Authors: Stacey Nash
We’ll get Dad out.
We stand in front of the house, all looking and waiting. I glance to Will on my right.
He gives a small smile.
“We can do this.”
I nod and turn to my left. I blink when, for the first time ever, I see fear lurking in Jax’s eyes. He repositions the telcom in his ear, drops his hand, then raises it and fiddles with the tech again.
“This is it.”
There’s a small crack in his mental voice, barely audible, but it’s there.
My stomach twists in a double, triple, quadrupled knot. Jax is nervous
—not something to take lightly. Nothing ever ruffles him. I push the worry away. Now is not the time to overthink it. We’re here, and there’s no turning back. Whether it’s nerves or fear or something else, it doesn’t matter. I slide my hand into his and give a small squeeze.
A noise comes from my other side. I glance at Will, but he’s looking straight ahead. Jax’s sweat-slicked hand pumps mine, bringing my focus back to the house. The house he’s staring down like it’s Beau last time we got called to his office.
“Don’t provoke Will, Mae. We need to work together,”
Lilly says in my mind.
“What?”
I look to her.
She shakes her head.
“Are we going or what?”
Jax points to a small wooden door just to the side of the staircase. It curls up and around toward the main entrance.
“Let’s try that.”
“Do you think the house might be alarmed?”
Will asks.
“No. The whole community is protected by a wall and a barrier. I don’t think they need to worry about people breaking and entering.”
Jax drops my hand and follows the path leading to a glossy white door. He turns the brass knob, the door swings in, and he disappears into the darkness.
I step forward, but a firm grip on my shoulder prevents me moving.
“I’m first.”
Will pushes in front of me and stalks inside.
A few long moments later, he says,
“It’s safe.”
Shaking my head and trying to decide if I’m flattered or frustrated, I walk into the pitch-black room. It’s like waking into the middle of the night. I extend my hands out in front of me to feel the way, and my palms connect with warm, soft fabric. Will.
Silence greets us. My heart beats hard and fast, just like a jack hammer.
A bang and a clatter and a
“Shoot.” Lilly must have run into something.
I hold my breath, willing my heart to silence. Nothing happens. No one must have heard. Lucky, this time.
“Up this way,”
Jax says, but his voice echoes through my mind, so I’ve no idea which direction he means. Especially when I glance around and see nothing but blackness like my eyes are closed.
“Up,”
Jax says.
I tilt my head. Up? Soft grey light outlines a silhouette in an open doorway high above me. Reaching out to where I felt Will, my hand comes into contact with him, and he closes his around it.
“Where’s Lilly?”
I ask.
“I’ve got her,”
Will says.
I use my other hand to feel in front of me while I keep my eyes trained on the silhouette that’s Jax. My toes slam into a step, and sharp pain pulsates through my foot. This is up. Climbing the steps, I can feel Will close behind me. When we reach the top, the pitch blackness fades to a dark grey just light enough to make out the shape of the stairs. I let go of Will and stop on the second highest stair.
Jax stands on the stair above me and, peering past him, I can see moonlight streaming into a foyer through the huge windows, casting dark shadows on the floor. Swiping sweat-slicked hands on my legs, I close my eyes and draw in a long, calming breath. A breath full of a flowery scent. Oh no. My nose twitches and tickles on the inside. Pinching it between my fingers helps suppress the noise that would surely give us away. Darn allergies.
Jax nods toward the foyer. At least, I think it’s the foyer and not the staircases curving upward from either side. A quick look, and there’s nothing else he could mean. The high ceiling and the vast area is dwarfing.
We’ve done it. We’re inside Councilor Manvyke’s house, the man responsible for my need to hide, for taking Dad, for everything. I’m finally going to make this all right even if—
My legs wobble, threatening to collapse. A warm grip supports my elbow, and I force myself to stand tall and strong, fighting off the nerves.
Moonlight floods through the many windows illuminating the whole foyer. Jax motions from the other side of the entrance, and I move forward, letting Will’s hand fall from my arm. No way am I giving him an excuse to think I can’t handle this. I walk across the foyer, my heart thumping in my ears like a bass drum, my muscles aching with the tension.
A muted thud makes my feet stop without conscious thought. Another thud sounds, and another. I swivel around, trying to see what the sound is coming from. Thump. Footsteps, but where? Thump, thump. Coming down the stairs.
Thump, thump, thump.
I try to swallow, but my mouth feels like not a single drop of water has ever crossed my parched lips. My position in the middle of the foyer is completely exposed. I dart the rest of the way across, sliding to a halt right next to Jax, whose long fingers slip inside his leather jacket. My tense shoulders drop ever so slightly because there’s no sign of a figure on the stairs, at least the section visible from here. I made it. Jax and I hide, safe in the shadows, but Will and Lilly are exposed. They’re like targets sitting in the middle of the open foyer.
“Hurry, someone’s coming,”
I say.
Will jerks to a stop, and his head spins from side to side.
“Come on, Will, there’s someone coming.”
Lilly picks up her pace and races across the room.
“I know,”
Will says, but makes no attempt to move.
“Go ahead, get what you need.”
He takes something out of his belt. My guess is it’s the gun.
Lilly sprints back toward him while the footsteps continue their descent. The staircase must be long. My breaths come shallow and quick. I can’t get enough air. He has to make it. I can’t go without him.
“Come on!”
He raises the gun one-handed and braces his wrist with the other hand.
A figure moves down the far staircase.
He’s running out of time.
Thwack. The short, sharp clap of flesh meeting flesh makes me flinch. Lilly slaps him across the face again.
“You idiot. Don’t martyr yourself.”
She pulls him along by the wrist.
He moves.
“That’s not what that word means.”
“Whatever.”
