right now it didn’t matter. The pews were weathered and worn, but the only other windows in this building, aside from the small one by the front door, were ones about twenty feet high. They were stained glass and let in plenty of light, but what really caught his attention was the second story.
It was open, with beams running parallel. It was very similar to the loft back at the warehouse, and he assumed it was for storage.
“You think someone is up there?” she whispered.
“I don’t know.” He pointed at the corner toward the front doors. “Stay over there, because although I know you can handle yourself, my mind will be at ease if I know where you are and that you aren’t trying to hold your own.” Collin stared at her, and pleasure moved through him that she gazed at him with her wide green eyes full of trust.
And she didn’t argue, just nodded, looked back at the loft area, and moved over to the corner. It was shadowed, and the back of the door blocked her from prying eyes. Collin moved over to the stairs that he could see behind the altar.
He stopped when he was close to the man slouched over the podium. There was a handgun beside the corpse’s feet and a bullet hole in the side of his head.
Collin knew enough to see that the wound was self-inflicted. He’d have to clear the body out, use the podium and pews as firewood if need be, and as long as this place was secure, he could see them staying here. Moving away from the corpse, he walked over to the ladder, with his knife in hand, and slowly climbed.
Once at the top, he stared down at where Rebecca was. She watched him, her knife at the ready, and pride and arousal filled him. This woman had only come into his life yesterday, and as much as he wanted her, and had thought she would have put up a fight, she had been just as lonely as he was.
He looked around. There were more pews stacked in the corner, even a couple cots, an outdated desk and lamp, drapes, and some religious artifacts. He went closer, moved away some of the dusty boxes, seeing if there was anything of use up here, and noticed a small latch that had been covered.
He lifted the small brass ring, felt his adrenaline pump through his veins at what was underneath this door, and had his knife at the ready just in case. The light from the stained glass cast a multicolored illumination around the floor and wall.
He swallowed and then just opened the damn thing. He stood, ready to attack, but what he was greeted with was not a threat. In fact, it was the opposite. “Well shit,” he said under his breath. Collin made sure the upper level was clear and safe, and then he called Rebecca up.
When he glanced over the railing, he saw her slowly approaching, her attention on the corpse slumped over the podium.
“Baby, don’t look at that. I’ll clear it all out soon, but I want to show you something first.”
She moved quickly toward him, climbed the stairs, and then she stood beside him and looked down to see the items in the hidden compartment. Her eyes widened.
“Seriously?” She got on her knees and started picking up cans of food, ran her fingers over the jugs of water, and then crouched to open one of the plastic containers on the floor. There were bags of dried food, beans and rice, and other items that were shelf-ready and nonperishable. When she sat on the floor beside the food, she glanced over at him.
“There has to be several months’ worth of food here.” She stared at him with this wide, confused expression on her face. “But why is it still here?” She looked at the food again and ran her fingers over the cans. “I can’t believe no one looted this stuff.”
“Well, this place is pretty far off, kind of isolated, and this was hidden pretty well.” He shrugged even though she was still staring at the food. “There were boxes on top of the hidden door. Chances are, even after all this time, no one ever found the place. I didn’t see any trails, and everything is pretty much grown over by now. We lucked out, baby.” Here he was, saying endearments to this woman who he just met, and felt territorial possession fill him. She