Page 29 of Pressure Point (Lantern Beach Blackout: Detonation #2)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

Atlas stared at his sandwich, weighing how much truth he was willing to share.

Quinn’s question had hit the exact nerve he’d been trying to avoid.

The comparison between her situation and Noreen’s betrayal had been eating at him since the day he’d found Quinn running from the woods.

But looking at her now, seeing the genuine interest in her eyes, he made a decision that went against every professional instinct he’d developed.

He was going to open up, even if opening up was risky, for both his job and his heart.

“I was engaged once.” His words came out soft and quiet. “To a woman named Noreen. But it didn’t work out.”

“What happened?” Quinn’s voice was gentle, without the probing quality of an interrogation. She sounded genuinely interested in his life.

Atlas took a breath, choosing his words carefully.

“She wasn’t who I thought she was. She sold her soul and her life and everything about it became a lie—including her loyalties and her feelings for me.

” The words tasted bitter on his tongue.

“I thought I knew her, that I could trust her completely. I was wrong.”

Quinn was quiet a moment as if absorbing his words. “She was a fool to cast aside someone like you. I bet she still regrets it to this day.”

His eyebrows flew up. He hadn’t expected her words. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Her betrayal must have been devastating,” Quinn continued, almost as if she hadn’t heard him.

Devastating would be an understatement. “It was. But it taught me an important lesson about?—”

He was going to say about trusting people—something he should keep at the forefront of his mind now.

But the sharp ring of his phone interrupted the conversation, cutting it short.

Atlas reached for the device, but he hesitated before grabbing it. Would this phone call bring good news or bad?

He exhaled slowly through his nose then grabbed the phone. His jaw tightened as he read the caller ID.

“It’s Colton.” He glanced at Quinn as he answered.

Her eyes widened and she seemed to hold her breath with anticipation over what he might have discovered.

“I just wanted to give you an update,” Colton started. “We’re still working the meteorologist angle. Unfortunately, internet service on the island has been going in and out, and it’s making all of this take longer.”

“That’s unfortunate. Did you find anything?”

“Nothing concrete yet, but our guys are digging deeper into NOAA and National Weather Service personnel records,” Colton said. “We’ll let you know when we find out anything.”

Atlas tried not to show his disappointment. He’d really hoped Colton might have discovered something. But, as the saying goes, patience was a virtue.

Instead, he asked, “Any other updates? Any progress on the helicopter registration?”

“Still tracing the shell companies, but it’s going to take time. However, we did hear from Cassidy this morning about some unusual activity last night near the lighthouse.”

Atlas straightened in his chair. “What kind of activity?”

“A few people reported seeing lights on the beach around midnight, maybe vehicle headlights. Maybe boats. Someone also thought they heard some fireworks—but they could have been gunshots. It could be nothing, but given everything that’s been happening . . .”

“Has anyone checked it out?”

“The rest of your team is on their way there now.”

Atlas glanced at Quinn again as she watched him with sharp attention.

He nodded. “I can head there and take a look around. Quinn’s with me. Maybe something will trigger a memory for her.”

“Be careful,” Colton warned. “If someone was conducting operations on that beach last night, they might have left more than footprints behind.”

Bombs, Atlas mused. Colton was probably thinking of bombs. They seemed to be Sigma’s weapon of choice.

“Copy that.” Atlas ended the call and looked at Quinn. “Want to take a drive to the lighthouse?”

Quinn’s expression was immediately alert. “What’s at the lighthouse?”

“Maybe nothing. Maybe evidence of whatever’s been going on.” Atlas stood and threw money on the table for their meal, thankful they were mostly finished. “Either way, it beats sitting around waiting for answers that might never come.”

“You’re not going to get any argument about that from me.” She rose, clearly anxious to leave also.

As they headed for the door, Atlas couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever they found at the lighthouse would change everything.

He just hoped they were ready for what that change might bring.

Atlas parked the SUV near the weathered lighthouse that had stood sentinel over Lantern Beach for more than a century.

The white tower looked stark against the storm-darkened sky as choppy gray water stretched in the background. Rain continued to come down in spurts, and sand blew with the wind.

Four familiar figures were spread across the beach, methodically searching the sand for any evidence of the previous night’s mysterious activities.

“Looks like the cavalry’s already here,” Atlas murmured.

He’d already noted how Quinn’s posture had shifted the moment she spotted his teammates.

She sat straighter, more alert, like someone preparing for potential conflict. “Maybe they’ll find something that will give us some answers . . .”

“I’m not sure why Sigma would be out here or what they’d be doing,” Atlas said. “There are plenty of other places where they could be doing their dirty work. Coming back would be gutsy.”

They climbed from the SUV and made their way down the sandy path toward the beach. Atlas stayed close to Quinn, close enough to grab her if she tried to bolt but not so close as to make his supervision obvious.

Jake looked up as they approached. He held a metal detector in his hands as he searched for explosives. “Find anything interesting in town?”

“Maybe,” Atlas said. “Someone thought they recognized Quinn as a meteorologist. We’re still investigating.”

He raised his eyebrows. “A meteorologist? Wasn’t expecting that. Hopefully it’s some progress.”

Before Atlas could respond, he noticed Quinn had stopped walking. She stood about ten feet from the lighthouse’s base, staring up at the structure with an expression of growing confusion.

Her face had gone pale, and her breathing appeared shallow.

Whatever she was seeing or remembering, it was hitting her hard.

“Quinn?” Atlas moved toward her.

But Quinn didn’t seem to hear him. She was lost in whatever memory had been triggered by this place, her eyes wide and unfocused as if she could see something the rest of them couldn’t.

Atlas positioned closer to Quinn, ready to intervene if whatever she was remembering caused her to react badly.

Because if the lighthouse had triggered a flashback to her supposed assassin training, things were about to get very complicated very quickly.