Page 30 of Tracking Payton
Payton nodded then stepped forward to hug him. “Thank you.”
Alex clenched his fists when he saw Colin pull her close to his chest and breathe in her hair. A voice in the back of his mind warned him that Colin was doing it on purpose to get a rise out of him. He saw what Alex never wanted to world to see. That he wanted Payton with a driving force. And now they were about to be trapped somewhere together. Alone.
He gulped.
Chapter 15
“What is this place?” Alex spun looking at the room around him.
Payton couldn’t hide her grin as she led him through her dad’s bunker. Well, it didn’t look much like a bunker considering it was above ground. But it was secluded in the mountains with panoramic windows giving her an unobstructed view of everything around them.
The house sat on a hundred acres. There was no driveway. Only those that knew where it was knew how to find it. Her dad had removed all the surrounding trees so enemies didn’t have a way to sneak up on the house. If that wasn’t enough, state of the art motion sensors had been installed and a few other nasty surprises.
“Dad’s bunker.”
“You keep saying that, but I find it hard to believe.” He walked to one of the windows and stared out. They were a few miles into the mountains so they couldn’t see Colorado Springs. It was just endless mountain and clear skies.
“Why?”
“When you said a bunker, I expected…” His gaze roamed over the room before settling on her.
She shrugged off her body’s excitement. He didn’t trail off because he was suddenly awestruck looking at her. She knew she wasn’t much to look at. Payton didn’t bother with makeup. Her hair was always in a messy bun. Her clothes were disheveled, and she thought she saw a few blood stains. Nothing to inspire a man. “Something more underground.”
“To say the least.”
She had the same theory too in the beginning, but then she realized her dad’s wisdom in this place. “Dad didn’t like the idea of hiding underground. He said it was harder to defend yourself, and it made for a harder escape route. With this place, he has the advantage. You can see for miles in any direction. The house is reinforced. The glass is bulletproof.”
Alex’s head whipped back around at the windows, and he reached out and felt them. “They are pretty thick.”
“It has all the same amenities that a bunker would.” Back-up generators. Not to mention the arsenal should Smith and Jones manage to find them. “I’ll show you to your room.” She headed for the hallway but paused. “Oh, and before I forget. The motion sensors and landmines are armed, so be careful if you go outside.”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “Landmines?”
What could she say? Her dad liked to be prepared for anything.
“Suddenly I feel bad for the local wildlife.”
“Casualties of war,” she said with a chuckle. “Just be thankful the tank is in the shop.”
“You’re joking, right?” he said following closely behind her.
She was, but it was fun messing with him. “You know Daddy.”
She tried not to feel bitter about how true that statement was. Alex knew more about her dad than she did, and she lived in the same town. Here, she thought she knew what he did for a living, but he was Clark Kent with a secret identity. It was going to take her a minute to wrap her mind around that. The man who detested technology and couldn’t operate the TV remote was head of a cyber terrorism group.
Payton guided him down the hall. The house wasn’t large. Dad didn’t want to protect a large house with easy access holes for unwelcomed guests. It was one story with two bedrooms and two baths. There was a trap door in her bedroom that led to an escape tunnel. The house had a few other hidey spots, but Alex didn’t need to know about all of them.
“This room is yours.” She put him in her dad’s room. He wouldn’t mind.
Alex stepped into the room and looked around. Payton followed him in, curious what he thought of it.
“Where’s yours?” Payton couldn’t breathe with his hot, intense gaze on her. It reminded her of a predator, waiting to pounce, and she was the prey.
“I’m next door.” She hiked her thumb to the right. “Both bedrooms have their own bathroom,” she blurted out, walking around the bed to show him. She was trying to avoid touching him and accidently caught her foot on the bedframe. Her hands went out to catch herself, but stronger arms snatched her in midair and pulled her to a wall of a chest.
“Are you alright?”
Her arms sizzled under his touch. Their chests pressed tightly together. She could feel each of his breaths as his chest rose and fell against hers. If her breasts weren’t crammed against his chest, they would be hard pebbles.
