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There were no details to go on, but we’d called through to the men surrounding Nell’s house to warn them, just as the first wave of gunfire had arrived.
Yeah, waves of them. A total of three, including the ones that we’d managed to stop getting there. It made my blood turn to ice, thinking about what could have happened to them all if she hadn’t had the small cupboard to get into.
I’d been skeptical that the space would be safe for them, even with the adjustments we’d made to it, but it’d done well today.
But my house was safer, and they were here now.
Leading them through the entrance, I pointed out rooms as we passed, holding my hand up to the man who came rushing forward to make it clear this was my priority. Dad wasn’t far behind me, if it was urgent, they could tell him.
“That’s the study,” I pointed to the room as we passed. “You’re welcome to use whatever’s in it if you need to. Over here, we have the formal lounge, but it’s uncomfortable and stuffy, so I’d advise you against that one.”
Moving deeper into the house, I opened the door to the living room and waved her through it. “This one’s much better, and you’ve got the views of the gardens behind. The kitchen is just through that door, so you can get anything you need easily, too.”
I watched as she turned in a circle with our son in her arms, just as Lena did the same thing.
“I’ve seen the destruction these boys can do with one burp,” Lena muttered. “Are you sure you want to risk that rug?”
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I shrugged. “I don’t give a shit what happens to it, so long as nothing happens to them. They can shit on it, for all I care.”
Both women looked at me dubiously, but I meant every word, and made sure my expression made that clear to them.
“There’s a panic room on each floor of the house, including in the basement. Upstairs where the bedrooms are, there’s two of them, though, just in case.”
An amateur would have one in their property, and I was far from that. By only giving yourself one place to get to, you were jeopardizing your safety. At least when there was more than one, you had a backup if the avenue to the other one was compromised.
Moving over to one of the cabinets, I stood in front of it and waited as it opened. We’d eschewed the standard opening mechanism, and instead, there was a scanner that read the person standing in front of it.
If you were programmed in, it opened in three seconds. If you weren’t, nothing happened, meaning anyone pursuing you wouldn’t even be able to find the door.
“After we go in here, we’ll get the system to store your details, so you have access to all of them in the house. It’s the same one for each room.”
“What about my dad and Hunter?” Nell asked, following behind me into the room.
“They’re being added into the mainframe as we speak, so that if the house is in total lockdown, they have access into it to get to you.”
“Wow,” Lena gasped as she turned around in a full circle, her eyes not missing a thing. “This is some neat shit. You’ve even got a full bathroom and kitchen.”
Moving over to the wall panel, I got them each to stand in front of it as it stored their data, then placed their palms on it as a backup for the other facilities in the house.
“Once you’re in here and hit the button to close the door,”—I pointed at the black button next to it—“you’ll be locked in until you put your palm on this screen. It’s the same in all of the rooms, but you have to make sure you’re clear of the doors when you press it because they close quickly.”
“Have you—” Nell stopped and licked her lips nervously. “Have you ever had to use it?”
“No.” When both women visibly relaxed, I added, “But the house has specialized windows and walls that can withstand the force of a medium-sized bomb. They’ve come in useful before now at Dad’s house, so I know how effective they are.”
“Jesus,” Nell breathed, holding Hendrix more closely to her chest.
“And those won’t help you if someone manages to get into the place, but the rooms will,” I finished.
Nell looked like she was struggling to get her head around it, but Lena proved to be the resilient woman I’d come to think of her as.
“This isn’t a southerner’s dream, Fedorov, but it’s a mother-who-just-had-the-shit-shot-out-of-her-home-with-her-and-her-kids-in-it palace. I’ll make sure she gets them to one of these if something happens. And I keep my little partner with me all the time, so no worries there.”
