Chapter 35

CHAPTER

THIRTY-FIVE

Heidi stared at the desk chair as it rolled away from her.

Then it stopped. All someone had to do was sit down, and she'd be spotted.

She held her breath.

At any minute, she fully expected the man to find her. To draw his gun and . . .

She swallowed hard, trying to push the image out of her mind.

But the man didn't try to sit.

What was he doing?

Then movement sounded.

"Don't worry," a deep voice said. "I'm handling it."

The voice sounded familiar. Where had she heard it before?

And exactly what was this guy handling?

"I've got things under control. The plan will go off without a hitch. You have my word."

Finally, he took a step away.

But Heidi didn't dare relax.

She waited instead. Listened as the footsteps grew farther and farther away.

The door opened. The man stepped out. A click sounded as the door closed and locked.

He was gone.

She released a pent-up breath.

Remaining beneath the desk, she carefully pulled the envelope down and opened it.

A single piece of paper was inside.

Knoxville 10/10

Nashville 10/12

Johnson City 10/14

Memphis 10/15

Chattanooga 10/15

Clarksville 10/16

She frowned. What was the significance of this? It had to be important.

Instead of keeping the paper, Heidi pulled the phone from her shoe and took pictures of it. She couldn't trust her memory with these details, and they might be too important to forget.

Working quickly, she put the envelope back as she'd found it and then scooted the chair out. She cautiously rose, halfway expecting a gotcha moment.

None came.

Still, she didn't know how much time she had. She had to get out of here.

She started to step away when she spotted the phone on Rafferty's desk.

Her breath caught, and she paused.

It was an old-fashioned landline.

Her heart pounded in her ears as she considered her options.

Leave now before she was caught? Or take a risk and call Stephen?

She didn't have to think long. She had to call Stephen. After all, he had no idea what was happening right now. If Stephen and Gage barged in on her in this bunker, she might lose her opportunity to find out any more information.

That settled it.

Working quickly, she found his number on her phone and dialed.

As she gripped the phone, she prayed he'd answer . . . before anyone caught her in this room.

Stephen remained behind the tree, still frozen.

The slightest movement could give away his presence, and he couldn't chance that.

Gage did the same behind another tree nearby.

What was that man doing?

When they heard nothing for several moments, Stephen finally dared to peer around the tree.

The man still stood there. But now he smoked a cigarette.

Stephen almost wanted to laugh.

The guy was taking a smoke break.

Their presence here hadn't been discovered.

He watched the man another moment. The guy finished his cigarette, then dropped it on the ground and stomped it out.

As he glanced around again, Stephen slipped back behind the tree.

When he looked again, the man had headed back to the shack.

Stephen released the breath he'd been holding.

He was still ready to charge into that building. It took every ounce of his self-control not to. But he forced himself to wait.

Something vibrated in his pocket. His phone, he realized.

He snatched it and looked at the screen. It was an unknown number.

But only a few people had his number, and Heidi was one of them.

Making the split-second decision, he answered.

"Stephen?" a soft voice whispered on the other end.

His grip on the phone tightened as his heart rate surged. "Heidi? Are you okay? What's going on?"

Gage moved closer, a knot between his eyes.

"I'm okay," she told him. "There's no cell service inside. There's a bunker beneath that shack, and it's set up complete with places to sleep and an office."

He'd figured that much. "Is Rafferty onto you?"

"I don't think so. I snuck into his office?—"

"You did what?" His voice rose with apprehension.

"I did what I was supposed to do. I don't have much time to explain myself to you."

Stephen clamped his mouth shut and didn't say anything else, knowing her words were true. Still, if she made one wrong move . . .

He swallowed hard. He didn't want to think about it.

"I found a list of cities and dates," she continued. "I don't know what they mean, but they must be important. Rafferty had them hidden beneath his desk."

A surge of admiration rushed through him. "Good work. What are they?"

She rattled the names and numbers off to him.

"You've done what you went in to do," Stephen told her. "Now we need to get you out of there."

"I'm not sure that's going to be possible." Her voice trembled. "Not yet at least."

His heart beat harder. "It's not safe. If Rafferty catches wind of any of this?—"

"I know. But I just need you to trust me. Give me a couple more hours."

That sounded like a terrible idea. "But?—"

"I can't talk anymore," she rushed. "Just give me two hours. I'll make it work."

Then the line went dead.

Stephen stared at the phone, resisting the urge to throw it onto the ground in frustration.

That would do him no good. It would only cut off any more communication with Heidi. But at least they had something to work with now.

He relayed the conversation to Gage.

Then they called Larchmont to tell him the update.