Chapter 3 #2
She’d used money she’d acquired on one of her missions to eliminate a drug runner.
She’d caught him after he’d made a particularly large sale of meth.
He’d killed his own partner to keep all the money for himself.
Keira had been there, watching from the shadows when he’d shot his partner in the back.
When she’d confronted him, he’d tried to shoot her as well.
She’d gotten the drop on him before he could raise his weapon and killed him with a single throw of her knife.
She’d taken the bag of money. When Viktor had asked about the money, she’d responded with an arched eyebrow, feigning ignorance. She’d reminded Viktor that her mission was to kill the drug runners, not retrieve anything else.
Viktor’s eyes had narrowed, but he hadn’t said anything.
Apparently, she’d mastered the poker face, or he’d let her slide.
Either way, she’d landed a stash of cash she couldn’t just run out and spend.
Instead, she’d acquired fake identification from a contact outside the Onyx network and purchased a property from a prepper who’d moved to Idaho to be with a community of people determined to live off the grid.
Keira had improved what the prepper had started and added her own brand of security to keep random people from squatting or stealing what was hers.
She stopped the motorcycle in a stand of trees.
The path appeared to end at that point. They had to go the rest of the way on foot.
Not only had she allowed the brush and trees to grow up around the cabin, but she’d encouraged it.
She’d also strung a camouflage net over the cabin to make it virtually invisible from above.
Drones, aircraft and satellite imaging would be hard-pressed to find it.
Anyone who managed to find this path would think it ended there.
The random person wouldn’t see the cabin through the brush.
As soon as Keira stopped and cut the engine, Rogue slid off the back and dropped the bags on the ground.
Light from the star-lit night managed to find a way through the leaves and branches of the scrubby live oak trees.
“Are we camping here?” Rogue asked.
Keira dismounted and planted her fists on her hips. “Would you have a problem with that?”
He shook his head. “Not at all. But you did say the place you had in mind runs off solar power and is well-stocked.”
She nodded. “I did.”
“Yet, you’re hesitating.”
“I am.” She glanced away. “No one knows about this place but me and the man from whom I purchased it.”
Rogue raised his hands. “Your secret is safe with me.”
She snorted. “How do I know that? You’re a stranger. Most men I’ve come into contact with have always taken advantage of me. Why should you be any different?”
“Because I’m not most men.” He stepped closer and took one of her hands. “If it makes you feel better, we can camp here. You don’t have to take me to your secret safe house.”
She stared down at his hand holding hers, her blood thrumming through her veins.
She’d come this far. Had trusted him up to this point.
All he had to do was walk through the brush, and he’d find the cabin.
Hesitating was just delaying the inevitable.
She squared her shoulders and met his gaze in the starlight. “Follow me,” she said softly.
Rogue collected their bags and fell in behind her as she pushed her way through the vegetation.
Moments later, she cleared the brush and stood in front of the small cabin, starlight now finding its way through the canopy of camouflage netting.
Built against the side of a hill, the limestone-and-cedar construction sported a front porch with darkened windows shuttered with hurricane-proof metal.
The steel door had several heavy-duty locks that made it practically impenetrable.
The doorknob was more of a disguise than a functional element.
She gripped it, flicked it open and displayed a combination tumbler.
Keira pulled a pen light out of a niche in the cedar doorframe, switched it on and balanced it between her teeth as she twisted the lock left four times, right three, left two and stopped on the final number.
The locking mechanism clicked. She turned the knob, and the door opened inward. She stepped inside.
Rogue remained on the porch. “Please tell me you don’t have to use the combination to get out.”
Keira chuckled. “Okay, I won’t tell you.
” Then she relaxed. “Of course, you can get out without having to use the combination.” She touched a switch on the wall.
Soft lighting illuminated a front living area with a brown leather sofa, a lounge chair and wood-paneled walls.
Bookshelves lined one wall, the shuttered windows another and a fireplace took center stage at the far end of the living room.
It had a masculine vibe she hadn’t tried to change.
