Chapter 14
Taylor wanted to drive straight back to the homestead.
She couldn't shake the notion that someone was watching them, even though glances from every one in the vehicle indicated no one following them.
A dread was settling over her that she couldn't shake.
It was the same dread she felt when they left Nalani behind to go save Paul.
Her Nana would tell her that it was the Spirit telling her something was going to happen and she needed to heed the warning.
Amelia wove through town back tracking through the small residential area.
When she was satisfied that they weren't being followed, they took a road away from town.
The road took them past a concrete building that seemed to emerge out of the hillside.
It reminded Taylor of that one thriller book Paul forced her to read where the serial killer kept his victims in an abandoned bunker where no one could hear their screams.
She shivered. "That's an underground hospital from WWII," Kam whispered beside her. Taylor stared at the bare grey concrete. Those walls must have seen some horrific things.
"It looks haunted," Taylor admitted. Kam gave her a doubtful gaze. "If you believe in that sort of thing," she added quickly. She didn't believe in haunted things, but demons were real. She knew that to be true.
Movement on the top of the concrete caught Taylor's eye as they pulled further away. She turned in her seat, straining her neck to see what caused the movement.
"What is it?" Kam whispered and turned to face the hospital.
Taylor was shaking her head. "I could have sworn I saw movement back there, but I don't see anything. It was probably some kind of animal."
The structures disappeared into the distance behind them even though Taylor still couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen.
"So many souls were lost on this island during the war," Amelia said from the front.
Paul furrowed his brow. "I thought the only attacks on US soil were Pearl Harbor and off the Pacific Coast."
"Oh, I know this one." Taylor piped up. "Technically, Alaska wasn't a US state until after the war, but we had numerous bases, including a large navy base, here at Dutch Harbor, which saw many attacks from Japan throughout the war.
" Taylor spouted the information she looked up while waiting for Kam to wake up in the hospital.
Kam winged an eyebrow at her. Taylor shrugged. "I wanted to learn about the place we washed ashore while you were unconscious."
He gave her a smirk. "That's my girl, always about the details." He wove his hand with hers. She would never tire of having Kam here on mission with her. No matter what came at them, she knew that they were better together.
Taylor looked at Paul in the passenger seat, then at Kam.
Could she leave the FBI, if it meant being with Kam?
She wasn't even sure how Kam's life would look like after this was over.
His family all thought that he was dead.
None of them believed her when she told them her theory.
His gran even told her she was crazy and that she never wanted to see Taylor again.
Taylor sighed and leaned against Kam. She wanted to talk with him about it all, but now wasn't the time to worry about family and their future when a terrorist had a neurotoxin and the tech to weaponize it.
As they crossed over the bridge, Taylor could feel herself relax a fraction. The tundra here looked like dark green carpet caste over the land. She found herself wanting to see the flowers in bloom across the field in the summer.
They pulled up to the cabin with Nalani standing in the door, arms crossed. "She looks mad." Paul winced. "What happened?"
"She wanted to go with us to pick you up." Taylor leaned closer to get a better look at the door. "She wasn't happy that both Kam and Alexei told her it was too dangerous."
Paul smirked and glanced at Kam out of the corner of his eye. "I'm surprised she didn't hide in the back when you weren't looking."
"Alexei had to distract her while we slipped out," Kam said flatly. "I would not want to see her in a fight with Davin."
Paul's jovial expression slacked and he reached for the handle. Nalani didn't wait for him to reach the porch, launching herself into Paul's arms. She then reached back and punched him in the shoulder. A smile graced Paul's face, but Taylor could see that it didn't reach his eyes.
Kam stared out the windshield. "Did I say something wrong?"
Taylor felt for Kam. Paul and he had come to some kind of truce or even ground at the airport, but it looked like Paul still had some work to do before he was willing to joke with Kam.
Taylor said a prayer for her friend that his heart would be softened.
She didn't know what the future held, but she didn't want to have to choose between her friend and her fiancé.
"Paul will come around." She hoped.
