I’ll go in front. Save your neck from another thrashing.”
He followed after the others, the lights in the hallway flickering a few times before they winked out, a set of blue LED light strips switching on. What Neve guessed must have been some kind of preprogrammed night setting.
Scout continued along the hallway, checking every doorway until they crossed the main lobby, found a door simply labeled “office”.
They gathered around the entrance, weapons trained on the door as Scout showed another countdown, then swung it open. Deep shadows laced the room, a large, wooden desk centered near the back wall, the blue light from the monitor casting the chair in an eerie glow.
Wynn headed for the filing cabinets as Zadie sat at the desk, messing with the computer as Coulter cleared the rest of the room before standing guard at the door. While he didn’t move as stiffly as before, she noticed the way he favored his left side, despite it being his dominant one. Another trait they shared, and as silly as it seemed, somehow, both of them being left-handed had felt like a sign that they belonged together.
