Page 6 of Atlanta Heat (Tempting SEALs 6)

She shuddered at the thought and thanked God Macey was too busy dragging her through someone’s backyard to notice.

“We’re almost there.” His voice was low, smooth, a stroke to her shattered emotions as he led her into the thick overgrowth of a neglected backyard and into the side door of a garage.

“Where are we?” she asked as he let her go and stalked through the darkness.

A second later, flashlight in hand, he moved back to her and took her arm once again.

“Watch your step here.” He led her through a maze of rusted vehicle parts before they came to the back door. He pulled aside the panel of an electronic alarm, pulled out the wires and accessed the hidden dual security panel where he punched in the security code, waited a few seconds, and reconnected the wires to the front plate before replacing it.

Dummy security plate, she thought, checking it out as he pulled her in through the door. Unusual and unexpected. Anyone who attempted to access the code, no matter the tools, jammers, or methods, would active an alarm simply by attempting to deactivate it.

The inside of the house was darker than ever, the smell a bit musty, as though it was rarely visited. There was the slide of a door, fresher air as he pulled her into a hallway, then downstairs.

Emerson tried to get her bearings. Behind her she could hear the slide of a door, then something else. A muted hum, a click, and then a burst of lights.

She brought her hand up to shield her eyes, blinking as the lights dimmed marginally.

“Sorry, I left them on full power before leaving last night.” Macey stood in the center of what she assumed was the “cave.”

She looked around. Across the room were a computer and server terminal, routers, secondary systems, and external hard drives. A metal cabinet held a stack of monitors that blinked up, the images showing the inside of a house. Each room and hallway was displayed and several others covered the darkness outside with infrared and heat-seeking capabilities.

Her gaze slid to Macey as he stalked to the main station, sat down in a chair she would give her eyeteeth for at work, and with his large, broad hands began a delicate series of commands over a straight keyboard.

Emerson eased closer to the command center, her eyes tracking over the electronics, both surveillance and stealth, her brows lifting at the impressive setup.

“Give me a minute to set up security and I’ll show you around.”

Emerson looked around and took in the small kitchen/eating area tucked into the corner beside the stairs. On the other side was an open living room with a sectional couch, plasma television with satellite reception, and a complete surround-sound speaker system. A few bookshelves. A scarred coffee table and a door that led into another room of some sort. She hoped there was a bathroom somewhere.

“Where are we?” She rubbed her hands over her arms and fought the chill beginning to invade her system.

The clock on the wall swore it was nearly five in the morning; it had felt like days rather than hours since she had been dragged from her apartment and forced into the back of a stinking van.

“The cave,” he mumbled, hunched over the keyboard, his fingers working the keys with rapid motions that she would have been impressed by if it weren’t for the fact that she was cold, exhausted, and standing on less than certain ground.

“I don’t like caves.” She bit her lip as she stared around the dark wood walls.

“Stand down, Emerson, I’ll be with you in a minute.” His voice was clipped again, impatient.

A frown jerked at the corners of her mouth; it had been a long night and she needed some fresh air… .

She came to an abrupt stop when the steps met a blank wall. Reaching out, she searched for whatever mechanism opened it. There had to be a mechanism.

“It’s electronically controlled and only I have the code.”

“Why isn’t there a regular door?”

“It’s a secured room, Emerson,” he told her quietly. “No entry in or out without my command. We’re on lockdown until Admiral Holloran and Nathan manage to figure this out and capture the leader of the cell of terrorists that took you from the house tonight. We’re going to be roommates for a while, so you might as well come on down here and let me show you around.”

“Do you have any idea when that’ll happen so I can get my life back?” She watched him, feeling uncertain, off balance. Not frightened, but neither did she feel secure within herself.

“Are you going to whine over this?” He cocked his head to the side and watched her curiously. “Funny, Emerson, I didn’t see you as a whiner. Come on, I’ll show you the bedr

oom and bath. You can freshen up and get some rest.”

He strode across the huge room toward the door at the far wall. Her lips parted in shock. He was ignoring her, striding away from her as though her questions were the result of a whining personality. She did not whine.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you, Macey?” Each word was precise, hard.

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