Dani couldn’t hide her delight. “A hidden door. You do have a lot of tricks up your sleeve, No-First-Name Grizz.”
He passed her a flashlight, and she illuminated a tunnel, carved out from the rocks.
Great. More tight spaces. “Are there spiders?” The question came out of her mouth before she could filter it. How girlie could she be?
“Nah, no spiders. Just watch out for assassin bugs. Those things hurt.”
“Assassin…” Did she really want to know more? If only she could get the baby marmots back.
“Just lead the way, Grizz.”
He squeezed her hand and didn’t let go as he led her into a tunnel. She kept the light trained on the dirt path carved through the mountainside.
Her nerves jangled. “How much weight is above us? You carved a tunnel through the mountain? Could this thing collapse? How far until we get?—”
“Do you always ask this many questions?” He chuckled.
At least she wasn’t annoying him. “My dad always told me that no one would ever kidnap me. At least, not for long. I’d talk their ear off because when I get nervous, I get gabby.”
She could stand in the tunnel, but Grizz had to duck in spots.
“This takes us to the outhouse. It’s a sort of garage I built into the side of the mountain. They’ll target the cabin, but we should be safe.”
“If we make it to this garage, will you send up your smoke signal from there?”
He chuckled. “I’ll try. But the outhouse has a lookout perch. I can see for miles on a clear day, and hopefully the rain will subside enough for me to stop these guys with a long-range rifle.”
They trudged on in the near darkness, only the flashlight shining in front of them. Grizz never let go of her. She scanned the area for any creepy-crawlies and willed herself not to scream if she saw an assassin bug. Whatever that might be. She envisioned a giant beetle with knives for legs.
Grizz was the first to reach a set of stairs with a trapdoor at the top. He helped her up and opened the door, folding the hatch over before he climbed out.
She emerged into a massive room. “Oh.”
It resembled a steel cave. The floor was concrete, but the walls were reinforced by corrugated metal. The room was built into the side of the mountain. The ceiling consisted of granite and formed a dome at the top. One side of the room held a wooden staircase with a landing that led to a loft area. Where one lone door stood.
The outhouse door.
“Well, this is the first time I’ve heard you speechless.”
She turned to him. He looked proud of his lair. Her heart warmed that he’d shared this with her.
“Over here is where I keep my vehicles.” One side of the room served as a garage, with two more ATVs, a dirt bike, a snowmobile, and a dark-green Jeep. All of the toys gleamed from the fluorescent lights running across the roof of the building. The opposite side contained a small kitchen area with a two-burner stove and minifridge.
“Wait. Is there a bathroom? If the outhouse isn’t real…”
Grizz pointed to the far corner of the area. “There’s a modern bathroom complete with running water.”
“So you don’t hang out in your cabin much,” Dani said. “I can see you chilling out back here, watching the sun set from your outhouse loft.”
He grinned. “I like it here.”
“I…I just never imagined”—she waved her arms around the space—“this man cave. I mean, you’ve got every toy imaginable. Now I get why you like this place so much.” She eyed a wall of monitors and put her fists on her hips. “Hey, I thought you didn’t have internet or anything high tech. What’s this?”
He shook his head. “It’s all closed-circuit. I can watch the property, but no one can hack into it. There. Look.” He pointed to one of the four monitors.
A man in camo flashed across the screen, a gun slung across his shoulder. Moving fast. Determined to catch them.
Grizz sighed. “I’m sure this guy brought plenty of backup.”
