Page 41 of Wicked Obsession

He pulled the strap of the pack higher on his shoulder and grimaced. Sometimes he forgot that normal people responded strongly to unexpectedstimulus, but he didn’t apologize. “Let me have the phone.”

Taking it from her, he held it aloft, using the light to check out where they were. To their right, there was another set of stairs going to what he guessed was the basement and the dust and cobwebs were every bit as thick there as they were on the set they’d previously used. Straight ahead were a set of hallways shaped in a giant T. They stood at the foot of the letter.

Ryder narrowed his eyes, trying to orient himself. Between not being able to study the plans for the emergency tunnels for very long and the spinning on the spiral staircase, he needed a moment to get his bearings.

When he thought he knew how to head toward the garage, he said, “Go straight ahead, and when you hit the wall, turn left.” He passed the mobile back to her.

“I hope your phone is charged.”

“It is,” Ryder said, not bothering to mention that the battery was more powerful than anything available to the public.

He guided them through a series of turns until he thought they were getting near the garage. If his memory was right, there was an exit from the tunnel to a workshop tucked at the back of the vehicle stalls. He’d leave her inside the passageway and check out the cars. On the off chance one ofthem was running, Ryder would get her and they’d head out. The odds weren’t in their favor, but he knew a hell of a lot about engines, so it was a possibility he’d be able to fix whatever had been done.

They remained silent except for his occasional directions, meanwhile he ran scenarios on what might happen when he checked on the cars. The mansion was large, but he didn’t know how many mercenaries there were. He hoped that the entire squad was occupied searching the house, but what would he do if someone was guarding the vehicles?

Finally, they reached the exit out of the tunnels to the garage. He took his mobile from her hand and ran the light over the wall until he found the mechanism to open it. “Okay,” he whispered, “I’m going out to the cars. You stay here until I come back. Don’t move no matter what, understood?”

“Understood.”

Giving the phone back to Langley, he used the lever to slowly open the panel into the garage. The sunlight was bright and he gave his eyes a few seconds to adjust. Putting his pack down in the hall, he slipped out of the tunnel and pulled the door almost completely shut behind him.

He stayed low, remaining behind cover as much as possible until he reached the first car.Keeping it between him and the house, he scanned. No signs of life.

Carefully, quietly, he opened the passenger door, the side of the vehicle farthest from the house, and leaned over to pop the hood. It made a soft snick as it released. Ryder didn’t need to lift it all the way to realize they weren’t driving out of here. Not unless he could find a working battery to replace the one that had been removed. He carefully lowered the hood, but didn’t close it, too aware of how loud that would be. The gap was barely noticeable.

The second car had the same problem.Fuck. Yeah, well, he’d guessed they weren’t going to be able to get away that easily.

Ryder ducked and froze as motion caught his eye. As he watched, an armed man passed by the front of the house before disappearing around the side. He recognized him.

The depth of the betrayal slammed into him.

Andy Harper. The man he’d considered his mentor.

Chapter 17

Ryder forced aside the sick feeling and waited. He needed to make sure the area was clear before he moved. But son of a bitch. Harper had met Langley—he’d been with them on the rescue in Puerto Jardin—and he damn well knew she was Ryder’s woman. Shit, he’d been the one who’d encouraged Ryder to ask her out to begin with, and he’d known things had become serious before he’d left the team. The bastard had hired out to kill her anyway. Motherfucker.

Anger wasn’t helpful and Ryder pushed that away, too. There’d be time later, after this was finished, to be pissed off. Right now, he needed control, he needed clear-headed thinking.

It was hard. This was another betrayal, one that managed to cut deeper than he’d expected.Harper not only knew how important Langley was to him, he’d also been willing to risk Ryder’s life to take out his target when he’d fired on her in San Diego. Ryder had been standing next to Langley, close enough that if a breeze had moved the bullet a small amount, it could have hit him. Harp wasn’t arrogant enough to discount Mother Nature, so he simply hadn’t cared if Ryder was the one to go down.

Harper had been his role model when he’d first joined the team. He’d looked up to the man, admired him, learned from him.

This made protecting her more difficult. Harperknewhim, understood how his mind worked, what tactics he was likely to deploy, when he would zig instead of zag. Hell, he’d taught Ryder some of those tactics. He didn’t have as much knowledge about his adversary. The man had been reticent about himself.

Had Harper always had been this callous, this uncaring?

When he realized his jaw hurt from how tightly he’d gritted his teeth, Ryder shook his head and worked to lock down his emotions. Who Harper was didn’t fucking matter. There was only one person who was important right now and she was waiting for him.

It had been quiet long enough, time to move. Staying low, he crept back into the garage and theescape tunnels. He needed to forget about friendships, forget about treachery, and think about nothing except keeping Langley alive. The odds were stacked against them and getting worse by the minute.

Langley whirled when he entered, hands coming up before she identified him and relaxed. As the door to the tunnel closed, she held the phone’s flashlight up to get a good look at his face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She read him too well. “Car batteries are missing,” he said, voice low.

“What else? And don’t tell me nothing.”

Yeah, he hadn’t thought that he’d be able to get away with a partial answer. “I saw our sniper. He’s someone I know.”

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