Not Now!

Once the door was shut, I settled into my chair behind the desk, facing Conner and Noah. They were perched on the opposite side, lounging in the dark brown leather chairs.

“What’s the big emergency that had you guys racing around instead of just giving me a call?”

Noah chuckled. “We tried. You didn’t pick up, dude.”

I patted my back pocket and muttered a curse. “I left it in the room. We had a doctor’s appointment and I guess I left it there to charge. So, what’s the situation?”

Just then, a knock echoed from the door. Noah swung it open to let Forest in. They all took a seat, and Conner placed his laptop on the desk.

“Here’s the situation. Our guys are en route, and some have already reached their posts. But there’s a hitch: Christian is on the move, heading this way. We only have about half our forces here.”

I dragged my hand down my face, groaning into my palm. “Do you think Dad’s men are ready for this? If the rest of our guys don’t make it in time, it’s going to get ugly.”

Forest chimed in. “Most of my men are just two hours out, thanks to Conner arranging for them to fly through undetectable zones.”

“I’m not sure if that’s going to cut it. They’re closing in; check out the footage from the cameras I installed.” Connor gestured to his screen.

“Shit! Get Dad in here, now. We might need to call in our backup. Damn, how many guys does he have?”

Conner flicked through the feeds from the various cameras he’d installed around the property. “Uh, probably around a thousand, maybe more.”

Noah dashed off and returned with Dad in tow.

“Dad, we’ve got a problem. He’s making his move. How many men did you say you could call in?”

“Only about three hundred are close enough. I’ve reached out to others, but they’ll take over an hour to get here.”

I stood up, looking at the guys.

“We’re ending this now. Make the calls, get our men here and hidden. I’ve got a few ideas on how to slow them down. Conner, let’s head to the basement and grab the ammo.

“Do you two still remember how to navigate the hidden tunnels?”

Connor and Noah both shot me wide grins. “Like we could forget after all the time we spent down there, mapping them out.”

“Forest, you’re with me in the south tunnel. Noah and Conner, you two take the west ones.

“Dad, I need you and four of your most trusted men to cover the east and west wings of the tunnels. We’re setting a trap for Christian and seeing how many of our guys can get here in the next twenty minutes.”

Everyone pulled out their phones to make calls as we headed down to the basement. I grabbed land mines and tossed them to Noah and Conner, while Dad and Forest took the detonators.

We then picked up some machine guns that were lined up against the wall. I handed Dad a dead man’s gun and pointed toward the tower in the west wing.

“I need you to take this and get set up in that area like I told you to. You guys, put these communicators in your ears so we can stay in touch. Whatever happens, don’t let them see you setting these mines.

“Pop up from the exits, set them, and get back down here, making sure you lock the exits behind you. They can’t see where you are. If they get in these tunnels, we won’t be able to hold them off at all.

“Link your phones up to the camera system so you can see where they are at all times.

“Conner, let’s torch a few of them, hopefully they’ll back off until the others get here or give us a day or so to get everyone where we need them.”

“Can we do what we need to?” His grin was way too big.

I chuckled and nodded.

“My main goal is to get our hands on Christian if he comes close enough. If not, we’ll drive him back until the others get here and we can lock this place down.

“But please, don’t take any unnecessary risks to capture him. I’m not going on a manhunt trying to find you guys if he takes off with you.”

We all split off with our gear in tow.

Forest turned to me. “Hey, just so you know, I’m with you all the way. I’m sorry the rest of the forces aren’t here yet. When were these tunnels built?”

“Back in the 1700s. They were used for the slaves to escape when the castle was under attack. My family modified them so we could use them just for this reason.

“Just hold onto your flashlight and stick close to me. Otherwise, you’ll get lost and spend weeks wandering around trying to find your way out.

“There are some dead ends that have been bricked up, and others that lead way out into the forest. One wrong turn, and you’ll end up at the bottom where you can’t get out.

“These tunnels are also booby-trapped in case someone gets in here, so stay by my side and you’ll be fine.”

He let out a long breath, then we ventured down the long dark tunnel. I pulled out my phone, checking the camera pointing at us and the other one showing the woods where Christian’s men were hiding.

I touched my earpiece. “Dad, are you in position?”

“Locked and loaded, son. Take out the trees?” he replied in a low voice.

“Most of them are here near the south exit. I can see about five hundred hiding in the woods near us. Light it up and see if they’ll back off.”

We heard a gun cock and then a rain of bullets, causing the trees near us to explode. Men ran, screaming that they weren’t going up against that gun.

I grabbed a few mines from Forest and climbed up the ladder. Barely cracking the opening, I laid three mines out around the exit, then quickly closed it again, locking the top.

We moved down the next tunnel, repeating the same thing at the next three exits. Finally, we made it back to the main entrance. I dashed upstairs to grab my phone and walked down the halls.

Back at my desk, I pulled up the cameras to check if everyone was backing off. But there was Christian, standing in the front driveway with his arms crossed, staring at the front door.

“Damn, he’s about to blow the front door!”

I sprinted toward it just as it burst apart, hit by a rocket.

I shielded myself, diving behind a wall to avoid the shower of splinters. I hit a button on my phone and a massive steel door slammed down from above the doorway, sealing it off.

“Dad! He’s at the front door in the driveway. The house is in lockdown mode,” I relayed into my earpiece. Metal doors and windows began to slam shut, sealing us in and hopefully keeping them out.

Conner rushed up to me. “Shit, how did he get that close? I had traps set at the front gate that should’ve taken them out if they got that far.”

The sound of a gun cocking spun me around to face Forest.

“Zane, I’m really sorry. I need you to disable the house’s lockdown mode for me.”

“Forest, what the hell! Are you the mole in my dad’s organization?” I was trembling with rage.

“Christian is my uncle. He and my dad have been planning this for ages, and I’ve been their inside man.”

I glanced at Conner, who was glaring at Forest with a murderous expression. “You know that if you make it out of here alive, we’ll hunt you down for this.”

He laughed. “I’ll be leaving here with my uncle and dad. You and your crew won’t. It’s time my family took what’s rightfully ours. He’s been waiting a long time for this.”

“And what about Shay? Are you planning to kill her too?” My eyes were blazing now.

“What? No, she’ll be leaving with me, and we’ll live happily ever after, just like I’ve been dreaming about for years. Sorry, your child will have to be aborted, but she’ll bear my heirs instead.”

Conner moved closer to me and brushed his hand over mine, passing me a small explosive. “You know she won’t do that. She trusted you; hell, we all trusted you!” he shouted at Forest.

“That’s your problem. Didn’t you do a background check on me like you do for everyone else?”

“Actually, we did,” I said, grinning wickedly.

Just then, Noah swung a board at the back of Forest’s neck, knocking him out cold. I bent down, hearing Christian shouting into his earpiece.

“Forest, I need that damn house out of lockdown so we can get in and finish the job!”

I took the earpiece, smiling as I responded. “Sorry, he’s currently indisposed. You should know he won’t live to see the sunrise. And then we’ll be coming for you with everything we’ve got. Enjoy your last few days.”

“You can’t kill my nephew; I won’t let you, even if I have to wait out here until the house comes out of lockdown!”

“The house will stay in lockdown until I decide otherwise. We can hold out in here for months,” I spat into the earpiece.

“What if we negotiate? Let me in and we can talk this over.” His voice wavered, realizing we had the upper hand.

Dad joined me, surveying the scene at our feet. “Damn, I didn’t think that would work.”

“He wants to negotiate,” I said, offering him the earpiece.