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Morgan fell on her knees and broke apart.
Chapter Fourteen
Bash was concerned. Morgan hadn’t moved a muscle in the past 20 minutes. She was in shock. All he could think to do was be there. He leaned down where she sat on the floor and lightly rubbed the top of her shoulder. A single tear trailed from the corner of her right eye, down her chin, and dropped on her sweater.
As bad as he felt for Morgan, he couldn’t help the anxiety rising inside of him from the implications of her Pops words. Her father was out of prison, and his old gang was still looking for her. Or her as a man. He felt like a selfish jerk for worrying about himself when her whole world had just blown up, but it appeared their trouble had just doubled.
“Morgan?” She didn’t answer. He waited five full minutes before he tried again. “Morgan, talk to me, please. You’re obviously overwhelmed by the bomb that just dropped in your lap, but we need to discuss this new development. Your grandfather warned you about a very real threat. Our troubles are now two-fold.” No reply.
He picked up the letter. “Okay. I’ll get started on this riddle because you…ugh, we…need all the insurance we can get.”
After muttering to himself for a few minutes, he felt her eyes on him. “What?”
“You said we. We need insurance,” she said softly.
“So?”
“The last thing you need is to be involved with me. I can take you to the nearest town, and you can call your friend Gray. You’ve got enough problems without adding mine to the list. I thought this place was safe, but apparently not so much anymore.”
He studied her face. She was right. He was already in the sights of one of the most powerful men in the country and didn’t need an outlaw motorcycle club with leather and steel between their legs on his ass too. Then he remembered. Morgan didn’t have to get involved with him, but she chose to put herself at risk to save his pompous ass. He owed her. And he wanted to help.
“There is no way I’m leaving you. Not after what you did for me and not until I know you’re safe.”
She gave me a weak smile. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now let me get back to this riddle.”
“No need. I knew what he meant the moment you read it.”
He crinkled his forehead. “Really?’
In four strides, she was in front of the bookcase. “The trap door was so narrow, Pops had to take everything apart and reassemble it down here except the bookcase. He built that himself. I joked that it was so big he would never be able to get it out of here without destroying it. He could move it around, but it wasn’t leaving this room. It must be in the bookcase somewhere.”
They spent the next fifteen minutes going through each page of every book and magazine, finding nothing. Bash reached over and grabbed the letter to read the riddle again.
“Build it in a small box, and you can never get it out. You might be able to move it around, but you’ll eventually end up back in the same place,” he read out loud. “Maybe it has something to do with moving it around. Something taped to the back?”
Her eyes lit up as she scrambled to her feet. “Help me move it out from the wall.”
The bookcase was 4’ by 6’ and made of sturdy oak, so it was heavy. They slowly inched it away from the wall until they had a 6” clearance. Bash put his cell on flashlight to see the back. He was totally stunned when he saw the outline of a door.
“Morgan, you’re not going to believe this shit.”
She took his phone and gently nudged him out of the way. When she turned back, her eyes were saucers. “Well, I’ll be doggone.” She looked up at the ceiling and said, “You sure had me fooled Pops.”
They moved the bookcase far enough away from the wall to allow them to get to the door. Morgan was about to open it when Bash put his hand on her shoulder to stop her. She swung her head around in question.
“We aren’t going to find any dead bodies of sex slaves in there, are we?”
That gained him a smack on his chest and an eye roll. “Of course, and you’re about to be number six!”
The first thing they saw was the glow from a computer monitor with a four-way split screen. Cameras displayed four different locations around the property.
“This must be connected to a high-voltage battery. Two of the cameras are on the right and left side of the house. The other two are the front and the back. Pops must have thought a threat was imminent if he installed these.”
“Wonder how long they’ve been here?” he asked absently. Bash noticed a flashlight sitting on the shelf beside the computer. Flipping it on, he looked over the small room. A shop light hung on a hook from the low ceiling. He hit the switch, flooding the room in light.
The room was bare except for a folding table with the computer against one wall and a 6’ by 6’ stainless steel safe on the opposite wall. It had an electronic lock.