Kam and Taylor walked into the living room as Max looked up from his computer. "You're here. Come, come. Alexei and I have an idea." Max rubbed his hands together. Taylor looked at Kam. She wasn't sure if Max's antics were a good thing or something she should treat with caution.
Before she could think about it further, Max laid out the plan of how they were going to "break Ian out of jail" during a transport from Hiland Mountain to the Spring Creek prison in Seward.
"Davin will then escort Ian to Spring Creek and put him into solitary so that no prisoners have contact with him until after we are done," Max finished.
"And every prisoner on the transport will see Ian being broken out by you." Alexei pointed at Kam.
Kam was nodding his head, but Taylor did not like this plan. "What if Ian gets away from Kam? What if he kills him?"
"Ian will probably try to kill me, but not before we get away from the bus," Kam said as if it wasn't a big deal.
"No. I don't want to take that kind of chance with your life. There has to be another way."
Kam wove his fingers in hers and pulled her closer to him. "We have to make it look real enough that Dasha will meet with us." Taylor knew he was right, but that didn't mean she had to like the idea.
"If it makes you feel better." Alexei walked over to a crate he had brought with him and pulled out a small gun with a scope on it. "You can be the one to shoot Ian with this."
Family dynamics were hard to navigate, but sometimes she couldn't understand why Alexei was willing to help them. "You want me to shoot Ian, your son, with that?"
"This doesn't shoot bullets, just tranquilizers." Alexei placed the gun in her hands. "He'll have a headache in the morning, but he won't be harmed." Alexei sighed. "I'm not sure where I went wrong with him," he looked over at Nalani standing next to Paul, "but he needs to pay for what he did."
A high pitch sound pierced the air and Amelia stomped back into the room. "You need to get in the safe room."
Kam started walking towards the bookshelf that Ted had indicated when they first arrived, but Amelia's command stopped him. "Negative. The one under the coffee table. That one is only big enough for two adults."
Who were these people? Taylor had so many questions for Amelia and Ted, but she'd have to wait to ask them when the threat was neutralized.
Kam pushed the coffee table to the side and Max pulled the carpet back revealing a rectangle cut into the floor. Amelia hoisted the door open with a handle that appeared only after pushing down on a certain spot, indicating that they should all go down the stairs.
"Quickly. I'll put the carpet and table back on top of the door.
This door will seal so the light in the room can't be seen up above.
There are provisions and medical supplies in the bags.
If I'm not back in 30 minutes, find the latch and take the tunnel to the garage.
The keys are in the glove box of the SUV. "
"I'll go with you." Kam was taking off his sling. There was no way that Taylor was going to be separated from Kam.
"No. I need you with them." Amelia tossed him a duffle bag. "I want these back. Stay vigilant. Stay alive."
Amelia shoved Kam towards the steps and started shutting the door.
Taylor held out her hand for the bag as Kam came down the rest of the stairs.
They all stood in a small room that lit up as they walked further into it.
Along one wall, there was a counter with three bags laid out on them.
The rest of the room held some folding chairs and a table.
The concrete walls added to the cold that seemed to permeate the air.
They were safe for now, but the questions still remained. What tripped the alarm? Was Dasha or Katarina on to them? Why did Amelia and Ted have not one, but two safe rooms?
Kam stalked over to the bags on the counter. Access the situation. Make a plan. Peering in the bags, each held a med kit, protein bars, MREs, and water for a few days. He'd survived with less.
Kam began to run his hands over the wall looking for a latch or door that Amelia told him about. He needed to be able to get them all out of here if the time ran out.
"Good idea." Taylor joined Kam going the opposite direction around the room.
If there wasn't an active threat and there weren't others in the room right now, he'd give into his temptation to take Taylor into his arms and let his desires be very clear.
She was capable and smart, but more than that, she trusted him even after everything she'd been through.
Kam refocused his mind on the task at hand. There would be time later to show Taylor how much he loved her. "I found something," Taylor called over her shoulder. The creak of hinges echoed in the small room. The smell and chill of dampness wafted into the room.
"Looks like you found the tunnel." Kam ducked his head to peer into the dark void. A light flickered on, which triggered a long string of lights to do the same. "We've got our exfil, if we need it."