In His Keeping

“Ari, are you okay?” Ramie asked anxiously, breaking the silence for the first time in what seemed like hours.

Ari glanced at the clock to see, that in actuality, fifty-three minutes had elapsed. A lifetime. That had to be bad, right? If they’d gone out, kicked ass and eliminated the bad guys, they should be back by now, shouldn’t they?

Bullets were fast and efficient.

The room shook curiously and for a moment, Ari thought it was just her reaction to the claustrophobic sensation that was becoming more prevalent by the minute. Ramie must have felt it too, because her gaze immediately flew to the door and Ari’s breath caught.

Were they back? Were they coming in? Or was someone who shouldn’t be trying to gain access to the door? Maybe the room vibrated when an incorrect code has been entered. If an explosive had been attempted, they would have certainly felt more than the subtle vibration they felt.

“What was that?” Ari whispered.

“I don’t know,” Ramie whispered back. “Do you still hear it? I don’t.”

Ari strained her ears, wondering if they’d both imagined it, but surely they wouldn’t have both had the same delusion.

And suddenly a deafening explosion sounded, a light flashing that was so blinding that Ari was rendered just that. Blind. The force of the explosion hurled her across the room and she hit the wall with a resounding thud before sliding slowly down to a sagging, sitting position on the floor, only remaining upright because the wall was propping her up.

She couldn’t see or hear a damn thing. Her mind was in utter chaos and it had nothing to do with her powers, not that she could focus enough to use them, nor would she know how to direct them at an unseen attacker when she was utterly blinded. What the hell had just happened and how?

The door hadn’t opened. She and Ramie had both been staring at it when the explosion occurred.

Rough hands hauled her up, and she knew instantly that this was not Beau. Nor was it someone who was in any way protecting her. Fear and adrenaline jolted through her body, giving her a much-needed boost to ward off the effects of the stunning explosive.

Ramie cried out, a shrill sound of fear.

“Ramie!” Ari shouted. “Are you all right?”

A hand clamped over her mouth and a rough voice whispered next to her ear. “Shut up and keep quiet and listen up or your friend will suffer a very unpleasant death.”

Ari went completely still, terror forming ice in her veins. If the intruders had somehow gained access to the safe room, it meant they’d gone through the DSS operatives. No way, if Beau was alive, would he fail to protect her. Tears burned her eyelids and trailed down her cheeks, colliding with the hand still clamped over her mouth.

“Now, here’s how it’s going to play out,” he said against her ear that was still ringing from the deafening explosion. She realized with sudden clarity that he was, in fact, shouting the words.

“We only want you. We have no need for the others, nor do we want to kill unnecessarily, unless you force our hand.”

Her heart pounded furiously. Did that mean Beau and the others weren’t dead?

“You have two choices. You leave quietly with us, or we kill everyone, beginning with the female you’re currently sharing quarters with. Right now, my men are merely delaying the others, waiting for your extrication. So it’s up to you. You refuse and I issue the order to kill everyone and we still take you, so your fate is inevitable. It’s just a matter of whether you want to spare some lives in the process.”

“I’ll go,” she croaked. “Don’t kill them. I’ll go. I’ll cooperate. I swear. Just please don’t hurt her and don’t kill the others.”

Her vision had started to clear just enough to bring her fuzzy surroundings into focus. It was then she saw how the safe room had been breached. Through the roof, into the attic and then a wide hole, large enough for two people to fit through easily, had been cut out.

She instinctively jumped, startled when a drop-down ladder fell through the hole and into the room. She glanced Ramie’s way, wondering if the woman had heard the bargain Ari had just made for her life. For all their lives.

Judging by the tears in her eyes and the way she stared helplessly at Ari, she drew her own conclusion that Ramie was well aware of what was going on. She was being held in the not so gentle grasp of another man who looked military. Like a killer. His eyes were dead and cold. Like little mattered to him. She shivered, knowing that had she not complied with their wishes, they wouldn’t have hesitated to murder Ramie right in front of her.

She sent Ramie a look, a plea to understand. The man holding her maneuvered over to where the ladder dangled and Ari’s stomach plunged at the idea of having to climb the damn thing.

She needn’t have worried. She felt a sudden sting, like that of a wasp, in her neck and the room went even fuzzier. The last thing she registered were the tears streaking down Ramie’s face, and her utter look of devastation.

TWENTY-NINE

ADORNED with night vision goggles, protective gear and enough firepower to rival a small country’s military, Beau and Zack sprinted across the courtyard clearing, keeping low so they didn’t present an easy target.

They needed to catch up with the others fast because they stood a hell of a lot better chance of taking down the intruders together than if they were scattered over the entire perimeter.

Suddenly Dane and Eliza emerged from the shadows, blending seamlessly into the night. With a nod in Beau’s direction, Dane spoke quietly into his mic and instructed the others of their coordinates so they could group up and blow the hell out of everyone who didn’t belong here.