36
CECILIA
Everything happens at once and I’m reeling.
I’ve been wrenched back in time to the day when unimaginable horrors shattered my family. All I can hear is the sound of blood roaring in my head. The pulse of overpowering terror smothers all other senses. Voices are muffled and I can’t gulp enough oxygen.
“Cecilia, look at me.” Julian cups my face in his hand. “It’s okay, baby. Breathe. Just look at me and breathe.”
My husband peers into my eyes. Our babies roll inside my belly.
“That’s it,” Julian says with relief when I take a deep breath. He kisses my forehead.
Panic is not an option. I cannot give in and curl into a terrified ball. I’m going to be a mother and mothers need to be strong.
“Cici?” Gabe touches my arm and his face is tense with worry.
“I’m fine.” I swallow and breathe again as the underwater sensation fades and I’m back in the moment. “What happened?”
Julian steers me over to the wall, far away from the windows. Gabe follows. There’s an ominous reddish orange glow outside.
Elsewhere in the room, there are multiple things happening. Sonny shouts that the shutters will need to be rolled down manually. Fort hops up on the deep windowsill and reaches for a series of switches that release the shutter panels. Tye and Getty are dragging Angelo away from the table. Caleb, the youngest of the ranch staff, gapes in open-mouthed shock as events unfold at lightning speed.
Meanwhile, Julian’s father has removed a small painting of the mountains to expose a black keypad. He presses a few buttons and to my astonishment, the large bookcase along the wall creaks open, revealing a secret compartment containing a combination safe as tall and wide as three grown men.
Getty and Tye have Angelo pinned to the floor. My brother thrashes and his face is already bleeding.
“Get off, you fucking ogres!” Angelo howls. “I didn’t do this.”
“Tell it to Abe Lincoln,” Tye growls and twists Angelo’s arm until he yelps.
While Tye keeps Angelo restrained, Getty extracts a phone from the pocket of Angelo’s jacket and tosses it on the floor. Fort’s boot promptly crushes the screen.
Next, Getty looks around for Gabriel and snaps his fingers. “Yours too, asshole. Hand it over.”
“But I didn’t do anything!” Gabe sputters.
“Then you won’t mind cooperating,” Julian declares with ominous finality.
Gabe’s face scrunches into a pout. He looks to me for help.
“Do it,” I tell him. I know Gabe isn’t responsible for whatever is happening but this isn’t the time for a debate.
With a sigh, he pulls his phone out of his back pocket and hands it to Julian.
I’ve been told every window in the house is made of bullet proof glass but the Tempestas take no chances. Long sheets of protective metal have been rolled down to cover the dining room windows. And Cass now has the safe open, revealing an arsenal.
“Luna!” I cry. “If there’s a fire, what about all the animals?”
“We’ll get them,” Julian assures me. “It’s just the shed on fire right now.” He pulls me in for a hug but I can read the fury on his face. He believes the ranch is under attack. All these men do and they’re far more experienced on the topic than I am.
Cass and Sonny are swiftly hauling bullet proof vests and guns out of the safe. In my limited weapons vocabulary, there are big guns and small guns. These are all big guns.
Sonny murmurs a handful of words to Cass, who hesitates and then looks our way.
“The call is yours to make, Julian,” he says and all attention turns to my husband.
Julian’s arm is around me and I feel his body stiffen. Surprise flashes briefly on his face and is quickly replaced with determination. Julian has always been a natural leader and now his father is deferring to him, passing the torch in a way, letting him decide the battle plan.
