Covert Intents: A Branson Family Novella (2 page)

Finding the right words around someone as dynamic and handsome as Seth was darn near impossible. But she couldn’t read off a script now. She shifted her weight back and forth again, and pulled her book and computer bag closer to her chest.

“Yes, I am going. I was hoping maybe you might want to go with me.”

Silence. Not good silence. Awkward silence.

“Rachel…”

He was going to say no. She could tell by the grimace that crossed his face before he carefully schooled it back into a neutral mask.

She was so stupid. At least when it came to men. He wasn’t interested in having a drink with her. Wasn’t interested in her at all. Probably thought she was just a plump bookworm who wasn’t the slightest bit interesting, and inexperienced when it came to men.

He’d be right.

CHAPTER TWO

Seth
grimaced. They should really teach an FBI training class about situations like this at Quantico. It could be right in between bomb disarmament and close-quarter combat. Since this circumstance was equally as potentially deadly.

He couldn’t say yes. There was nothing he’d like more than to go out with Rachel Branson. To see what she was like outside of the college setting.

To le
t
he
r
see what she was like outside of this college setting. He had a feeling she might surprise both of them.

But doing so now, under these circumstances when he was pretending to be someone he wasn’t, and investigating her colleagues? He couldn’t do it.

But damned if he knew how to get out of this situation without it detonating.

“Rachel…” He reached a hand towards her.

“No,” She took a step back. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not interested. I understand. Have a good night.”

She left a wide gap as she moved past him in the hallway.

Just let her go, Harrington
.

It was better that way. For everyone. He wouldn’t be here much longer anyway. He had a job to do that took precedence over everything else.

But that look on Rachel’s face. That stiff-upper-lip hiding a world of hurt.

He hadn’t known her long, but he knew how shy she was. He’d observed her with other people and seen how she was always quiet. Kind, but quiet.

Seth couldn’t imagine what it had cost her to ask him out. He should’ve just told her he needed to work. That would’ve solved the whole problem, rather than make her think he was personally rejecting her.

He turned to see her hurrying down the empty hallway. She was already almost to the elevator.

He couldn’t let her leave like this. Couldn’t stand the look in her eyes.

“Rachel,” he called out but she didn’t even slow down.

Damn it.

“Rachel, hang on.” He left his cart and began jogging down the hall after her. She didn’t answer, although she had to have heard him, and pressed the elevator button.

And, of course, no delay for her. The elevator —the one that had been out of service just fifteen minutes ago— was now fixed.

“Rachel—“

She stepped on, then turned and pressed the button, still not looking at Seth. He picked up speed and squeezed through the doors without touching them as they closed. He reached over and pressed the button that would keep the elevator on their floor.

No
w
she looked at him. Probably because she thought he was crazy, chasing her down the hallway right after refusing to go out with her.

They both started talking at the same time.

“Look, I just want to say—“

“Seth, it’s okay. You don’t—“

The both stopped. Rachel gestured with her hand for Seth to continue.

“I just wanted to say, I didn’t say no because I wasn’t interested. I can’t go out with you tomorrow night because I have to work.”

That at least eased the look on her face. Seth felt like he could breathe again.

“Oh,” she said. “I guess I didn’t even think of that. Maybe we could do it some other time. This weekend or something.”

See dumbass? This is why you should’ve just left it alone. Now what are you going to do?

Seth knew one thing for certain, he didn’t want to put that hurt look back on her sweet face.

“Um, yeah. I just need to check on some things. Let me get back to you.”

Rachel nodded, obviously skeptical, but at least not hurt. “Oh, okay, that sounds good. I guess we can just talk about it some other time.”

He wanted to reassure her that he did plan for them to go out. Hell, he’d like to back her against the elevator wall and kiss that plump bottom lip until she was sure he wanted to go out with her.

But since he couldn’t actually go out with her, he should probably not do that.

Instead he nodded and hit the button to open the elevator door so he could get back to work. But when he pressed it the elevator dropped suddenly a few feet then everything went dark.

“Seth?” Rachel’s concern was evident.

He reached his hand out for her and found her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and drawing her next to him.

“It’s probably just an equipment malfunction. It’s okay, the emergency generator should kick on in just a second.”

But it didn’t. And that was really weird. If the elevator was out of service —which the sign had said just a few minutes ago— then the door shouldn’t have opened at all. And if the door opened, then there had to have been power, and the back up generator.

Seth wasn’t a real custodian, but he knew this was not right.

He pulled out his phone to use as a flashlight, shining it in Rachel’s direction first.

“You okay?”

She nodded. “Did power go out in the whole building maybe?”

He shrugged. “Even if it did, the back up generator should be on in here. Let me use the emergency phone.”

Seth opened the small door that held a phone with a direct line to campus security or emergency services if the line was commandeered. But when he picked up the phone, it was dead too.

Okay, tha
t
reall
y
wasn’t right. The elevator shifted again. It only dropped a few inches, but the terrifying lurch caused Rachel to gasp.

He turned the light off on his phone and turned it around to make a call. He needed to get help here right now.