Quick as Marcus’s bike, she dashes across the room to join us in the shadows, dragging him behind her.
The footsteps grow closer, and the dark shape resolves itself into a man with broad shoulders and arms thick as tree trunks. A white scar puckers his face all the way from his temple to the opposite side of his jaw, pulling his features into a twisted mess. Realization dawns; he’s the man from the Council chambers.
“Who’s there?”
“Behind the staircase,”
Lilly says.
We jam together into the tight alcove.
He walks across the foyer.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”
I lick dry lips with my tongue. It’s like a nail file drags over my mouth. We’re sprung; we’ve blown it. There doesn’t seem to be any way out, but he’s only one man. There are four of us, so we could knock him out pretty easily. Actually, that exactly what I’ll do.
Will’s shuffle of movement shoves me aside, jabbing my elbow into Lilly’s chest. Like we shared the same thoughts, Will jumps, brandishing the stun-mace like a sword. “Go on, find his office.” He swipes sideways at the man, who raises his arm and blocks the blow. His other fist connects with Will’s jaw with a loud thud, sending Will staggering. My stomach lurches, dragging me toward Will, but I need to use this moment, so I turn back to the door. Another thud sounds. No. Will. I can’t leave him. I spin back and take a step toward him.
“Come on, Mae.”
Lilly tugs my arm.
I’m riveted to the spot like I’m stuck in a bad dream. My heart beats double time, my gaze is locked on Will. My mind propels my legs, but nothing actually happens. A commotion sounds above, yanking my attention away. Footsteps pound the stairs. Will grunts, tearing my gaze back to his struggle. A glint of silver catches my eye just before the man with Will raises a blade.
“No!”
I pull my dagger from the sheath on my arm, aim at the man, and run. My feet slam, hard and fast, against the marble floor.
Bright white light flashes on, suddenly surrounding me, blinding me. It’s like I’ve looked straight into the sun. I stop, but the muscles in my legs tighten, ready to spring. Casting furious glances all around, I can’t find Will through the black spots. Something hits my chest. It bounces right off. The spots fade, my eyes adjust. Pivoting, I look around, searching for whatever hit me.
My gaze lands on Will. The man has him by the collar, fist raised in the air, clutching a jagged dagger aimed right for Will’s chest.
Something whizzes through the air and pings off the marble banister. I try to look at all the threats at once. The shot came from Jax behind me, but I can’t figure out who he was shooting at. There. A man peers over the edge right where it hit, aiming a gun just to my right. A quick glance over my shoulder follows the line of his aim to Jax. Standing ready, legs splayed, pistol in his grip, and his jaw set. He lets a bullet fly. It hits the mark. The man lets out a deep guttural scream and falls behind the banister.
“Get the girl,” a female voice yells.
I spin around. Another man runs down the closest staircase with a gun in his hand. He shoots at Jax, but the bullet bounces straight off his shoulder. There’s a loud thud and a crash.
Will.
I spin around again. The man fighting Will must have been thrown back with force. Clearly Will stunned him, because Will hurtles into the side table, crashing the vase and flowers to the floor.
“Run,” Jax yells.
I bolt through the door Lilly holds open. Looking back over my shoulder, I see Jax and Will both retreat toward the door, their weapons trained on the two men advancing toward us. Jax shoots. Will pulls his gun and fires too. The bullets bounce straight off the man Will fought. A self-satisfied sneer clouds his face.
My chest rises and falls rapidly. There’s no way out. They’ve backed us into a room. Three against four. Four of us, we can still beat them. My eyes take a moment to readjust to the darkness of the room after the bright light of the foyer. There’s got to be a way out. I stand on my toes to look over Jax’s shoulder. Definitely three people there now. A woman and two men. All armed, but only one with a blade. I draw in a deep breath. Thank goodness.
A bullet flies over Jax’s shoulder. Damn agents are persistent; it’s obvious we’re wearing protect-its. What are they aiming for? A head shot? I duck, and a bullet shoots by, barely missing my head. The protect-its are certainly saving our skin. I breathe a small thanks to Marcus.
The boys stand in front of the doorway, blocking the agents’ way.
“Shut it.”
“Can’t,”
Will says.
My gaze flashes around the room. We need a way out. All I can see are a few indistinct shapes.
Bright light flashes on. Someone’s reading my thoughts. Probably Lilly.
She screams, and my heart jumps into my mouth. I follow the line of her gaze. Two figures stand in the corner. The second man from the room at the Council building has his face set in a mocking grin which doesn’t quite reach his cold, hard, dark eyes. His stony expression is etched onto his age-hardened face. Close-cropped brown hair covers his head. Is this Manvyke?
Behind him, wearing navy and maroon plaid pajamas and running a hand through sleep-tousled hair, is my father.
“Dad!”
My legs lurch forward, but Lilly’s hand clamped around my wrist pulls me back. I want to run to him and throw my arms around him so badly it aches, but the extra moment Lilly bought me changes everything. Something about the way the man—Manvyke—smiles makes me stop.
He rolls his hand in front of him in a pretentious gesture of downward spirals. “Welcome.”
Metal meets metal in a ringing clash.
I spin on the spot to see Jax with his blade pushed against a short sword held by the burly man. Now driven into the room, Will stands with the gun in his hands, aiming at the advancing agents. My gaze flicks back to Jax and snaps to Dad. He flips the pages of a book, oblivious to what’s going on. There’s something wrong with him. He’s not trying to help me and Will. Doesn’t matter now. We just have to get out. There has to be another exit.
My heart sinks, anchored by my lost hope. The only way out of this room is through the door the boys are fighting to defend.
“We’re surrounded,”
I tell the boys.
Jax holds his blade to the man’s throat, his knee pinning him to the ground. Ruby red drops lick at the metal.