“We don’t know until you open the room for us if they’re in the panic room. Just breathe, Rogen. You’re doing a good job. Just breathe.” She had an odd thought. Donaldson was a great deal nicer to her since he’d been dating Winnie. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She looked up at Thatcher. He was wearing his jeans without the snaps done. His shirt was in his hand. She was sure that she’d frightened him and was glad for his company. “I have Thatcher here now. I’m doing better.”
Breaking into the camera in the basement was easier. The rest of the codes had been the same, so she didn’t think this one would be any different. Bad move, and she’d have to tell someone that it had probably helped the bad guys since they’d gotten in. She told the team to go down, the basement was clear.
“I need for you to bring in a rescue person, Tillson. I don’t know that the children are in there, but they might need someone.” Roger Tillson, one of her best men, said he had his medic with him. After thanking him, she zeroed all her efforts on the key lock on the large metal door. “I get one shot at this opening, so it might take me a minute or two to make sure I get it. It’s been locked down. I’m betting by the domestic in the upper levels.”
The program that she was using was written by her. She knew that it was possible that she could sell it off to the bad guys, but there was no reason for her to do that, not that she ever would. But she had enough money, support, and love now that little else mattered but helping people. When the program told her it had a match, she told the team to stand back, just in case it wasn’t right.
“You think it’ll blow?” She told Tillson that she didn’t have any idea, but if it did, then it would be them and the house. “Good point. All right, we’re back. Go ahead.”
She coded in the key lock and waited. Rogen did wonder if she should have given someone there the code—it might have a remote lock out. But when her computer told her it was processing, she looked over at Thatcher.
“I want a baby in my arms. Someone that I can hold and cuddle after a day like this one is turning out to be. Soon. I don’t care if it’s ours or we raise someone else’s. But I also want to have a child with you.” He told her he was fine with that as well. “Guys, this is taking a long time. I’m worried.”
“No worries. And if you want to have a child and don’t care what kind of shifter it is, my sister is giving up her child for someone to raise. She’s too young anyway.” She asked about the father. “He’s no longer a concern to anyone.”
Rogen only looked at Thatcher, and he shook his head. Whatever had happened, she knew that if he wanted her to know, Tillson would tell her later. If not, then she’d be in the dark. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t dig around and find out what had come down, but she’d not do that. Not to him. Tillson, for all his bad boy vibes and the fact that he carried more weapons than a whole street of people might have, was a shy, funny man. She liked working with him too.
The lock disengaged and she held her breath as she watched the door swing open. It seemed to take forever, and she was sure that the children were all going to be dead. But when one of the men cried out that they had them, the cheers going up were loud and continuous. The four children of the house and the domestic’s child were all unharmed.
Chapter 12
Morgan was in his office when he got a phone call. He was always tickled when he had to answer the old rotary phone. But then his office was one of the first ones built on the campus, and he loved to look out through the old bubbled windows that had stained glass pictures at the top of each one. Then he nearly fell off his chair when the dean, his boss, asked him if he had a few moments.
“Yes sir. Anytime for you.” He meant it, of course, but he was worried that he sounded like a total suck up. “I’m just finishing up the paperwork for the next semester. I should have you a class itinerary as soon as the end of the week.” Glancing at his calendar, he had to smile. It was only Monday and he could turn it in today, but he was going to make himself wait until Wednesday at the earliest.
After he turned off his laptop and locked up his office, he was nearly all the way to the dean’s office when he thought of what he might be talking to him about. Christ, there had been that woman, kid really, who had wanted him to give her a higher grade for a little head. That’s what she’d called it too, a little head. He liked to think that he was above average in that department, but thankfully, she’d never know.
His steps slowed
when he saw that all the department deans were in the office. A small space like this one made it seem as if about two hundred people were in the room. But he was shoved inside and asked to have a seat. Morgan’s mom had always told them, keep your mouth shut until you know the rules of the game.
Morgan felt the need to ask what he’d done, or even to explain about using too much paper on the copier. Even not finishing his meal the other day because he’d had to leave for the day. All kinds of things, most of them silly and not very trouble worthy, made their way not only through his thought process, but also to the tip of his tongue to tell on himself about.
Finally, Dean Sheppard cleared his throat.
“Jack Damion died last evening.” He knew the man. Hated him too. Morgan and him would butt heads daily when the old geezer would find him in one of the halls. “I’d like to tell you he will be sorely missed, but I’m not going to lie to you, Morgan. You didn’t like him any more than any of us did.”
“No sir. He wasn’t really willing to see my side of anything he cornered me on.” He realized after he spoke that he shouldn’t have. “I’m sorry. That was out of turn. He was a good man?”
Dean Sheppard laughed. “No, he wasn’t a good man. Even before he bought his way into being on the board of deans, none of us cared for him.” One of the men behind him cleared his throat. “If we’re going to work with this young man, we need to have him telling us the truth when he knows it. Damn it, Jacobs, now you made me forget where I was.”
“Working with you? Did you need me to take over his classes? I have taken over several of them now, but I can squeeze a few more in if need be.” Holliday laughed and said he was ever polite. “Okay, I’m already carrying his load with mine. But I enjoy the classes. It’s sort of a change of pace for me to teach microbiology with finance added in for fun.”
“No, it’s not. He was a bastard for taking advantage of you. And to hear him tell it, he was doing you a favor. Something about you having too much idle time on your hands.” The dean shook his head. “Deans are not required to teach any classes at this college. It’s been that way from the beginning. When you’re dean here, you spend your time getting to know the students, helping them out when they need it, as well as trying to come up with ways to raise money.”
Dean Snow spoke from behind him. “I heard about that fundraiser your mother had. My goodness, it was nice to see all those teachers on the first day of class with all the supplies they’d need for the year.” Everyone in the room nodded. “The fact is that sometimes we forget the teachers in the grade levels. And having all the supplies for them for the school year meant that the students didn’t have to supply them. That was a capital idea.”
“Thank you. Mom is very good at that sort of thing. My sister-in-law, Rogen, she’s raised a bit of cash for the shelter and hospital that was badly needed.” Another man talked a minute or so about the big to-do at the hospital and was glad that his brother Thatcher had been a part of that. “I’ll tell him you said so. So, do you need me to ask my mom if she’ll help you with one of the fundraisers?”
“No, no. You can, but that’s not why we called you in here. We want you to fill the vacancy that Jack left open. You’re a better man for the job anyway.” Morgan didn’t know what to say. Or if this was a joke. “Son, you’re the man for the job. We all voted on names last night when we found out about Jack. There wasn’t a person in the room that said nay to you coming on board.”
He didn’t understand. It was like his brain had suddenly decided to freeze up and not comprehend what they were saying to him. When one of the others laughed, saying that he’d told them all that they’d leave him speechless, Morgan realized that it was a joke. Standing up, Dean Sheppard did as well.
“Morgan, this is no joke. I promise you that. I know your parents well enough that they’d hunt me down should I be tricking you this way. We want—we all want you to fill the vacancy left by Jack. Starting tomorrow morning.” He put out his hand. In it was the silver and gold metal that would mark him with distinction. “As soon as we can get his office boxed up and sent to his family, we’d like for you to move into it. It’s not much larger than the one you have now, but it’s in a nicer place. You’d have a view from two sides of your office instead of just the one. The shelves are there for you to use—they’re sort of a part of this old building, I guess. And there will be a set of keys given to you at the dinner we’ll have in your honor.”
There were more welcomes to their group. A great many pats on the back for him. Each man told him that it was an honor to be working with him, and they were so happy that he’d not turned them down. There were more congratulations given to him as well.