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Chapter 6

  • “How long have we been in here?” Tess sat down beside Brody and watched him pry at the fourth rivet.
  • He glanced at his watch. “Two hours.”
  • Sighing, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “The team will come looking for us soon.” And hopefully it was before they were discovered.
  • “Probably, but I’m not going to just sit here and wait.” He hissed loudly. “My knife is toast, but I think I’ve got it enough we can try to pry it open and take a look.”
  • Opening her eyes, she knelt beside him. “Pry it open?”
  • Brody nodded. “Any thoughts on what we could use?”
  • Tess stood up. “I might have something.” Pulling her pant leg free from her boot, she stood up. As she lifted her pant leg up, Brody turned and shone the flashlight on her. Opening the snap on the case down near her ankle, she pulled out a knife from the sheathe that ran up her shin.
  • “Jesus, Tess,” Brody gasped. “If you’re trying to turn me on, it’s working.”
  • She smirked at him and held out the six-inch blade. “Will this work?”
  • Taking it, he studied it briefly before looking back up at her. “It should.” Moving the light up and down her body he smirked. “What else do you have hidden under those clothes?”
  • Even knowing this wasn’t exactly the right place and time for his teasing; Tess still felt her pulse speed up. “That’s top secret.”
  • Brody winked. “I think I have clearance for that.”
  • Before she could come up with a something to say in response he turned back to the wall.
  • “Hold the light.”
  • She took it from him and held it so he could see to get the blade wedged under the loosened panel. Standing back when he got up and started pulling on it, she bit her lip and waited.
  • “Put the light down and push from that side.” He waited until she stepped in front of him and braced herself up against the wall with her hands over his.
  • Tess didn’t know what this wall was made of, but it was stronger than they both planned on. A fine sweat coated her forehead and neck by the time she felt it move ever slightly.
  • “Hold up a sec, catch your breath.” Pulling his hands free, he undid his vest and dropped it on the floor. “Okay let’s go again.”
  • Pushing with her boots on the wall for leverage, she shoved with everything she could. Brody growled as he exerted more effort. The panel moved, almost folding in half. The knife clattered to the floor and Tess landed on top of Brody as they hit the floor. Dropping her head onto his chest, she took a few seconds to catch her breath. “You okay?”
  • A big hand stroked up and down her back. “Oh yeah.”
  • Lifting her head, she looked up at him to see the expression on his face. He certainly had no issues with her lying on top of him. Rolling off him, she sat up. Brody continued to lie there for a few moments longer, watching her. She looked at the metal sticking out from the wall. “I’m going to be so pissed if there’s nothing but a wall behind that.”
  • Chuckling Brody got up and picked up the flashlight. “The suspense is killing me,” he whispered.
  • Torn between wanting to know and not, she stayed right where she was. Reaching over she picked up the knife and put it back in the leather sleeve running down her shin.
  • “It’s not a wall,” Brody said, his voice echoing.
  • Getting up she moved over behind where he knelt and looked over his shoulder to where the light was shining. “Looks like it was a tunnel or drain for irrigation.”
  • “Looks big enough for us to go through.”
  • She looked inside again then at the large man in front of her. “I know I’ll fit.”
  • Backing up, he held out the flashlight. “After you.” Getting up he grabbed his vest and shrugged into it.
  • Clipping the flashlight to the shoulder of her vest, she got down on her hands and knees and turned to get past the sheet of steel. “There better not be any rodents in here.” She ignored his chuckles and crawled inside. It was almost high enough for her to stay on her hands and knees, but not quite. “It’s going to be a tight fit for you, Brody.”
  • “I don’t mind at all—as long as there’s a way out at the end, tight is just fine by me.” He moved along behind her, his hands touching her boots each time he pulled his body along behind her. “Think the mic will work?”
  • “Give it a try; I’m trying not to touch anything that might make me squeal like a girl.”
  • “Tessa, you are a girl.”
  • “Well, I don’t want to act like one right now.”
  • He chuckled again. “Base, you there?”
  • She kept moving, not wanting to be inside the rusty, dirt covered tube any longer than necessary. The fact that she had a problem with tight spaces wasn’t something you shared with your partner during a moment like this. Her heart was pumping faster than if she’d just run a mile.
  • “Glad to hear that voice.” Brody tapped a hand on her boot as they moved, letting her know they would have help soon.
  • “I can’t even begin to explain what we’ve been doing. At this very moment we are slinking our way out of some old drainpipe.” He tapped her boot again. “Can you reach your compass, Tess?” He made an exasperated sound. “Yeah it’s a little small in here.”
  • Stopping, she reached down and pulled the compass from her pocket. “Will it work inside here?” Not waiting for an answer she flipped it open and held it in the light. The needle spun around and then back and around again. “Nothing.”
  • “That’s a negative on direction.” He grasped her boot and stopped her from moving further ahead of him. “Yeah, give me a sec.” When he released her foot, she moved forward again. “We came in the south gate—through a door heading East—uh, first door was East as well . . . then down a corridor and took the door going South again.”
  • Tess slowed when she realized he’d stopped moving. Getting out of this space that was closing in on her was on the top of her list, but feeling alone in here made her almost hyperventilate.
  • “The room was big, okay hang on—I gotta say it was East down a tunnel to some sort of loading bay and then the fucking tin can room—yeah like I said I’ll fill you in later. This pipe has to come out on the North side somewhere.”
  • She heard him moving again.
  • “Shit, hang on I’m hung up on something.”
  • Taking a deep breath, she stopped and turned as much as she could to aim the light behind her.
  • “Thanks,” Brody said quietly from several feet behind her. “Yeah, see if you can find it, Dom.” She watched him turn the mic off and then look at her. “Dom’s already out there looking for where we’ll come out.” He stopped. “You okay?”
  • Tess took a calming breath, trying to slow her heart. “Not fond of tight places.”
  • He nodded, understanding on his face. “Get going then and let’s get to the end. It can’t be much further.”
  • Turning back straight, she pulled her body along using her elbows and feet to lift more than drag. “I think it turns up here.”
  • “Better be a wide turn, I think this bitch it getting smaller,” he grunted.