Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
The road curved through a wooded outer-Portland neighborhood where the houses stood behind deep front yards.
Mailboxes marked the driveways, and neighboring roofs appeared through gaps in the firs.
A swing set stood in one side yard beneath a pair of tall cedars.
Then their vehicle turned between maples and dense shrubs, and the road disappeared behind them.
The driveway widened beside a substantial two-story house with an attached garage. Broad front windows faced the road, and a covered porch sheltered the main entrance. Nothing visible from the driveway announced the security work inside.
Ryder sat beside Nell with his hand in hers. The scrape along his jaw had begun to fade, and he turned toward her without the stiffness the fight had left in him earlier. Nell kept holding his hand until the vehicle stopped inside the garage.
The outer doors rolled down behind the last vehicle.
Siren waited for them near the interior door, then led them into a mudroom with a long bench, coat hooks, and closed cupboards along one wall.
A short service hall opened to the left.
The kitchen lay through the wider doorway ahead, bright with pale cabinets and a broad island.
“Welcome to our Portland safe house. The operational rooms are back toward the garage,” Siren said. “Kitchen, dining room, and living room are through here. Most of the bedrooms are upstairs.”
They crossed the kitchen. A long dining table with ten chairs filled the space beyond it, and the living room opened on the other side. Lamps stood beside the sofa, and a folded blanket lay over one arm.
Siren pointed out the stairs as they passed. “Nell, you and Ryder have the larger room upstairs. Tessa, your room is down here.”
The protected suite opened from a short vestibule off the domestic hall. Inside, a queen-size bed stood beneath two windows facing the trees. A chair and a small desk occupied the far side of the room.
Tessa stopped just inside. “I didn’t bring anything.”
“You don’t need to tonight. The dresser has sweatpants, sweatshirts, and T-shirts. There are new packages of underwear, socks, and bralettes. There are toiletries and toothbrushes in the bathroom. Laundry’s upstairs. If you need anything else, we’ll get it.”
Tessa looked around the room once more. “Thank you.”
They then followed Siren into the planning room.
It had a central table, a wall-mounted display, and two laptops open beside a small bank of locked cabinets.
Ryder brought up the cached drone images.
The first showed the fenced property from above, with the main gate, the central building, and the storage area behind it.
Tessa moved nearer to the display. “The paper archive is in that building. The backups are kept there too.”
Ryder changed the image. “Main gate here. The rear service route comes in on this side.” He traced both approaches on the display, then indicated the trees and buildings around the yard. “The drone can watch traffic coming in and out, but the tree cover blocks parts of the property.”
“Our units control the gate and the service route,” the Portland police liaison said. “We’ll stage with you in the morning. Once the property is secure, Portland PD takes the suspects and the evidence.”
Dom indicated the main gate. “Siren and I go with the main unit. Blaze and Hunter take the rear with your second team. Ryder and Axel stay outside the property at the drone station.”
Nell opened her crossbody bag and removed the brown envelope. “This is an original project file and the printouts from the other records Tessa scanned.” She handed it directly to the liaison.
After the liaison departed, Hunter stood from the planning room table. “Blaze and I are going to get dinner. We’ll be back in about an hour if you all want to rest and wash up before we eat.”
Ryder held out his hand to Nell. She took it, and they went upstairs.
Bedroom doors lined a quiet hall, and their room stood at the far end.
Inside, a chair stood between the windows, the dresser held folded emergency clothes, and clean towels waited in the private bathroom.
Ryder closed the door, giving them privacy.
Nell sat on the edge of the bed, and Ryder joined her.
She raised one hand to the scrape along his jaw, then leaned in and kissed him.
His hand settled at her waist as he kissed her back.
When they separated, she rested her cheek against his shoulder.
She listened to his breathing until her own slowed. For a while, neither of them spoke.
“I keep seeing you step in front of him,” Nell said. Ryder turned toward her. “The gun was coming out of his jacket, and you put yourself between it and us.” She tightened her fingers around his. “I knew I had to get Tessa out of there. But… the whole time…”
Nell had listened for gunshots the entire time she’d waited with Hunter.
“I didn’t know if you were still fighting or lying on the floor.” Her voice caught on the last word. Ryder’s fingers tightened around hers. “I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t help you.”
Ryder held her gaze. “You saved me from the second man I didn’t see.”
Nell wanted to lock the bedroom door and keep him there until the raid was over. “Tomorrow scares me.”
“I’ll be with Axel at the drone station,” Ryder said. “I’m not on the breach team.”
She turned into him and pressed her face against his neck. Ryder kissed her hair and held her. His pulse beat steadily beneath her cheek. She counted it without meaning to until a knock sounded at the bedroom door.
“Dinner’s on the table,” Siren called.
Ryder kissed Nell’s head, then stood with her. They followed Siren downstairs. Voices carried from the kitchen, and the smell of hot bread and tomato sauce reached the hall before they did.
Half a dozen pizza boxes stood open on the kitchen island beside a huge salad, breadsticks, brownies, and a stack of plates. Dom and Axel had left the planning room, and the others were choosing slices and carrying their plates to the table.
Tessa came from the protected-suite hall. Siren handed her a plate and made room beside her at the island. Tessa chose a few slices, added some salad and breadsticks, and carried her plate to the dining table.
“If there’s anything else you need, add it to the kitchen list,” Dom said.
Tessa looked from him to the others gathering around the table. “Are all of you staying here tonight?”
“Yes,” Siren said.
Ryder sat beside Nell. Across from them, Tessa took the chair next to Siren and began to eat. For the first few minutes, no one spoke about tomorrow.