“Elevator phone isn’t working, so I’ll just use my cell to call security and get a maintenance team over here.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Rachel whispered. She was still standing right next to him. Seth didn’t blame her. The stillness and silence of the elevator was a little eerie. Waiting for it to drop again had them both tensed.

He found the number for campus security then hit send. The call immediately died, so he tried again. Same thing.

“What’s wrong?”

Seth shook his head. “I don’t know. My phone seems to have a signal, but then the call drops every time.”

“Want me to try mine?”

“Yeah, good idea.” He read her the number and she punched it in, but the same thing happened.

“Okay, I guess we’ll try 9-1-1.” An emergency call would bounce off any cell phone tower regardless of their carriers.

But the call dropped again.

Seth tried one more time to be sure, but he already knew what was going on. The power, back-up power, emergency phone and cell phones all not working or being blocked?

Someone was deliberately sabotaging this elevator.

Had the perp figured out he was investigating them? Had his cover been blown and they were trying to take him out? That seemed extreme. Plus, killing an undercover cop near where you’d be committing a crime would bring more law enforcement, not less. Not a good plan. Regardless, he had to get himself and Rachel out of here.

The elevator lurched slightly again and Rachel gave a little screech. She was keeping it together, but just barely.

He had to get them ou
t
right no
w
. If this thing was about to fall then every second counted. He needed something to pry the door open with.

“What do we do?” she whispered through clenched teeth.

“Do you have anything in your bag that is thin enough to fit between these doors? If I can get something wedged in there to get it started, I should be able to pry the doors open.”

He shined his light in her bag as she searched through it. “You need something strong, right? I have pens, notebooks, a clipboard…”

“Let’s try the clipboard.” It wasn’t perfect but it might be strong enough.

The elevator lurched slightly again when Seth took a step toward the door. He pulled Rachel with him. He slid the hard plastic clipboard into the crack and twisted it slowly, not wanting to break it.

“Let me twist it so you can grab the doors once they open,” Rachel murmured. She shifted her weight slowly —neither of them wanting to experience the sickening jolt of the elevator falling again— and moved so she stood in front of him.

Seth had to push his body all the way against Rachel’s, with his arms around her, in order to get the leverage that he needed. She shifted her weight, bringing her luscious curves more heavily in contact with him, to turn the clipboard.

Was he really getting turned on when they were in an elevator where they both may fall to their deaths any minute
?
Get a grip, Harrington.

“Turn on three, okay?” He placed his fingers at the edge of the door.

“Will it crush your fingers?”

“No, once I can get them in there, there shouldn’t be any pressure pushing the doors back together.”

He hoped.

“Okay, one, two, three.”

Rachel turned the clipboard as hard as she could, twisting both the top and bottom sides. It was enough. The doors slid open a crack and Seth was able to get his fingers in.

“Got it,” he told her through gritting teeth, using all of his forearm strength to pry the doors apart. Good thing his arms had been getting a pretty sizable workout over the past few weeks with his custodial duties.

Instead of slipping under his arm like he expected her to do, Rachel slipped her fingers into the crack also and added her strength, as limited as it was, to his efforts. The door cracked a few more inches.

“Okay, good,” he told her. “Let me get in here and use other muscle groups.”

He guided Rachel to the side and wedged his shoulder through the door. Putting his back and legs into it, he was able to get the door open another foot. Enough for them to be able to fit through.

The elevator had dropped far enough that the floor of the level where they’d entered was now up to his chest.

“Hand me the clipboard.”

She did so quickly, gasping as the elevator lurched again. Seth placed it in the crack of the outer door attached to the building, not the elevator. Thankfully this door opened without so much effort.

The easiest way to get them both out would be to climb up himself then hoist Rachel up afterwards. He didn’t waste any time. Without jumping —not wanting to cause the elevator to fall any further, which at best would trap them, at worst would crush him— Seth used just his upper-body strength to pull himself up and onto the floor outside the elevator.

Immediately he turned and stuck his arm back down to Rachel.

“Give me your hand,” he said.

She hesitated. “I’m too heavy for you to pull up.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “Honey, trust me, I could bench press those perfect curves of yours a dozen times over without breaking a sweat. But now might not be the time to show you, okay?”

He winked at her, feigning a calmness he didn’t have. She needed to get out of that elevator. Now.

He felt her small hand grip his arm, not like they were shaking hands, but grasp his wrist, causing him to grasp hers. A much more secure grip. Smart.

“Good girl.”

True to his word, he hoisted her up easily. He slid back as she came up so that they both ended up on the hall floor in a tangle of limbs, Rachel half on top of him.

Both of them just lay there for a few moments breathing hard. Seth was very well aware of every place Rachel’s body touched his.

“You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah, I think. Thank goodness you were there. If I had been in that elevator alone…”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Neither of them wanted to finish that sentence.

The elevator hadn’t gone crashing down to the ground yet, but it still could at any second.

“We should probably go report this to security—“ Seth’s comment was interrupted by a group from the computer engineering faculty, some of the very people Seth was investigating, stepping out of the other elevator.

All their chatter stopped when they saw Seth and Rachel tangled on the floor and the elevator door limbs all akimbo.

“Rachel, what in holy hell is going on?” A female voice, Lydia Williams, said. “Somebody call security. The janitor has attacked Rachel.”