SEALs of Honor: Dane Read online

  Silence.

  She could jeopardize everything, however…leaving her behind was going to be difficult. They had the manpower, but she also knew Michaels, the work in question, and might be a bigger help at the house. She was the one who had let them into the office.

  “You need me,” she said baldly. “I’m the one in danger here and I’m the one who knows the house.”

  “You only know the house slightly. We’re all trained to detect if anything is wrong, and we’re likely to find all the same places you might,” Dane snapped. “You stay here. You’re safe here.”

  She glared at him. “Sure, as long as you guys are here.”

  His voice softened when he realized she was scared to be alone. “Only a few of us would go.” He glanced over at Swede. “Maybe Swede and I.”

  “And if you run into trouble?” she asked coolly. “You’re a team. At least four of you should go. Then if you run into trouble you have each other.”

  He frowned. “We don’t have four to stay with you then.”

  “Exactly,” she said smoothly. “So I’d better come with you and then we’ll all be safe.”

  He glared at her and the others chuckled.

  “It’s really not an option,” she said. “Splitting up is a bad idea.”

  “We split up all the time,” Dane said. “And keeping you safe is a priority.”

  “Well, then take me with you.” And she gave a Cheshire cat smile. “How could any place be safer than with you?”

  Chapter 25

  IT WORKED. SHE held that smug satisfaction inside. He’d not appreciate her attitude, but in truth she was grateful for being with him. She did feel safe with him and his men. They’d proven over and over again that they cared. She’d hate to be with strangers right now, and as much as she wanted to be home with her mother, if that couldn’t happen then here with Dane was her best option.

  And it was more than that. The moments, even dangerous wrought filled moments with Dane, were precious. She didn’t want to lose him and once this was over, she would. She wanted all the time with him she could have.

  Now, in the back of the plane, wondering at the simplicity of air travel with the military, she watched and waited. They’d be there in half an hour. They were already descending. She stared around the no frills machine. She could get used to the simplicity.

  And once again she had Masters with her, there was no one else to take care of him. It helped that she couldn’t bear to part with him. They were a package deal. She had to say good-bye to Dane. She refused to say good-bye to Masters too. Not if she didn’t have to.

  Her fingers brushed against his silky fur. He seemed to be fine with the new travel arrangements, curled up content in his cage once again.

  “We’re landing in ten,” Dane said, sitting down beside her. He buckled up, checked that hers was still tight and dropped a kiss on her nose.

  See, that’s what was so special. He didn’t give a damn if they were seen or by whom. He was comfortable in his skin. And in their relationship. Whatever that was.

  Personally she only knew what she wanted it to be. And it wasn’t there yet. Wouldn’t likely get there either. She’d focus on the time she had.

  “Good. Flying is much faster with you guys than flying commercial, isn’t it?”

  He nodded. “Flying commercial is a good reminder of the perks we have. Except this is work. So we need to get where we need to be fast.”

  It was faster than she’d ever seen. They landed, cleared customs, and were in a dark vehicle that resembled the US counterpart but with a few extra perks. Now it was still morning, and they were planning on driving right up to Michaels’ house and go in. She’d deliberately not asked about the legalities of such a move but understood that someone was finessing that official approval in the background.

  The sky was bright, the birds singing – yet the village appeared to be empty. She checked Dane’s watch. It was still early. The farmers would be out milking the cows or feeding the livestock, but the rest of the villagers were likely snoozing in their beds. It wasn’t even seven in the morning yet.

  At the house, no one appeared to be home. Marielle picked up Masters and carried him inside. His bright eyes showed his interest, but he didn’t cry out or show fear in any way. He knew the house better than anyone. They’d do well to let him out and roam on his own free will.

  Maybe he’d show them where to go.

  Inside the front door Marielle stopped, reminded by all that had happened since she’d been here just a few days ago. And the string of deaths that had happened since.

  “Now, suggestions?” Dane asked.

  Marielle turned in surprise to see the others looking at her.

  “The hidden office first. And then I want to check for a lab.”

  Mason’s eyebrows shot up.

  Swede nodded. “I’m heading to the computer system. Keep me posted.”

  “I’m with Marielle,” Dane said. “Either Mason or Hawk should come with us, and we need one to stand watch.”

  Minutes later they were sorted and heading in the various directions. Marielle smiled at the well-oiled machine of teamwork. At Dane’s head nod, she led the way to the kitchen. She placed Masters’ cage on the table and opened it. The big ole tomcat strode out as if unaware of his transatlantic trip and return journey to his home. He wandered the table then sat on his bottom, flicked a leg toward the ceiling and started cleaning himself.

  She grinned. He was such a typical cat. Reassured that he was fine after all the travelling, she turned her attention to the many doors leading off the large commercial looking room. She watched Mason and Dane search the place while she racked her brain looking for bits of memories that might have something to do with this house. And came up blank. She’d hate for them to think she’d come on false pretenses and had nothing to offer. She studied the layout, then looked back at the hallway and considered the secret wall in the office – hiding a private room. Made sense. If she had a lab here, she’d want it private too.

