And, right at that second, the security alarm went off.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE SHRIEK of the alarm shocked Mia into reality.
She struggled against Matthew’s embrace. Instead of putting her down, his arms tightened around her and he moved quickly down the hall, into a room lined with bookcases.
A touch of his hand and one section slid away, revealing a small, lighted room.
He put her on her feet.
“There’s a button on the wall beside the door. It works the lock from the inside. Hit that button, fast.”
“But—”
“No but’s, damn it! Do as you’re told, and do it fast.”
He pushed her inside the room, reached to the small of his back and pulled the gun from the waistband of his jeans.
“Lock the door.”
“No. Matthew—”
He looked at her through the coldest eyes she’d ever seen. “All you are right now is a liability.”
Without warning, tears rose in her eyes. Matthew’s expression didn’t change but he bent to her and gave her a quick, hard kiss on the mouth.
“Lock it,” he said, stepping back.
She pushed the button. The door, as heavy as that of a bank vault, slid shut, cutting her off from the outside world and the shrill of the alarm.
Unnerving silence settled around her. Mia wrapped her arms around herself. Her teeth were chattering.
What was happening out there?
She put her ear to the door and felt the kiss of cold steel against her cheek. All she heard was the pounding beat of her blood in her ears.
She stepped back.
What kind of room was this? Door and walls of steel. No windows. An electronic keypad, lights blinking in a crazy-quilt of colors. A clock that showed the time around the world, a bank of built-in TV monitors. Cell phones, what looked like a fax machine, other electronic gadgets she couldn’t identify.
Cabinets lined two walls. She opened them and saw tins of food, plastic jugs of water, first-aid supplies…
And weapons.
Handguns. Automatic rifles. Ammunition.
All this, in addition to the gun Matthew had pulled. The gun he’d had on him when he was making love to her.
She began to shake. Why was she surprised? She knew what he was, even if she’d somehow forgotten it for a little while.
He hadn’t forgotten.
All you are is a liability.
Another tremor racked her body. She was cold. Terribly cold. How long would she be trapped in this place? What if something happened to Matthew? The button activated the lock, he’d said, but what if something went wrong? What if it didn’t—
Something whirred in the wall. Mia whirled and pressed her ear to the door. Could your heart race this hard without bursting?