Authors: Elaine Levine
“This isn’t about Ivy.”
“Bullshit,” Ty countered.
“Something’s happening. I can feel it.”
Kit had a barometer for trouble that both Ty and Rocco had long ago learned to respect. “What’s the word from Max and Greer? Anything?” Rocco asked.
“Nothing, as of a half hour ago.”
“Let’s go up to the WKB compound and check it out,” Ty suggested. “If nothing else, kicking some ass’ll make you feel better.”
Kit stopped mid-stride, pivoting to look at Ty. He nodded. “Let’s go.”
“Kit, come in,”
Max’s voice came across their radios.
“Kit, here. Watcha got?”
“Remember those phrases Rocco had me keep tabs on? Well, one of them showed up on Twitter and now those weird derivations are popping up in tweets. Plus, the GPS trackers we set on the WKB vehicles show several of them are in motion, headed toward the highway.”
“Right. Tell the team to gear up and be ready. Blade, Rocco, and I will go check it out.” Kit punched in a number on his cell phone. “Hey, Kelan. Something’s going down. I don’t want the fuckers to take the fight to Ivy’s neighborhood—there’s too many civilians. Bring my girls here. I’ll send Val to meet you in case there’s trouble on the way back. Be quick about.” There was a pause. “And Kelan? Thanks, man.” He hung up.
“I think the women, Zavi, the Jacksons, and the dogs should go to the bunker,” Ty told the other two.
“You know, if they’re coming here, they’ll hit it, too,” Kit warned.
Ty nodded. “But it’s easier to defend.”
“Agreed. Get them down there. I’ll take care of the Jacksons.”
Ty and Rocco headed upstairs while Kit went to the Jacksons. Ty entered his room. Eden was already asleep in their bed. He sat next to her on the mattress, worried about how to wake her without startling her
“Eden.” She turned and looked at him. “Honey, I need you to get dressed. Trouble’s headed this way. I want you to go to the bunker and wait it out.”
She pushed up on her elbows, blinking at him while his words cut through the fog of sleep. As soon as they did, she jumped out of bed. She went to the dresser and calmly pulled out an outfit of jeans and a long-sleeved dark tee.
He changed into his night attire, then went to their closet and took some weapons out of the hidden safe Mandy had had installed in all of their rooms. He checked his gun, then slipped it and his knife into their holsters. He pulled on his Kevlar vest, then helped her into hers. He handed her a Sig Sauer and holster.
“What’s this?”
“Your gun.”
She took the pistol from him. “You got me a gun?”
“Max said you’re a natural at the range, said you were ready for one.” She smiled at him, a gesture he didn’t return. He wished like hell she weren’t in a position to need a gun. He picked up a canine Kevlar vest and called Tank over.
“You got him a vest, too?” She took it from Ty and knelt to put it on Tank. “It fits perfectly. When did you do all of this?”
“I ordered the vest after we were shot at in the alley. The gun is from our supply. It’s the one you’ve been using at practice.”
She stood up and gripped his face. For a long moment, they just looked at each other. “You better keep yourself safe tonight, Ty Bladen.”
He kissed her. “We’re going to have you and the others wait this out in the bunker. I don’t want you to take risks. The gun is only if your room is breached. Ready?” She nodded. “Let’s go.”
They met Rocco in the hall. Zavi was asleep in his arms, still in his pajamas. Rocco covered him with a blanket and held a stuffed animal for him. Ty was struck by Rocco’s love for his son. It was safe for Zavi to sleep in the middle of this disaster because his father would make it so. That was how things were supposed to be.
“You okay, man?” Rocco asked him.
“Yeah.” Ty focused on his friend. “Zavi okay?”
“He’s sound asleep. This will all be over before he wakes, I hope.”
Mandy came out of Fee’s room, both of them were dressed similarly to Eden. They shut off lights upstairs, then went downstairs to the elevator in the master bedroom. Max had shown the entrances to the girls. They’d practiced this evacuation several times.
“Where’s Kelan?” Fee asked.