  Studying the wall again, she figured that if she wanted to get downstairs and have no one know, she’d need to have a set of stairs that no one could find. And the best place for that would be where the stairs were already. Use the same infrastructure but cut the staircase in half. So the second set of stairs could stay hidden and no one would know. She wandered back to the hallway and studied the imposing space. A huge winding staircase going up on the left to the second floor caught her attention. She knew the men had searched upstairs earlier, but it made no sense to have a lab up there. She dismissed the idea. No, if there was a lab here it would be downstairs. And given the age of the building it could easily have several downstairs.

  She knocked on the wood of the walls close to the stairs to the empty lower level. She made a pass to the front door then came back on the opposite side. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but knew she’d recognize it when she found it.

  Almost back to the kitchen entrance, she realized she was being watched.

  She turned to see. Of course, Dane. He leaned against the door jamb, his arms crossed, watching her.

  She frowned at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be looking too?”

  He laughed. “Oh I am.”

  Her frown deepened as she realized what he meant. Then rolled her eyes. Her next knock on the door sounded loud and clear and hollow. She grinned. Dane reached her side in seconds. “What did you find?”

  “Not sure yet,” she muttered. “But it’s definitely not the same as all the other walls in here.”

  Mason joined them and it took another ten minutes to find the lever that slid a section of paneling back to show stairs hidden behind them. Instantly both Mason and Dane drew guns. She stared into the darkness, fascinated at the idea of a house of secrets. The men were more bothered about safety than she was.

  Dane contacted the others and told them what had been found. When he was done he led the way forward. She followed with Mason bringing up the r
ear position.

  Safe as they could possibly make her, she was delighted with her discovery and excitement bubbled through her veins. She could only hope there was a wonderful lab down here. And knowing Michaels, it was very possible.

  They descended the stairs.

  *

  TAKING THE LEAD, Dane slipped down the stairs, ears trained on his surroundings. It was quiet. As they descended into the lower levels of the old stone mansion, he couldn’t imagine what these stairs had seen in their lifetime. War torn surroundings decades ago and likely in its prime it had been at the heart of a different revolution. He loved to think of the history of a place like this. The people who’d lived and laughed and eventually died here. And those who took refuge in war times, so much less pleasant to remember.

  The stairs took a corner to the left, he peered around, realized it was empty and continued his descent into the basement levels. How much effort and time would have gone into building this? Considering the walls were of stone, and possibly hand cut from the hillside, the process would have been even more labor intensive. There were no lights, and the deeper they went the darker it got.

  He stopped on the last stair, turned to make sure the others were following, and stepped down on the cold stone floor. A hallway ran directly ahead of him with doors on either side dotting the passage. All were closed. He reached out a hand searching for a light switch. And found it.

  Light flooded the area, giving it an eerie look.

  But he was relieved the basement had been upgraded with electricity. With the others behind him, he walked to the first door and opened it.

  He flicked the light on to see what appeared to be a small storeroom of some kind. He turned his attention to the door Mason was opening on the other side.

  Marielle gasped with delight and stepped in.

  Mason followed her with Dane hot on their heels.

  “It’s a lab,” she cried. “Oh what a lovely set up.”

  Dane looked at her sideways. There were long tables on one side, an obvious chemistry set up on the end of one, but there were no windows or natural lighting. He glanced up at the drop ceiling to see a solid modern looking venting system. “He put money into this place,” he said.

  “He did,” she agreed. “But his father was also a chemist, so maybe this has been a working lab for a long time.”

  Dane couldn’t imagine. “Anything useful here?”

  “Not at first glance, but there will be somewhere,” she said. “There isn’t anything new or different or science breaking here. Not that I’d expect to see the type of work he’s doing at first glance, but as labs go, the equipment is pretty basic,” she added, absentmindedly looking at a bookcase on the far side. “His notes and observations don’t appear to be here.” She opened a few drawers, shuffled through the papers stuffed inside.

  “Then let’s check the other rooms.”

  They filed out single file and checked the next room. A bathroom with a large modern shower.

  “This is good to see,” she said. “He’s put in many safety features.” She turned and opened the cupboards beside the huge shower and nodded. “This is more of a medical center than a bathroom.”

  At the next door they found a similar room to the lab but with less signs of occupancy, the tables clean but slightly dusty as if it hadn’t been used for years. Still Marielle wandered through the room looking for something.

  She shrugged and left, following Dane to the next room.

  “This is the one we want,” she cried as she dashed into the large office with several desks crammed full of paperwork and leather bound books. “These should be his lab books.”

  “Meaning?”

  “They will be the ones that he used for his experiments. We all keep them.” She picked up the first one and opened to the first page. “This one is from a year ago.” She picked up the next couple and nodded. “They are all sequential and appear to cover the last eighteen months or so.” She stacked them up on the desk, then turned to look around.