She hadn’t been there often enough. Most of her time had been spent on the Onyx compound in South Texas.
Rogue studied the locking mechanism and tested the inside doorhandle before he closed the door.
“You can drop the bags in here for now,” she said. “I want to get a shower before I think about food.”
He laid the two bags by the door and looked around. “What do you do for water?”
“There’s a well that taps into the aquifer five hundred feet below.” She turned away. “Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the cabin.”
He followed her out of the living area and through an open, heavy steel door into a kitchen.
“It’s not a chef’s dream, but it works,” she said of the stainless steel refrigerator, smooth concrete countertops, a farm-style sink and a small handmade wooden table with matching handmade chairs.
On the far side of the kitchen, she opened a door to a pantry lined with shelves full of canned goods, bags of rice and dried beans.
“It’s fully stocked with enough canned and dried goods to last a couple of months.
Solar power runs the water pump and lights.
Because the cabin is built into the hillside, it’s more or less a cave in the rear, which helps keep the temperature moderate.
Not too hot in the summer, not cold in the winter. ”
“Very self-contained,” Rogue said as he ran a finger across the counter. “And sturdy.”
She led the way out of the kitchen. “The back of the cabin can be closed off from the front. The walls are twelve-inch-thick concrete. The door we passed through to get to the kitchen is like a vault door. It can withstand an explosion. The back of the cabin relies on the thick concrete and the limestone hillside for protection.”
“It’s a bunker,” Rogue said as he followed her down a short hallway lined with wood like the living room.
Keira flung open a door into a bathroom with the smooth stone walls and a man-sized shower. Instead of tile, the shower walls and floor were smooth gray stones. The room made her feel like a part of nature. Calm in a harsh, chaotic world.
“So far, this is my favorite room in the cabin,” Rogue said. “It has a relaxed feeling. A Zen vibe.”
Her lips curled. “It does have that going for it.” In that moment, she could imagine standing naked in the shower big enough for two people. Heat filled her cheeks and spread south to her core as her mind conjured an image of herself and a man—Rogue—sharing the shower.
Keira backed out of the bathroom and opened the door to the room across the hall.
“This is a combination utility room and armory. It houses the water heater, ventilation system, water pump and the cistern that collects the water from the aquifer.” She waved toward a large safe.
“It’s also where I store the weapons I’ve accumulated over the years. ”
“Does Onyx know about this place?” Rogue asked.
She shook her head. “It’s best that they don’t.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “A girl has to have her secrets.”
“And the weapons you’ve accumulated?”
Again, she shook her head. “What they don’t know won’t hurt me.”
Rogue’s lips twisted. “Why did you stay with them for so long?”
She drew in a deep breath. “They taught me that I wasn’t a victim. That I had a purpose greater than myself. I was helping my country.” She snorted. “Or so I thought.”
“Until they asked you to kill a senator.” Rogue nodded. “I get it. We all need to feel like we have a purpose.”
“Why did SOS leave the government?” she countered.
“Much the same reason you left Onyx. We were being used as political weapons—not for the greater good of our country.”
Keira sighed. “I’m glad I no longer consider myself a victim. However, I realize men haven’t stopped using me.” She held up her hand. “I don’t say that for sympathy. You should be forewarned; I don’t hold much faith in the male of our species.”
“I can understand,” Rogue said. “I want you to know that I would never use you for my own gains. I have no intention of hurting you or any other woman.”
“I’ve had the exact opposite experience throughout my life. Excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
Rogue nodded. “I don’t expect you to believe my words. Actions are what reveal a person’s intent.”
“True,” Keira said as she closed the door to the utility room and armory.
She strode to the door at the end of the hallway and paused with her hand on the knob.
“This is the only bedroom in the cabin. It’s protected on three sides by the weight of the hillside and twelve-inch concrete walls.
” She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Rogue followed, letting out a long, low whistle. “Wow. This is not what I expected.”
Keira had had the same reaction when she’d first seen the only bedroom in the cabin.