Page 32 of The Geek and the Sheikh

“They tracked the Range Rover. We need to warn Hyder,” he replied.

Yahya nodded, pulled out his cellphone, and sent a text to Hyder. They could only hope Hyder received the message before the bad guys got him. The thud of bullets hitting the glass of the back door sounded at the same time as something heavy hit the front door.

Yahya peered down the hallway toward the kitchen. James darted toward them. The Brit pressed his body against the wall.

“Impact resistant glass. It won’t hold them out forever, but it may give us time to plan our escape,” he said.

“We need to get to the panic room. There is a way out of the house from there.”

The three men looked up. Junebug was crouched on the staircase, peering through the gaps at them. She was cradling her backpack against her chest.

“Where is it?” he asked.

“Upstairs, end of the hall behind the large painting.”

Jameel nodded and started forward with Yahya and James on his heels. Junebug twisted and ran up the stairs. The crack of breaking glass warned them that they were running out of time. Jameel took Junebug’s backpack from her and slung the strap over his shoulder. He placed his hand on her lower back as they ran down the long hallway to the end where a painting of a medieval German castle hung. The painting had an ornate, heavy gold frame and extended from the floor to the ceiling.

Junebug crouched and ran her fingers along the underside of the frame. There was a low click before the painting swung outward to reveal a set of metal, double sliding doors. Junebug punched in a code and the light turned from red to green.

“How did you know the code?” Jameel asked.

“How did she know this was even here?” Yahya murmured.

“I messaged Idella. It would have been more fun to figure it out myself but we're out of time. Hyder is on his way. I’ve disabled the GPS tracking on the Range Rover, but I’m sure they know where he is heading. They’ll come here, but we won’t be here for long,” she added.

Jameel followed her inside the panic room. James pulled the painting closed and stepped back so the door could shut. Junebug pressed another code into the interior keypad.

Instead of the doors behind them sliding open, the compartment they were in began to drop. It took a second for Jameel to realize they were in an elevator. Yahya whistled under his breath and stared around the compartment with a new interest. It didn’t take long for them to reach the cellar.

“Idella said one of the things she loved about this old house is that the people who owned it during World War II converted the cellar into a bunker with an escape tunnel. She had it retrofitted when she bought the place,” Junebug explained.

“Doesn’t everyone need a bomb shelter in their home?” Yahya muttered.

Junebug punched another code into the keypad, this time to open the doors. Jameel realized why Idella had installed the extra safety measure. She knew that the last thing a person wanted was to open the doors and find someone on the other side waiting for you. The precaution must have been triggered when the alarms went off. His appreciation for his sister-in-law’s unique talents, knowledge, and ingenuity continued to grow.

Idella really is the perfect fit for Tarek, just like Aimee is for Qadir, and Midnight is for Junayd.

“This way,” she said, studying her phone.

The elevator had deposited them in an underground cellar. Racks of fine wine, covered in a light film of dust, lined the narrow passage on each side. Junebug walked to the end of the room. A thick metal door with another keypad sealed the room from whatever was beyond it. Junebug entered a code, the light turned from red to green, and the door popped open.

She smiled impishly. "'There's no place like home,'" she said with satisfaction.

The others looked confused at that. It took Jameel a moment to parse it, but as he looked around at the red wine surrounding them and remembered the three locks it took to reach this room, he realized that their escape route did have something to do with ruby slippers after all. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz had tapped her ruby heels three times and said 'There's no place like home'. He grinned at Bugs, elated that he understood her. She grinned back and laced their fingers together.

Yahya stepped forward and pulled the door open, peering down another long tunnel.

“Where does it go?” Yahya asked.

“The basement of a house on the next street,” she directed, stepping through the open doorway with the men falling in behind her.

“I’ll text Hyder and tell him to meet us there,” Yahya said.

“No, if they are following him, we don’t want him leading them back to Junebug. Tell him to lead them away. We will meet up with him once we know where we are going next,” Jameel instructed.

“I’ve booked us seats on the train to Paris in two hours. He can meet us at the station,” Junebug stated.

“How are we going to get to the London St Pancras?” James asked.

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