She's Positive

“Danielle and I are in the guesthouse, on the grounds. Boyd says he has visual, and who knows—he might even be listening. But we finally got some demands. Fifty million in an offshore account and a helicopter. He wants them by tomorrow at noon.”

Tom made a sound to indicate he was thinking about that. Colin understood that sound. Tom was wondering about the delay, as well. “Talk to Griffin Vaughn and work out the details,” Colin suggested. “See if this is even possible and get back to me.”

“I will. Are you and Danielle safe there?”

Colin glanced around, and his attention landed on Danielle. She looked pale and uneasy. “Yes, we’re safe.” But that was for her benefit. He had no idea if that was even true.

Colin hung up and made a note of the time of the call because when this was all said and done, he’d need to do a thorough report.

Danielle stood, her hand gripping the sofa. “I need to go to the bathroom. I won’t be long.”

“Wait. Let me check the place first.” He’d done a cursory, but if she was going in there, he wanted to be as sure as he could be.

Colin stepped in ahead of her. He looked in the medicine cabinet, the linen closet and around the toilet area. The shower was massive, built for two, and he examined the sprayer head and the knobs. Nothing dangerous there. It all looked clean.

Danielle was still in the doorway, but he didn’t miss it when her grip tightened on the frame. He also didn’t miss that she’d gotten even paler.

“What’s wrong?” And by God, this time he would get an answer.

He walked toward her but only made it one step. Before he heard the sound.

A thump.

Colin stopped. Listened. Danielle listened, too, turning in the direction of the sound. It’d come from the living area, and Colin brushed past her to see if he could find the source.

Another thump.

This one, louder than the first.

Even though it was a risk if Boyd had visual access, Colin drew his gun and positioned himself in front of Danielle.

The third thump was more of a bashing sound.

And that’s when Colin knew.

Someone was breaking in.

Chapter Four

Despite her sudden dizzy spell, Danielle looked around for something—anything—she could use as a weapon. Of course, Colin had his gun, but she didn’t want just to stand there while he had the responsibility of protecting both of them.

Mercy, was Boyd trying to get inside?

Or maybe this was someone who was helping Boyd. Someone already on the grounds of the estate that the FBI didn’t know about. It made sense, especially considering Boyd was looking for that hidden money and might have brought help with him.

But why would Boyd come after them now?

Colin and she had followed his rules to a T. Well, except for Colin’s gun. Perhaps Boyd had the place bugged and knew about the weapon. If so, there was no telling what the man would do.

Danielle grabbed a heavy onyx candlestick from the dresser, and she followed right behind Colin as he made his way into the living room. At first, she’d thought the sound had come from the front door, but she realized she was wrong. It was coming from the closet next to the door.

There were more sounds of someone shuffling around. A bash of what she thought might be something slamming against the wall.

Colin took aim at the closet, and because she was so close she was touching him, she felt the muscles in his body turn to iron.

“Who’s there?” he called out.

“Special Agent Dylan Acevedo,” someone whispered. “We came through the tunnels.”

Colin glanced at her, and she could see the surprise and questions that were no doubt mirrored in her own eyes.

The closet door opened, and there indeed was Agent Acevedo. And he wasn’t alone. He stepped from the closet and following him were two other men. One was middle-aged with a blond buzz cut and stocky build. The other was much younger, with dark hair and eyes. All the men carried equipment bags and had small flashlights clipped to their collars.

“Are you being monitored?” Dylan mouthed. He set two bags on the floor and turned off his flashlight. The others did the same.

Colin shrugged. “We’re not sure,” he answered in a barely audible whisper.