“What about security?”
“Give me some credit, will you?”
Standing there with her lips pulled into a frown, her eyes level on his, she didn’t look impressed.
“Look, this place is over a hundred years old,” he said. “There’s a tunnel that was begun but only partially completed during the renovation back in the seventies. There’s no rail service, of course, but the room is tiled and ventilated. If I can remember how to get there and find the right door, I can pick the lock and we’re in.”
“You make breaking into one of the most secure ground transportation hubs in the country sound easy.”
“Honey, you have no idea.”
“Probably a good thing at this point.”
They walked the perimeter of the great room. On the north wall, Chase found an unlit stairwell sign. Turning, he quickly scanned the crowd, looking for men with guns, a face he recognized, someone paying too much attention to them, but he saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Shoving open the door, he took Lily’s hand and they descended into the blackness.
LILY HAD NEVER SEEN such darkness. Even though Chase was close enough to touch, she couldn’t see his face. She couldn’t so much as see a single shadow. She couldn’t even see her hand when she held it mere inches from her eyes.
As they descended the stairs, claustrophobia closed over her like a giant, smothering hand. The air grew cooler. Only Chase’s hand felt incredibly warm and reassuring as it gripped hers.
Abruptly, a light flicked on. She glanced over, realized he’d pilfered the gunman’s flashlight back at the shelter. Relief made her sigh.
“You okay?” he asked.
Not wanting him to know just how close she was to the end of her endurance, she forced a smile. “Just feeling a little claustrophobic.”
“Light should help. I’m hoping the auxiliary lighting is on in the room I’m looking for.”
They came to a steel door painted utilitarian blue. Chase tried the knob, but it was locked.
“Like that’s a surprise,” Lily said. “What do we do now?”
“Pick the lock.”
“Of course we do.”
Giving her a half smile, he passed her the flashlight. “Hold this.”
Lily took the small light, wondering how long the batteries would last. She shone the beam on the lock. Beside her, Chase reached into his rear pocket and pulled out what looked like a wallet. When he opened it, an array of shiny tools came into view. A lock-picking kit, she realized, and shook her head. “Don’t tell me you carry that around with you.”
“Never leave home without it.” Touching her arm, he pushed the beam toward the lock. “Two minutes and we’ll be snug inside.”
Snug wasn’t the word that came to mind, but Lily was in desperate need of some downtime. She was in good physical condition. So far she’d had a relatively easy pregnancy. But in the past couple of weeks, late-term discomforts had set in. Combined with the trauma of the night, stress, too much activity and too little sleep, she felt lucky to be standing at all.
Kneeling, Chase went to work on the lock. Lily watched, amazed by the deftness of his hands, the speed and surety with which he worked. Around her, she could hear the low rumble of something she imagined was a generator. Somewhere, another type of machinery buzzed. Farther away, water dripped.
An audible click interrupted her thoughts. Relief went through her when the door squeaked open.
Chase usurped the flashlight from her and ushered her inside as if he were a doorman at some five-star hotel. “Home sweet home.”
The room was small and rectangular with a gray tile floor and matching walls. It held a table and chairs, a vending machine and a humming refrigerator. On the far wall was a utility closet.
“Have a seat.”
She startled at the sound of his voice.
“Easy,” he said. “We’re safe for now.”
But the reason she’d jumped had nothing to do with the gunmen and everything to do with the man she now found herself alone with.
He leaned against the doorjamb, watching her with an intensity that immediately unnerved her. “You okay?”
“Fine.” Annoyed with herself for letting him get to her on a level she didn’t like, Lily sat down. The instant her body made contact with the seat, she felt herself melting with exhaustion.
“Let me see if I can find us some light, so I can see to that cut on your leg.”
Too tired to argue, too tired to even move, Lily watched him cross to the utility closet and open the door. “Here we go. Let’s see if this works.”
Overhead, a single fluorescent bulb buzzed, then dim light poured down on them. “All the comforts of home,” he said.
“Not quite,” she called out.
He stuck his head out and grinned. “I’m not finished yet.”
She could hear him rummaging around and tried not to smile. Damn him for charming her when she didn’t want to be charmed.
“Let’s see,” he said from the closet. “We’ve got a mop. Push broom. Air freshener.”