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Naomi faltered and I was up and moving, catching her before she hit the tile. I traded a glance with Valerie and then focused on Naomi. She had saved my life twice tonight and I marveled at her speed and cunning, but now she lay bleeding and unconscious and my heart thundered as loud as hers had when she was trying to get the bullet out of my chest.
“Valerie, I need you to get me a couple pints of blood, okay?” I asked, meeting her wide stare.
She nodded without speaking and crossed to the kitchen, coming back with two more bags from the refrigerator. I poked a hole in the bottom of one bag and slipped it between Naomi’s slack lips. It only took a few drops before her eyes snapped open and she drank in greedy pulls. When she only sucked air, she let out a growl and I pointed to the hallway.
“Go to the bedroom down that hall and close the door.”
Valerie didn’t move.
“Go!” I yelled before Naomi lost all control. Valerie listened this time and I slid the second bag between Naomi’s lips. By the time she finished the second bag, the hole in her leg had closed and I picked her up, bringing her into the shower, and blasting the water while I peeled off her clothes and mine as well.
“What are you doing?” she asked and glanced around.
“I’m getting the blood off both of us before we get dressed and get the hell out of here.”
She glanced at my chest, tracing the angry scar with her fingers. “I’m sorry I had to hurt you,” she said and when she raised her gaze to mine, her eyes were filled with tears.
I pressed my lips to her forehead and switched the water off. Sweet moments could wait until after we got through the night. I tossed her a towel and grabbed one of my own, leading her to the bedroom and stepping inside to Valerie’s wide gaze.
“The bullet hole...” she trailed off, pointing at my chest.
I nodded in her direction and opened the closet, tossing Naomi a duffel bag. “Pack up your stuff.”
I slipped on underwear and jeans under the towel before letting it drop and slamming a handful of outfits into a second duffel bag.
“What about me?” Valerie asked and I turned.
“I’ll buy you new clothing when we find a safe place to hole up.”
I stalked out of the room, leaving the women alone. In the office, I slid into the controls and flipped open my laptop, connecting the two with a cord. After a few keystrokes, the hard drive started the transfer. I had five minutes before I could do the self-destruct sequence. I dropped my duffel bag on the floor and headed to the kitchen, grabbing the cooler under the sink and sweeping the contents of the refrigerator into it. I had a feeling we might need some back up.
Anger burned in my veins and I stormed across the room, catching sight of Naomi and Valerie stopped in the hallway.
“What?” I snarled and Valerie shrunk into Naomi.
Naomi cocked an eyebrow.
“I’m pissed, and I’m trying to get my shit together so we can get moving.”
“I get it, but you don’t have to snarl like a rabid dog,” she said and I stopped moving.
I hadn’t realized I was snarling.
She smirked. “Between the snarling and swearing, I could have sworn we were at an illegal dog fight.”
“Oh, fuck you, Naomi,” I said and stormed back into the office to her laughter.
“Are you two related?” Valerie asked just before I stepped into the office.
“No, we’re not,” Naomi answered.
“How long have you been together?”
I stopped and turned, meeting Naomi’s gaze. “Not long enough,” I said, dispelling the questions before I slipped into my chair. I had a minute left and I dropped the cooler by the door, pointing in that direction.
“What’s burning?” Valerie asked.
“The house,” I answered and sighed, glancing at Valerie before moving my gaze to Naomi. “Go get some blankets for her. It’s going to be cold where we’re heading.” I received a nod and then she disappeared, coming back a few minutes later with the chenille blanket at the same time the download finished. I stood and pushed the commands and the door opened.
“Take her down, I’ll be there in a second,” I said and disconnected the laptop, slipping it into my backpack along with the cords I would need. Once I had that zipped, I pressed the destruction commands and took a deep breath, slinging the backpack and duffel bag over my shoulder. I hit enter and grabbed the cooler, I stopped long enough to close and latch the door before jumping down the stairs.