“He’s on his way back,” Ty answered. “He’s bringing Ivy and Casey. They’ll be with you in the bunker.”
They stepped into the elevator, making room for Tank, Yeller, and Blue.
“What about Sebastian?” Fee asked the group.
Ty shook his head. “He’s been hiding in safe spots for two decades. If a fight starts, he’ll know where to go.” He closed the closet panel and the outer elevator door. Rocco hit the down button.
“Fuck. They’ve broken our perimeter. Rocco, Ty—where are you?”
Max growled into their earpieces.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The door to the elevator opened. “We’re here,” Ty called out as they stepped into the weapons room in the bunker.
Max came out of the control room. “Owen’s waiting in the conference room. I’ll get the girls situated.” He took Fee by the arm and led her into the room where the bunks were set up.
Ty grabbed Eden and held her for a quick second. When he stepped away, she saw Rocco hand Zavi to Mandy then give them both a kiss. Ty watched Max usher the women into the bunkroom. Eden gave him a long look before she went inside, storing her last sight of him in her heart.
The bunks were lined up in ten columns. Each bunk had its own lamp. A few of the lamps on the lower bunks were lit, giving the room a little light.
Max sent the three girls a hard look. “Once I shut this door, shoot anyone who comes in here if you haven’t heard an all-clear from one of the team. We’ve done this drill a hundred times at the range. You know what to do.” He handed them each a comm unit. “Do not come out of this room, no matter what you hear come over the radio. I’m leaving the door open until the Jacksons come down. Ivy and Casey will be joining you as well when they get here.”
Mandy settled Zavi on the last bunk over. She pulled the covers up to his shoulder and tucked his teddy bear in next to him. Fee gave her a solemn glance. Mandy smiled at her. “Let’s think of this as a drill. It’s just another exercise.”
A minute later, Kit brought the Jacksons in. Kathy looked pale and drawn. She’d packed a small bag and Dennis carried a cooler. Eden helped them get situated on the bunk next to Zavi.
“I brought our tablets,” Kathy said. “I didn’t know if there was a TV down here or what we would do while we were waiting.”
“I can’t believe this bunker has been here all the years we’ve worked here. Ty’s father never told us about it. I wonder if this is where Amir’s men spent so much of their time,” he said, looking at Kathy.
Kelan hung up the phone from Kit’s call. He walked down the hall to Ivy’s room and knocked on the door. “Ivy, we need to leave.”
She opened the door. She was still dressed. “What do you mean? Go where?”
“The WKB are coming down the mountain. I need to get you and Casey some place safe. We’re going back to Blade’s house.”
“No. We’re staying here. They aren’t going to come down here with guns blazing into a neighborhood.”
“Didn’t stop them two nights ago.” He turned to get Casey, but she was standing in the hall, watching them. “Get dressed, Casey. Quickly. We need to leave.”
“Should I pack some things?” Kit’s daughter asked.
“There isn’t time,” Kelan told her. “We’ll come back tomorrow for anything that’s needed.”
He walked back to the living room and turned off the lights. Ivy followed him down the hall. She sat on the coffee table to put her sneakers on. “This is crazy. We should call the cops.”
“You want to get them killed? Believe me, they can’t protect you. ”
Casey came out a minute later and hurried into the living room just as a car pulled up outside. Ivy jumped to her feet. Casey moved to stand close to her mother.
“It’s me, Kelan,”
Val said through their comm unit.
“You guys ready?”
Kelan nodded. “Yeah. We’re coming out.” He looked at the girls. “We’re going to move quickly to my SUV. You’ll get in the back and get down on the floor. Let’s go.” He took Ivy’s arm to march her outside. After getting them settled in the back, Kelan got in on the driver’s seat. They drove through town without any challenges and were coming up the hill toward Blade’s house when Max came over the radio to say their safe zone had been breached.
“Kelan, what’s your ETA?”
Greer asked via their earpieces.
“We’re pulling into the drive now.”
“Come straight into the bunker tunnel.”
