Page 46 of Her Michigan Mob Boss

As Ciaran followed Sean from the room, I put the bottle of disinfectant back in the box and closed the lid. “Where does this go?”

“Just leave it on the counter,” Emily replied. “I’ll put it away later.”

“Okay.”

I returned to the task I’d abandoned. I didn’t think I’d gotten blood on the chopping board, but I wasn’t prepared to take the risk. Thankfully, I’d put a decent number of strawberries into the cream before I cut myself. I finished prepping dessert and put the bowl in the fridge before starting to clean up.

As I wiped down the chopping board, Ciaran came back into the room.

“Sean and I have to go to the city. Don’t hold dinner for us.”

The urgency in his tone told me something bad had happened, but I didn’t feel comfortable asking him what it was.

Emily wasn’t so reticent. “What happened?”

“One of our warehouses is on fire.” Ciaran’s jaw clenched. “Will’s going to stay here in case you need him.”

I felt strangely at a loss as Ciaran turned and left without kissing me goodbye. The situation was clearly serious, but I wasn’t sure how worried I should be. The answer came ten minutes later when Will wandered into the room while Emily and I were chatting. His grave expression told me there was reason for concern.

“Let’s eat in here tonight,” he suggested, “since it’s just the three of us.”

He glanced over at Emily. Something passed between them I couldn’t decipher. Eating in the kitchen rather than the dining room was clearly significant, but I had no idea why.

“Okay,” Emily agreed. “It’s almost ready, so why don’t you set the table?”

While Emily took the venison out of the oven and quickly sauteed some asparagus, Will set the table. He insisted I sit while he went to get a bottle of wine from the cellar that was apparently accessed via the pantry. When he came back, he poured glasses for me and Emily and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for himself.

“You’re not having wine?” I asked. He’d indulged in a glass or two when we shared dinner before.

He shook his head. “There’s just me and four guards here tonight. It’s best to keep a clear head in case….”

Almost as if he’d summoned trouble, the lights went out, and an alarm sounded on his phone. Emily turned off the gas burners on the stove as Will ran to look out of the window. Several loud pops came from outside. I’d never heard gunshots in real life before, but I knew that’s what they were. My heart lurched as Will pulled a gun from behind his back.

“Get to the safe room.”

The reason for eating in the kitchen became apparent as Emily ran across the room. Stumbling in the darkness, I followed her into the pantry. She pulled back a shelving unit to reveal a hidden door and led me down a long flight of stairs. There was light here. Had they come back on?

At the bottom of the stairs was a door. Emily entered a code on a metal keypad, and it swung open. We hurried inside. Footsteps thundered on the stairs and Will skidded into the room. He slammed the door shut and a whirring sound told me he’d engaged the locks.

My jaw dropped as I looked around the room. On one side was a small kitchen with a refrigerator and microwave. On the other, there was a seating area with a large sofa, two armchairs and a coffee table. A bookcase filled with paperbacks provided a means of distraction. Beyond the living space were four bunk beds. It was functional but lacked comfort. A door lay to the right of them. I guessed it led to a restroom.

A bank of security monitors on the wall flickered to life as Will switched them on. He picked up a cellphone from the cradle where it sat on the wall and pressed a button. “Shit. Can’t call out.”

“What the hell is going on?” I asked.

“We’re under attack, but don’t worry. It’s safe here. Even if they find this room, it’s impenetrable and there’s a two-week supply of food and water.”

“Two weeks?” Panic flared inside me.

“We won’t be here that long.” Will smiled tightly. “Ciaran, Sean, and Max will get the same alert I did. Help will be here soon.”

I hoped he was right. Looking down at my hands, I realized they were shaking.

“Here.” Emily put an arm around me. “Let’s sit for a while.”

How the younger woman could remain so calm was a mystery to me. I found myself unable to look away from the security monitors as several men moved about the house. A couple of them wore bulletproof vests. I knew nothing about guns, but I’d seen enough American cop shows to recognize assault rifles when I saw them.

“The lights are on,” I said, confused.

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