Page 90 of Dark ’N’ Deadly

Working quickly, he cleared any residual shards from the sill then holstered his weapon and hauled himself up and into the house.

He hit the floor hard, rolling then jumping to his feet while redrawing his Glock. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. He walked quietly to the front door, twisting the deadbolt and opening the door to let his friends inside.

Tiger charged in first, then stopped short, searching until he found Eric.

He motioned with his hand for Nick and Matt to search the upstairs, while he, Dayne, and Kade searched the main floor.

Less than a minute later, Nick and Matt, along with their K-9s, Sheba and Saxon, met him in the foyer, shaking their heads.

“Upstairs is clear,” Nick said. “No sign of anyone.”

“All rooms on the main floor are clear.” Eric’s eyes settled on the one remaining door they hadn’t gone through. He yanked it open, aiming his weapon and flicking on the wall switch at the top of the stairs. “Tiger, revieren.”

His K-9 charged down the stairs. Eric followed, as did everyone else. The basement could have been on the cover of Man Cave Magazine. Considering the room was fully finished with carpeting and wood paneling, the air was unexpectedly damp. Seconds were all it took to clear the room, along with the two small adjoining bedrooms and a bathroom.

While the dogs waited for their next commands, Eric did another three-sixty, still not believing what he wasn’t seeing. The basement was filled with five federal agents and their K-9s, but no Tess and no one else.

Tiger trotted around the perimeter of the room but didn’t indicate the presence of explosive odors. With no immediate threat, they holstered.

“How is this possible?” He still couldn’t believe it and kept turning his head, as if he expected Tess to jump out from beneath the long leather sofa pushed up against the wall. “We searched every room in the house, and the chopper verified no one escaped out the back.”

“Then she’s gotta be here.” Nick shook his head, looking just as worried as Eric felt.

“Somewhere,” Kade added. “But where?”

“We always knew this house had secrets,” Dayne said. “Disappearing evidence. Disappearing people.”

“We’ve got two of the best search dogs in the country.” Matt tipped his head to Sheba and Remy. “Do you have something of Tess’s they can pull a scent from?”

“No, I—” The scarf. “Stand by.”

He bolted up the stairs, taking them two at a time. There was no need to look behind him. Tiger was right there with him.

He charged out the front door to his SUV and grabbed the scarf Tess had left on the seat. Seconds later, they were back in the house.

His friends and their dogs were waiting for him in the foyer. He re-leashed Tiger then held out the scarf, allowing Sheba and Remy to press their noses against it. The dog’s nostrils flared as they inhaled rapidly, taking in Tess’s scent.

“Such,” Dayne said to Remy.

“Stopa,” Matt said.

Eric didn’t know what to expect, but what happened next wasn’t it.

Both dogs spun and led the way back down the stairs to Mangano’s man cave. Eric, Nick and their dogs, along with Kade and his white shepherd, Tango, remained out of the way, standing by the bar.

Sheba and Remy put their noses to the floor, then in the air, sniffing every stick of furniture and walking swiftly around the room.

“C’mon, c’mon,” Eric muttered. The dogs had led them down here, so there had to be some kind of secret room, one expertly hidden because neither he nor his friends had picked up on anything out of place.

Sheba and Remy circled several more times, then slowed, honing their tracks to one side of the room.

“They’re getting closer,” Kade said.

Both dogs sniffed the carpet in approximately the same area, even bumping noses a few times. They lifted their heads by one section of paneling, then sat, staring at the wall.

“That’s it.” Eric went to the paneling, running his hands over it, searching for overly large seams. Starting on the left and moving to the right, he began knocking on it with his fist. When he got to a certain point, the sound changed, becoming hollow. Whatever was behind that particular area of paneling, it wasn’t sheet rock.

“There’s gotta be a trigger,” Nick suggested.