  Dane watched her. She appeared to be more interested in the setup than in the research. And yet there was likely something she could learn from it. “You aren’t reading his research?” he asked curiously.

  She flushed. “No. It’s not my style. Research is highly prized, secretive and I work on an honor system. If he was here to talk to me about it, great. But he isn’t.”

  “And yet he discussed it with you before?”

  A smile lit her features. “We discussed it for hours.” She motioned to the books. “Technically all this belongs to his heirs, or depending on the contract, the company he worked for.”

  Mason stepped in. “That will be determined eventually, but if no one knows what’s down here, it won’t matter if they can’t find it.”

  She nodded. “True enough but he was a brilliant chemist. His work should not be lost.”

  “And if it was chemical warfare for those fighting against your people?” Mason asked, his voice hard but steady.

  She winced. “There’s no easy answer is there?”

  Chapter 26

  SHE HADN’T THOUGHT to find herself in such a position. Professional and moral ethics butted up against each other for the first time. It was uncomfortable. To save lives though…that was priceless.

  “We need to track down his heir,” Mason said, pulling out his phone. “We can find that out soon enough.”

  With him chasing that down, Marielle walked the rest of the room fascinated at this personal insight into her old friend. And they had been friends. She might not have known who or what he was on the inside as well as she thought she had, but back when he worked for the same university, they’d been friends.

  Somehow between then and now, things had changed for him.

  She couldn’t help but stare at his lifetime of work and hate to see it lost.

  Dane came up and placed an arm around her shoulder. “You okay?”

  She nodded, hating that moisture was collecting at the corner or her eyes. “It’s just hitting me now. He’s really gone.”

  Spinning in a circle, she realized how much he’d left behind. Undone. In progress. “He was brilliant you know.”

  “And yet he wanted you to join him? Are you just as brilliant?” Dane asked, a dry tone to his voice.

  Her laughter pealed across the room, bringing a smile to his face. “I wish.”

  “You must have been special to him in some way,” Mason said in an odd tone. She turned to see him staring down at his phone.

  “Why’s that? Because he wanted me to come work for his company?” she scoffed. “Not likely. He just wanted the information I tripped into.”

  “If that was all, why are you listed as a beneficiary in his will?”

  “What?”

  She stared at Mason, hating that she might come under a cloud of suspicion because of this. If she was listed, then she’d have motive for killing him. “I don’t understand.”

  “Nothing to understand.” Dane turned back from the cupboards he was studying. “He wanted to leave you something.” He turned further around to face Mason. “Does it say what she was given?”

  “Only partly and that’s because of the item,” Mason said dryly. “She inherited Masters.”

  “Oh that’s great,” she cried with a huge smile. “And makes a lot of sense. I always looked after that big baby. I told him many times that if he couldn’t look after him to let me have him.”

  “And apparently he listened.” Mason shrugged. “Interesting.”

  “And normal,” she said firmly. “More people have to make allowances for their pets in the event of an unexpected death. Hell everyone should regardless. Death is not particular. He goes after everyone.”

  Mason laughed. “True enough.”

  “Anything else of interest in the will?”

  “The lawyers are going through it now, so not sure. That note listed as an amendment to be opened upon his death.”

  “So Masters wouldn’t suffer
.” Marielle nodded, liking her old professor a little more after finding out so much that was negative. At least he’d taken care of those in need. “Hopefully the lawyers can get to the bottom of this, so the new owner can come and deal with all this research.”

  “And just what would the new owner do?” Mason asked curiously. “Especially if they don’t know him. Such as a distant relative.”

  “That would be a shame. I imagine they’d come through here and throw everything.” She frowned, hating the idea. “If the beneficiary was a colleague, I’d hope they’d go through and preserve his work.” But how. She’d never come up against the problem. Thankfully she wasn’t the one having to deal with the problem now either.

  They walked back out to the hallway and continued to open the other two doors. In one was a small bed and dresser. They all stared at the sleeping room in silence.

  “Why?” Dane asked.

  She shrugged. “I imagine to stay close to his work when he was deeply involved in his research. Alternatively for a colleague.”

  “And not as a guest in the upstairs bedrooms?” Mason said. “I don’t like the look of this room at all.”

  Marielle walked toward the bed and lifted the single pillow then dropped to her knees to look underneath. It was clean and empty. The clean part bothered her as much as anything. “It’s recently been swept out. As if expecting someone.”

  Inside her stomach rumbled. She hated the next thought. “Please tell me I wasn’t to be his next guest in this room.”

  “I can’t say that yet.” Dane opened the small closet to find it empty. He turned in a slow circle as if trying to understand the extent of the room’s purpose. Then he stopped and stared.

  Marielle followed his gaze to the door. And the thick lock on the door. A lock that locked from the outside.

  “So this wasn’t a guest room but rather a cell?”

  Dane nodded. He opened the door and walked outside to study the lock system. “Definitely to keep a prisoner.”