Debra Cowan – Witness Undercover (страница 5)
He gave himself a mental kick. What was he doing? He needed to focus on her protection, not
“Once Joy arrives, and we draw your blood, I’ll send everything with Sydney to a lab we use,” he told her again. He was nervous all of a sudden and couldn’t think of anything else to say.
“How long will it be until we know something?”
“If there are no glitches, twenty-four hours or less. The lab will email the results to me.”
“Is that safe?” Laura tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I know email accounts get hacked.”
“Everything on these computers is encrypted.”
“Good to know.” She gave him a little smile, which hit him right in the gut. He didn’t like it. Suddenly he felt as if the walls were closing in on him.
“There’s not a lot here to keep you entertained. TV or a few books, mainly thrillers. Or my gun range.”
“
He nodded. “It’s underground.”
“Really?” Interest flashed in her eyes. “I don’t know how to shoot, but I’d like to learn, especially after what happened in the elevator.”
Being able to protect herself would give her some peace of mind. Griffin could do that. “If you’re serious, I can give you some lessons.”
“That would be great. I’d feel better if I at least knew how to handle a gun.”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
She rose. “Now?”
He nodded. He wasn’t wild about taking her downstairs to the security room, but on the off chance that she might be threatened here, he wanted her to know she had a secure place to go.
After straightening her papers, she followed him across the wood floor of his large living area, then through the kitchen before they moved into the laundry room.
Griffin opened the closet used to store the iron and ironing board, which also had a rod for hanging clothes.
He pushed a button on the bottom of the clothes rod and the back of the cabinet swung open, revealing a set of stairs.
“Oh, my word! Is there a secret room?”
Laura’s question sparked a half smile. Instead of answering, he stepped inside and started down the stairs. Motion-triggered lights flashed on to show the way.
She followed. At the bottom of the steps, the space opened into a large room that housed all his computers and security equipment. His guest stopped beside him and Griffin punched in today’s code, killing the laser security beams.
He started across the dark floor, then realized Laura wasn’t behind him. He glanced back, stopping when he saw her stunned expression as she looked around the room with its long chrome table full of black monitors.
“This is like the Batcave!” she exclaimed.
That startled a laugh out of him. “Not exactly.”
“Close enough.”
He was still smiling when she moved to the bank of flat-screen monitors stretching in front of her. When was the last time he’d laughed while with a woman? He didn’t know.
His chair was arranged so that he faced the door and the screens, allowing him to see the entrance at all times. Along the adjacent wall was a refrigerator/freezer and a black leather sleeper sofa.
“What is this place?” Laura studied the monitors that displayed all the rooms in the house and various places on the property. “You really are prepared for anything.”
“If I need to, I can stay down here for a while.”
“You mean like if you were under siege?” Her eyes twinkled as she gave a disbelieving laugh.
He didn’t laugh, recalling the night that he and his team had been ambushed and under siege, resulting in the loss of his friends. He wasn’t going to be in a vulnerable position again if he could help it.
“It comes in handy,” he allowed.
“Impressive.” Her gaze moved around the space. Past the restroom at the back and to the vault on the same wall.
“This is amazing,” Laura murmured.
“If you get spooked and I’m not around, you can come down here.”
“Are you planning to leave me here while you go to work?”
“You are my work, so no.” He didn’t miss the relief in her eyes. “This is a place you can come in case you need to. Plus there’s another exit.”
She scanned the room. “Where?”
“Through the vault.” He led her to the large steel door with its engraving of the trident earned by all SEALs.
With an expression of awe, she stopped in front of the vault. “Wow.”
She reached toward the engraving of the eagle, anchor and flintlock that marked a sailor as a fully qualified navy SEAL. Griffin grabbed her hand. At the touch, a warm tingle spread up his arm.
“Oh.”
“Let me show you.” Stepping up to a recessed dark glass panel in the wall beside the vault, he bent so his retina could be scanned. After the approving beep, he placed his hand on the panel. It beeped again; then the vault lock clicked open.
“Unbelievable,” Laura breathed. “This is just like in the movies.”
“When we finish shooting practice, I’ll put you in the system. I can delete your prints after you’re gone.”
“All right.”
He opened the door wide and waited for her to precede him into the custom-made room.
She walked through the door, trailing a scent of spring freshness. “How long have you worked at Enigma?”
“Three and a half years.”
“What did you do before that?”
“I was in the Teams.”
“The Teams?” Her forehead wrinkled. “Like...sports?”
He almost smiled. “No, ma’am. The navy.”
After a second, her eyes widened. “You mean you were a SEAL?”
He tensed, wondering how she would react. Some women treated them like superheroes, some like killing machines in a video game. They were just men. Men who’d learned the hard way to do hard things. “Yes, I was.”
She didn’t ask if he’d killed anyone. Instead, her question was “Are your teammates still SEALs?”
“No.” He didn’t talk about them. Ever.
She must have realized he didn’t intend to say more. After a moment, she said, “Thank you.”
His gaze shot to her. “For what?”
“Your service to our country.”
There was no mistaking the sincerity or admiration in her eyes. Those were the last things she needed to feel for him. He didn’t deserve it. Not after what he’d done. Not after his decision had resulted in the deaths of his friends.
“How did you meet my aunt?”
“She was a volunteer at the hospital where I had additional surgery on my leg.”