At the bottom, I didn’t wait; I grabbed Valerie around the waist, whispering, “Hang on tight.” and then bolted. Naomi kept up, running alongside me and I grabbed her when I took the sharp turn away from the property and stopped, my hand running across the wall before I found the release. The squeak of metal met us and I pushed Naomi through, dropping Valerie in her arms before I forced the door back in place.
“Run,” I said. The timer in my head ticked off the seconds as we bolted. The fact that neither one questioned my command, gave me more speed and I traded Valerie for the cooler when Naomi started trailing behind. We had to make the outer door before the charges blew otherwise we’d be buried alive.
I heard the first explosion and turned on the speed. “Hustle!” I yelled and Naomi grunted. I could see the end of the tunnel now that my eyes had become accustomed to the blackness and put on the brakes, skidding to a halt and reaching for the latch. I swung the door in and stepped aside, letting Naomi skid to a stop beyond me and I slammed the door before setting Valerie down and leaning my back against the metal.
The ground rocked underneath us and I kept my back to the door, my gaze locked with Naomi’s as she held Valerie against her. I closed my eyes, gritting my teeth together. The thought of the murals burning hit harder than I expected, especially the one of Naomi and I crossing a snow-covered glen. The rest were ancient and reminded me of my youth, but that one, that was special and outshone everything. Even my auto collection, which I had taken great pains to procure, came a close second to that painted mural. But I had made allowances for the cars. The security sequence lowered iron plates lined with platinum across all the doorways and windows, securing the building from the pending blast.
“Damian,” Naomi said and I opened my eyes. She unfolded the blanket and held it up. Tucked inside was the mural and I bit my lip against the gratitude that swept through me, lifting my eyes to the ceiling in a silent prayer of thanks.
“We need to keep going,” I said once we caught our breath.
“How long is this tunnel?” Naomi asked.
“A couple miles,” I answered. What I didn’t tell her was I had no idea what we would do when we came to the end.
“I don’t like the dark,” Valerie whined.
I dug my cell out of my pocket and took her hand, placing the phone in her palm and curling her fingers around it. “It’s not much,” I said and took the lead, walking at a slower pace so Valerie could keep up.
Naomi followed behind Valerie and I could tell by her silence that her brain was trying to wrap around the events of the last few days. The number of lives that had been destroyed since I plucked her from the sky was unprecedented and I sighed, glancing over my shoulder at her.
The cell light kept going on and off, casting an eerie glow through the metal encased tunnel.
“How many do you think the explosion took out?” Valerie asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I hope it took them all,” she said, the darkness in her tone echoing my sentiments.
“I hope so, too,” I replied, even though I highly doubted it.
“But you don’t think it did,” Naomi said and I stopped, turning toward them.
“No, I don’t. I’m not sure if we’re walking into an ambush or not either. And while you and I have something to keep us alive,” I started, holding up the cooler. “We have nothing here for Valerie, so we can’t just hole up here until this blows over.”
Naomi’s mouth dropped open and her eyes softened. “And daylight isn’t that far off,” she said.
“Yep.” I nodded and she closed her eyes.
“So where does this dump us off?” Naomi asked when she got her composure back.
“A hunting cabin on the edge of the state forest.”
“Uncle Nick’s cabin?” Valerie asked, her eyebrows arching.
“No, sweetheart, the opposite direction of your uncle’s place. I didn’t want an escape route they would track down.”
Her eyes widened. “Are you telling me...”
I inhaled and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, what the fuck do you know?” Valerie snarled with her first display of anger.
“Not a whole hell of a lot at the moment,” I answered, knowing it wasn’t the least bit reassuring, but I needed them to know the score. To understand that we were alone in this and nobody any of us knew was safe. It was a morbid fact that I could see settling in her eyes. “We are all we have at this moment,” I said pointing between the three of us. “And that could change the instant we step out of this cavern.”