Page 113 of Snow

He caught the back of her neck and pulled her in for a quick kiss.

Nova blinked when he released her.

“What was that for?”

“You’re reward for smart thinking.”

She smiled. “I solve one architectural mystery, and I get kissed?”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

“Oh, it’s absolutely going to my head.”

Snow laughed under his breath. “Come on.”

They moved around the outer walkway toward the opposite side of the level, stepping carefully over wet steel as the drizzle continued to fall. The storage room entrance sat around the corner, partially shielded from the weather beneath an overhang.

Snow stopped in front of the door. A card reader was mounted beside it. He swiped the card, watching the reader flash red and feeling his stomach sink for a split second. But then the light flickered, shifting to green, and a soft click echoed from inside the lock.

Snow wrapped his hand around the handle. “Stay behind me.”

She nodded.

He opened the door, and it was pitch black. Snow reached to his left, felt a switch, and flipped it. The large overhead lights flickered on. He stepped inside the room with Nova close behind him.

Metal shelving lined both walls, packed with boxes, spare fittings, tools, and equipment that looked exactly like the kind of junk an unfinished platform would accumulate.

His eyes swept over the room as Nova moved beside him.

“What exactly are we looking for?”

Snow stared at the room. “Anything that doesn’t seem to belong or looks out of place.”

Nova nodded slowly. Then her gaze shifted toward the shelving along the back wall.

“There,” she stated, pointing at the shelving unit.

Snow followed her line of sight, his attention narrowing as it locked onto the shelving unit she pointed out.

“Look at it. It doesn’t match the other shelves. This one is on wheels.”

Jesus, the woman didn’t miss a damn thing. Between picking locks, spotting details everyone else overlooked, and now possibly finding Brett’s hidden room, Snow was beginning to think she deserved almost all the credit for this mission.

When they got off this rig, the woman was getting a hell of a lot more than the quick kiss he had given her earlier. He was going to thank her very fucking properly.

◆◆◆

Nova stared at the shelving unit, still trying to wrap her head around everything Snow had told her that morning.

A part of her was still wondering how in the hell she had gotten herself wrapped up in this.

She looked at the shelving unit again. “I’m starting to really regret being right about this.”

Snow glanced at her. “You were pretty proud of yourself five minutes ago.”

“That was before we potentially found the terrorist workshop.”

“Fair point. Come on, help me move this.”