“Roger that,” Kelan responded. They drove past the house and down a dirt access road. At the tunnel entrance, they crossed a small creek, circumnavigated a few boulders, and entered the dark opening of the tunnel.
When the SUV stopped, Ivy looked up. They were in a tunnel somewhere. Kelan had said they were coming over to Ty’s house, but this didn’t look anything like a normal garage. The walls were carved from dense granite that met huge double steel sliders up ahead. It was like NORAD.
She reached over and squeezed Casey’s hand, giving her a reassuring smile. The guys opened their doors. “Let’s go, baby.”
“Where are we, Mom?”
“Kelan said he was taking us to a friend’s house.” Ivy had to play down the fact that she had no idea where they were. She was operating on blind faith at this point, something she’d learned long ago to never do. The only reason she wasn’t full-out panicking was that Kit had never lied to her. Never. As soon as he’d learned about Casey, he’d made their daughter’s welfare a priority. He wouldn’t do something now that would endanger them. She hoped.
Kelan opened the door for them. Ivy climbed out and walked toward the big entrance, holding Casey close to her side. The big blond warrior who’d escorted them stood with his back to them, a rifle in his hands as he looked down the long tunnel.
“I’m scared, mom,” Casey whispered. She hugged her big teddy bear a little closer.
“I know. This is scary.” Ivy kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “It’ll be over soon. Try to think of it as a big adventure. I bet your dad is here somewhere. If I see him, I’ll have you meet him.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
The wide steel doors opened, revealing a short hallway with several rooms off it. To the left was a military-style ops room. To the right was another long room with several tables set up in it. Straight in front of them was a room with bunk beds. There were a couple more rooms whose doors were closed.
Kit was nowhere in sight.
A big man with a scraggly beard and skullcap came over to lead them into the bunkroom. Mandy came out of the shadowy space. Her face was tense but not terrified. Ivy forced herself to take some calming breaths.
“Hi, Aunt Mandy!” Casey hurried over to give Mandy a hug.
“Hi, sweet pea! Quite the adventure tonight, isn’t it?”
“Ladies, everyone’s here now. I’m locking the door. Shoot anyone who comes in before we give the all-clear. Any questions?” the man with the skullcap asked as he stood silhouetted against the bright light of the hallway.
“Yes!” Ivy said.
“It’s okay, Max. We’ll fill her in,” Mandy told the man. He nodded and stepped back, shutting the door behind him. “Ivy, this is Eden. She’s Ty’s girlfriend.” Mandy looked at Eden. “This is Kit’s ex-girlfriend and their daughter, Casey.”
Eden held her hand out, curious about the woman and her daughter—doubly so since she seemed to know Ty.
Ivy smiled. “I didn’t realize Ty had a girlfriend. He hasn’t been back that long. I mean,” she shook her head, “I’m happy for him, for you.”
Eden smiled. “That’s okay. I didn’t realize Kit was human.”
Mandy gave her a warning glance. Eden’s grin widened. “And you remember Fiona Addison, the plumber’s daughter?” Mandy continued.
Ivy took Fee’s hands. “Yes. I do, though I’m sure you don’t remember me. I run the diner in town. We were so worried about what happened to you after—well, after everything with your dad. I didn’t know you were up here with the guys.”
Fee made a face. “They didn’t think it was safe for me at my stepdad’s apartment. I’ve been here since just before the explosion at Mandy’s.”
“I’m so glad you’re safe!” Ivy let go of her hands as Mandy gestured to an older couple huddled together on one of the bunks.
“You also know the Jacksons—Kathy and Dennis.”
“Of course. How are you?” Ivy asked them.
“Fine,” Kathy managed a smile. “We’ll be fine.”
Ivy turned back to Mandy. “What’s happening here?”
“It’s a long story,” Mandy told her.
“Doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere for a while.”
“Why don’t we get settled over here?” Mandy asked. “I’ll fill you in.”
They walked over to the first set of bunks and climbed onto the mattress. “You know my dad?” Casey asked Eden as they got settled.
Eden sent Mandy a questioning look. “I do.”
“Is he scary?”