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“I don’t want you to panic, Alex,” I start to type out the word S.L.A.Y.
“Then tell me what the hell’s going on,” she snaps.
“We have to get out of here, I don’t exactly know how, but Raphael Verretti has Lydia.”
Alex’s hand lifts up to cover her mouth, and when I hit send, her phone immediately buzzes from her purse.
“We’re on lockdown.” She shifts through her purse to try to locate her cell.
“Alex, Screwy says they are coming here. They sent the club to a bogus address as a diversion. We really have to get out of here.”
“This can’t be happening.” She sinks into the nearest chair.
“We’ll stick to the plan and go to Grace’s.” I move past her to go find Mom, and I get met at the door by a panicked-looking Ella.
“I got your message, is it…?”
“Load the kids into the truck outside. We have to get out of here. Do you know where my mom is?”
“She left with Tawk to get supplies. I don’t think she’s back yet.” Ella clutches Dylan’s hand and shimmies Sophia higher on her hip.
“I’ll go grab your bag from next to your bunk. Go with Alex and the kids to the truck and make sure Rogue got the message. She’s in the garage and probably nowhere near her phone.
“Got it.” She nods, crouching down to Dylan.
“I’m gonna need you to be brave for mummy, okay? We’re going to Auntie Grace’s.” She smiles at him excitedly, like we’re going on some adventure. I leave her to it, rushing up the stairs into the dining hall. Shaniya and Grace are already moving through the double doors with their bags.
“We got your message, but we don’t understand. I thought we were on lockdown,” Shaniya asks, puzzled. “Go get in the truck. I’ll explain on the way. Is my mom back yet?”
“She’s still shopping with Tawk. They should be back any second. I’ll call her and tell them to come straight to mine,” Grace assures me.
“Okay, I’m grabbing Ella’s and Alex’s stuff. I’ll see you at the truck.”
I move fast, grabbing all our bags from the bunks and loading them onto my shoulders. I grab the pink one that’s hanging on the bed that Rogue claimed, and it weighs far more than mine, Ella and Alex’s put together.
What has she packed? Rocks?
When I get out onto the yard, everyone is gathered around the truck. Ella has strapped the little ones in the back, and I smile at them reassuringly as I throw the bags in beside them.
“Marilyn’s meeting us there,” Grace informs me before jumping into the front passenger seat. Alex has her phone pressed to her ear as she paces the ground.
“I’m trying to call Squealer to come back, but he’s not picking up.”
“We’ll keep trying. Just get in the cage. We need to get to safety.” She gets in the back with Shaniya, Ella, and the kids, and I take the driver’s seat, checking in my mirror that I have everyone.
“Where’s Rogue?” I immediately notice her absence. I swear to God, I won’t put up with her bullshit. Not today.
“Here, boss,” her voice scrapes on my nerves, and when she pops her head through my window, the bubble she’s blown out of gum is so close to my face that I can almost feel its stickiness.
“I got your bag. Get in–we gotta move.”
“Jeez, thanks, Maddy,” she makes that fake sarcastic smile at me, before joining the others in the back.
I have to remind myself that there are kids and a pregnant woman in the car as I tear off toward the trail in the forest. The start of the track has been made to look naturally overgrown, and I hop out of the truck to clear the path, with Grace helping me.
“Alex said Lydia’s in trouble,” she looks worried as she helps move the branches and brambles covering the start of the clearing.
“Yep, