“Then I’m afraid we’re at an impasse. You want—”
The phone rang, the distinct tone identifying the caller as someone from security. With a muttered curse, Osric pushed a button and activated the speaker. “What’s so urgent?”
“Delta team just returned with Charley team in tow,” Barns informed him. “They’ve got a fascinating story. Figured you should hear it for yourself.”
“Send them here.”
“Yes sir. They’re on their way.”
“Who is he talking about?” She figured it had something to do with the tripped perimeter alarm, but Barns could be even more secretive than Osric.
“Charley team was sent to check out the phantom intruder, but they never returned. Delta team was dispatched to figure out what happened. This better not be bad news. I’m really not in the mood.”
Two uniformed guards arrived a few minutes later. They nodded politely to Carly then waited for Osric to speak. “What did you find out? And what the hell took you so long?”
The younger soldier had a nasty bruise on the side of his face. On closer inspection, Carly discovered that the older man’s temple was bruised as well.
“We found two hikers, sir. One female, one male,” the older guard began. “They pretended to be lost until I told them to accompany us to the vehicle so I could verify their identities.”
“And then they jumped you?” Osric’s tone verged on flippant. He really could use a class in non-confrontational communication.
“Yes sir.” Though the soldier’s posture was stiff and his shoulders squared, his gaze remained downcast. Was he humiliated by his failure or did Osric make him uncomfortable?
“Were they armed?”
“Not in the conventional sense.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The soldier raised his chin, but he stared straight ahead. “The male was inhumanly strong and fast, sir. I believe he was one of the shifters.”
“And the female?”
“We had no actual interaction with her, but Barns showed us a picture of Ava Seymour and this female looked very much like her. We also found this.” Hand trembling, he held out a white, lace-trimmed bra. “Apparently we interrupted their activities.”
Osric stepped closer and snatched the bra out of the guard’s hand. “Describe the male.” Menace infused every word.
The guard swallowed hard then licked his lips before he answered, “Dark blond hair, light eyes, either green or blue. I’m honestly not sure which. He was about my height and a whole hell of a lot stronger than he looked.”
“Too vague,” Osric snapped. “Did he have tattoos or scars? Did Barns show you an image of Kyle Lashton?”
“He did, but I couldn’t be sure. I’m sorry, sir.”
“Spent more time looking at the woman than the man?” The guard didn’t respond to the provocation. “Did they leave on foot?”
The soldiers exchanged wary glances before the older one admitted, “They took our Jeep, sir. Barns has people trying to track them, but they’ve got a good head start.”
“Unbelievable.” With the bra crushed in his fist, Osric swept the workspace with his arm, sending plastic organizers and file folders catapulting across the room. “You’re useless. Get out of my sight! Both of you!”
The soldiers eagerly complied and Carly moved to the far side of the console, unsure if Osric would take out his frustration on her. A long moment passed in tense silence. Carly split her attention between Osric and the door, trying to calculate her chances of slipping past him.
He raised the bra to his nose and inhaled deeply then growled and threw the undergarment across the room. “She was here!” Osric pushed his hand through his hair as he shook his head in disbelief. “She was on this property and those fools let her get away!”
Carly waited for a moment, hoping his fury would subside. Then suddenly curiosity narrowed Carly’s eyes. “But what was she doing here? It seems like an odd place for a romantic tryst.”
“If they kept that bastard from screwing her, I might let them live.”
As usual, he was missing the point. “The guard said they were on foot. It would take days to hike back in here. Why were they out there? How did they know where to find you?”
He glared at her, nostrils flaring. “Who said they were searching for me? There’s nothing connecting me to this project. I’ve made damn sure of it.”
Was he being purposely obtuse? One glance into his cold brown eyes assured her that she was the one missing the point. Osric was nobody’s fool and he knew far more about this project than she would ever be allowed to know. “Then why? You don’t seem surprised, just frustrated.”