We came back together on the main floor, and guns weren’t holstered but they were lowered.
Josh frowned. “Is she hiding?”
I looked at Derek. “Did you check the feeds?”
He already had his computer up and was typing. “Pulling it up now.” He clicked. Clicked. He frowned. Clicked some more, and his eyes lifted. “There’s a secret door behind the living room couch.”
We were in the living room.
As one person, we turned.
The couch was behind us.
Jasper and Josh moved to the couch, lifting it clear from the wall.
Derek put his computer down. All of our guns were raised again, and he approached the wall.
Jasper moved in from the right.
Josh from the left.
A small hatch was in the wall, and Derek took point right in front of Josh. He grabbed the latch and opened it, hurling himself and the small door to the side. Josh rounded, his gun drawn. Jasper bent down, sweeping the bottom. Josh the top. Neither saw anything. Both went inside.
Derek looked at me.
I looked at him, then nodded to the computer. “Pull the active feeds. I want to see if that’s a tunnel, if she’s coming out somewhere else.”
He holstered his gun, nodding at the same time, and hurried to the computer.
We waited. A minute passed. Two. Three.
There were no shouts.
The guys checked the perimeter and all radioed in. Everything was cleared out there, so that meant she wasn’t out there somewhere. She was inside the house—or hell, she was in a tunnel for all I knew.
Josh’s voice came over the radio. “Got her.”
Derek stopped what he was doing, going to his own radio. “Where?”
“There’s a back room. I think we’re under the basement. Her grandfather had a whole system down here.”
“Is she unharmed?”
A slight laugh from Josh. “Oh yeah. She’s feisty, some cursing, but she’s good to go. She’d been drinking, so I think she got lost in the tunnels. She trapped herself.”
Over the radio, we heard a feminine voice, “Fuck you! Fuck who’s out there. Is that Kash? Tell him to fuck himself!”
There were scuffling sounds next.
A thud.
Josh came back on the radio, his voice sounding strained. “Jasper needs a hand. We’ll be out momentarily.”
“Guys outside want to know your orders. They switched channels,” Derek said.
I nodded, rubbing a hand over my face. I was exhausted and I hadn’t even dealt with this girl yet. “Tell them to set the detonators. This is going to be a message to him.”
Derek’s eyebrows dipped before smoothing out. “Can I say something?”