Titanium Security Series 4 - Extinguished by Cross Kaylea

are we looking for?” she asked.
    “Contact of mine in the Pak government set aside some more wheels for us. Wanted to get a second opinion on it before I say yes. I told them I was bringing the best mechanic on our team, so they’re expecting us.”
    At his signal she got out and followed him to the chain link fence where an armed guard stood watch. He conversed with the guard briefly in what she assumed must be Urdu, then the guy handed over a set of keys and waved them through. He did a double take and took a closer look at her and she realized he’d only just figured out that she was a woman. The curiosity and shock on his face gave her pause but he merely stared at her so she ignored him and followed Alex inside the lot.
    Parked near the end of the fifth row of vehicles sat a newer, dark blue SUV. “This is it.” Alex unlocked it and popped the hood then opened all the doors and the rear hatch. “Take a look at the engine and make sure everything’s as it should be, while I check out the rest of it.”
    “Why’s it in the impound lot, and why do we want it?”
    “It’s a gesture of goodwill, Jordyn.” Something in his tone told her he was teasing her, but she didn’t know him well enough to be certain.
    She twisted her ball cap around to sit backwards on her head and leaned in to get a better look beneath the hood. The sun was high, nearly directly overhead, and the heat radiated up off the black asphalt in scorching waves. Brushing the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead, she set her hands on the edge of the frame. As far as engines went, this one looked brand new. She poked around and checked everything out but it all looked fine. Only way to tell if something was wrong was to fire it up and listen.
    “It all looks good to me.” Too good. Weird that a vehicle like this was dumped here amidst a lot of scrap cars. Very few in the lot appeared to be in this kind of condition. Alex was still looking around in back. She ducked her head under the hood once more and something caught her eye. In the shadows cast by the hood it was hard to see it, but… “Hey, you got a flashlight or anything?”
    Alex popped up and came around the front of the vehicle to hand her his keys with a tiny pen light attached to the chain. “What’ve you got?”
    “Not sure, but there’s something right down here, in between the…” She paused as her fingers hit something solid and rectangular wedged in beside the engine block. Frowning, she angled the light toward it and tried to get a better look. “I can’t see it from here. Can you check from underneath?”
    Alex got on his back and shimmied beneath the SUV. “Where?” he asked, and this time there was a decidedly urgent note in his voice.
    “Here, against the side of the frame. Can you see my fingers?”
    “Hand me the pen light.” When she did, he shined it upward. “Okay, I see your hand. Move it just an inch or so to your left.” Doing as he said, her heart rate kicked up a notch when he let out a low, “Fuck. Me.”
    “What?” She wasn’t sure why she was whispering, since it was only the two of them here and the guard was too far away to hear their conversation.
    Rather than answer and confirm her suspicion, Alex slid out from beneath the vehicle and dusted himself off, his expression now hard. Icy. “Well, at least we’ve got a new lead to follow up on.”
    Oh, shit. “Is it a bomb?”
    “Yep. Stay here.” Without waiting for her to respond he stalked over to where the guard stood watching them. She didn’t dare move from her spot but reached a hand back to wrap her fingers around the grip of her pistol and kept her attention riveted on the guard. If he made a move to reach for his own weapon she could drop him easily from here.
    After a few minutes of heated conversation filled with much angry gesturing and raised voices, Alex strode back toward her, the babbling guard in tow. Whatever it was he was saying, he stopped when Alex dragged him