Chapter fourteen #2
Mike took in the two-story mid-century modern home as he stepped out of the vehicle, the other guys joining him.
The place had probably been nice at some point, but that was years ago.
A glance around the surrounding subdivision revealed more of the same.
While occupied, many of the houses around them showed signs of neglect, with overgrown lawns and cracked windows here and there.
The place on the other side of the street was completely missing its front door.
Mike had to agree with Trey’s assessment.
The thought that a rich guy like Roy would be caught dead in a place like this didn’t fit his expensive suit and boardroom image.
“I can’t say you’re wrong,” Mike said. “But we’re here now, so we might as well check the place out.”
They split up, Mike going right with Trey to sweep the exterior first while Xander and Hale went left. The side yard of the home was much like the front of the place, overgrown and littered with trash.
Trey stood up on his toes and peeked in a high window before looking at him. “I’m picking up Lark’s scent on you, so the two of you must be getting close.”
Mike felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. There was definitely a downside to working with a pack of werewolves. They smelled everything, including the scent transfer that came with a hug and a kiss.
“It’s good,” he admitted, his smile broadening. “After all this time apart, I wasn’t sure how this could work, but in some ways it’s like we’re picking up where we left off.”
“Can’t ask for better than that. Just take it day-by-day, and see where it all leads. If you’re open to good things, they’ll happen.”
Mike hoped so. There was still a lot to figure out where he and Lark were concerned. But he kept his thoughts to himself as they walked around the back of the house and met up with Xander and Hale.
He was just thinking this whole trip was a bust when his nose picked up something interesting near the back door.
“I’m not sure if it’s Roy or not, but someone has definitely been in the house recently,” Mike murmured, looking through the glass panels in the door to see a small kitchen. “Let’s check inside.”
Mike forced the back door open easily with a nudge of his shoulder, and once inside, he and the other guys fanned out to search the house. The place appeared to be empty, and by the time he reached the basement, he figured there wasn’t going to be anything to find.
He was about to turn and walk back up the steps when he picked up the same scent he’d smelled near the back door. He spun in a circle, trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. If someone was in the basement, why wouldn’t he have smelled them in other parts of the house?
Mike was still trying to figure it out when his pack mates joined him in the basement.
“Are you guys picking up that scent?” Mike asked as he moved over to the wall of built-in storage cabinets and shelves that lined the entire back of the basement to get a closer look at the exposed HVAC ductwork and electrical conduits attached to the ceiling.
“It’s the same one that I smelled near the back door. ”
Trey stepped closer to the shelving unit, sniffing the air carefully before walking halfway back up the steps and coming down again. “This makes no sense. The scent we’re picking up near the back wall isn’t over here on the stairs.”
Mike moved along the shelving unit until he found the source of the scent. It was up near the ceiling where a section of the ductwork entered into the concrete block wall.
“The scent seems to be coming out of the wall. Or rather, through the gap around the ductwork where it enters the wall,” Mike said.
“This wall faces the backyard,” Xander said. “That means it’s below ground level.”
“So, where the hell is that ductwork going?” Trey asked.
Mike cursed under his breath. “To a room on the other side of the wall.”
Hurrying forward again, Mike started looking for a way through the built-in shelving unit, his pack mates moving in to help.
A few minutes later, Mike found a switch hidden in the back of a shelf.
He pushed down, hearing a distinct click as the entire section of the shelving unit swung open.
The scent he’d barely been able to pick up before came rolling out from the tunnel hidden within.
The passage was illuminated by a lone bare bulb attached to the wall.
Pulling his gun, he glanced at his pack mates to see them taking out their own weapons. “Be careful once we’re inside. We have no idea what situation we’re walking into or what frame of mind Roy might be in—if he’s actually the one in there.”
Mike led the way, moving cautiously down the tunnel, his eyes quickly adapting to the dim light as he let his sense of smell and keen hearing take over. Soft music from somewhere up ahead echoed off the concrete walls, leading him that way.
A few moments later, he stepped out of the tunnel into an open space that was just as dimly lit and barely high enough to stand up in. Steel wire shelves stacked with boxes of food and bottles of water lined the walls on either side of the room.
“This is some kind of survival bunker,” Mike whispered as the other guys stepped into the room. “It must have been built when the foundation for the main house was going in.”
“As hiding places go, it’s not bad,” Trey said.
Mike cautiously led the way into the next room.
This one had a pair of couches and a large screen TV.
He was regarding the three doors on the far side of the living area when he picked up the sound of a heartbeat coming from the middle one.
He motioned in the direction of the middle door, then began to move that way, even as his three pack mates followed, each of them covering a different sector of the room.
He was halfway across the room when the door opened slightly and the barrel of a gun poked out.
Mike threw himself to the floor behind one of the couches to avoid the bullets coming his way, even as his pack mates took cover. Coming up in a roll, he prepared to return fire—until he remembered Roy was probably the one shooting at them.
“This is Corporal Taylor of the Dallas Police Department!” he shouted. “We’re here to protect you from Roman, but you have to stop shooting at us!”
The shooting stopped, but only so Roy could reload. Mike cursed when he heard the distinct click as the man shoved in another magazine.
“How do I know you’re who you say you are?” Roy called out.
“If you promise not to shoot me, I’ll show you my badge,” Mike said.
Slowly putting his gun back in the holster, he took out his badge and slid it across the floor. Roy quickly reached out to grab it. A few moments later, he opened the door further and stepped out. Dark hair with dark eyes, Roy was shorter than average height with a compact build.
“You’re the cop who was undercover in Roman’s organization, aren’t you?” Roy said, tossing Mike his badge back. “The one he thinks I’m working with.”
Mike wasn’t surprised Roy remembered his name. Mike had been instrumental in sending a lot of people from the organization to jail all those years ago, even if Roy had been able to talk himself out of prison time.
“How’d you find me?” Roy asked, looking around the room at Xander, Hale, and Trey.
Roy looked stunned and disgusted when Mike explained that he’d been given away by a piece of ductwork going into a wall where it had no business going. Well, that and his scent, but Mike didn’t mention that.
“We think Roman is after you because he’s looking for money,” Mike said, turning the conversation away from Roy’s hidden bunker and in a more useful direction. “Are they right?”
“What do you think?” Roy moved over to one of the couches, letting out a heavy sigh as he sat down. “All I did when I worked for Roman was hide and launder his money. So yeah, it’s a safe bet he’s after me for his stash.”