They’d decided to hike up the hill instead of shifting into their wolf form, mostly because they wanted to carry their backpacks that contained snacks, water, and Grayson’s binoculars. No telling how long they needed to remain in the area in order to learn something valuable.
Rider looked around. “I like the location. You can almost see the entire building and its surrounding area.”
Grayson studied the factory, but not much was happening. “We should take a closer look at the northern border.”
“Tell me why again?” Rider asked.
Greyson huffed. “You know the Colter’s penchant for underground tunnels. I wouldn’t be surprised if Richard Delancey has an escape route somewhere around here.”
Rider stared at him. “I have underestimated you. I’m impressed.”
“I don’t know why. I always was the smarter of the two of us.”
The quick jab to his arm actually hurt. “Keep those thoughts to yourself.” Then Rider smiled.
Grayson handed him the binoculars. “It’s your turn to watch the boring events. I want to find that escape tunnel.”
“Good luck with that.”
“In case someone else shows up, I’ll hide my backpack. I want to be in my wolf form to do the search. If there are cameras anywhere, I might not be noticed as easily, though I can’t imagine anyone staying alert enough to spot me.”
“Let's hope.”
After he hid his backpack, Grayson took off toward the fenced area, searching for a place where a tunnel exit might exist. Considering the slope of the land, it probably would look like a manhole cover.
For some reason, the company had landscaped around the fence with either trees or thick bushes. Even though that would make any cameras they had less useful, Grayson searched for them anyway. The problem was that an escape tunnel could be on any of the other sides. However, having the exit facing the wooded hillside had the advantage of allowing the person to shift and hide a lot easier.
While it was possible the trees against the cement wall were there to hide the existence of a door, Grayson wanted to test his other theory first.
Nose to the ground, he sniffed, but all he smelled was evidence of other animals.Damn. He was about to turn around, when he stepped on something hard. Most likely it was just a slab of granite underneath the leaves. If there was a tunnel under there, considering the amount of dirt and weeds on top, no one had exited in quite some time—if ever.
Using his claws, he cleared away the leaves and debris in one corner. It wasn’t easy moving the earth because the grass and vines were so thick, but eventually Grayson exposed some metal.Bingo. He was tempted to howl, but that might alert the guards.
The part he’d uncovered looked like a hatch, but unless he removed more from the metal surface, he couldn’t tell if it was possible to enter from the outside.
Just as he turned around to let Rider know about his find, shouts sounded from behind him.What the hell?
He looked behind him.Shit. Two men with guns trained on him, wearing Harrison Industries’ outfits, were running toward him. Grayson took off.
“Rider. Run!”he telepathed.
“What’s going on?”
“The guards are here.”
“Meet you back at the car.”
Thank goodness Grayson had the forethought to hide his backpack. Should they find it, though, he didn’t believe he had anything in there that would tie it back to him.
Ping.
Seriously? They shot at him? If they were shifters, they should be able to tell that he was one, too, unless they were directed to kill on sight. Good luck hitting him in the heart when he was at a dead run.
Grayson debated circling around and taking them out, but that would cause the company to station more guards behind the compound. He hoped these men had no idea that an escape tunnel existed. In case they did, he wished he’d had time to cover up the small portion he’d exposed.
Grayson charged up the hill, since Rider said he would head downhill to the where they’d parked. The guards would be less effective if they had to split up, but he wouldn’t be surprised if they called in backup.
Once Grayson reached the top of Miller’s Ridge, he spotted the guards near the wall searching for the two of them. Clearly, they weren’t trained in tracking. If they were, they would have shifted and been able to sense his trail.