Page 70 of Property of Bones

“Short-range,” Foster says. “Intermittent bursts…enough to keep me blind unless I cross-reference it with city surveillance cams.”

“You’re saying that van’s been close?” Spike demands.

Foster doesn’t answer.

He just goes still. Then curses under his breath.

“No. No, no, no…”

“What?” I bark, already halfway to my feet.

“They just popped up,” Foster says. “I ran a scan on every cam between the fucking border and here. I found them…five minutes out from the compound.And, by the looks of it, they’re heading right toward us.”

Silence.

The kind that crawls down your spine.

Then chaos.

“Phones, now!” Spike barks. “I want every chapter on alert. NOW. Knuckles, double up the guards. No one gets through the gate. Bones, pull Riley, Asher, Abby, and Sunny down below and lock it down then get to the gate. I’ll call Maverick and Patch. Have them ready on the outside in case we need them. Earpieces in. They may beghostsbut they just knocked on the devil’s front door.”

I’m out of the war room door before Spike finishes his sentence, my boots pounding against concrete like a war drum.

“Knuckles!” I shout into the earpiece when I see only two guards at the gate. “Triple the guards at the gate first.”

“On it,” comes the reply, already breathless.

I veer hard toward the houses and of course, the women are out front.

Laughing.

Relaxed.

Unaware of the damn storm that’s barreling straight for us.

“Inside. Now.”

Two words. Sharp. Commanding.

Riley freezes mid-sip of her tea. Abby’s smile drops. Sunny… Sunny frowns, already reading something on my face.

“What’s going on?” Riley asks.

“No time,” I grit. “Take Asher and go below.”

Riley, knowing the possible dangers, picks up Asher from his swing, and they’re already moving, Abby right behind them. But Sunny lingers for a half-second too long.

“Jack,” she says, soft and serious.

I close the distance. My hand cups her jaw, thumb brushing her cheek like it might be the last time. “Go. Please.”

She nods, and I wait only long enough to see her disappear inside Spike’s house.

Back through the compound. Gun out. Heart a hammer in my chest.

I make it to the front gate just as the first SUV rolls into view.

Matte black.

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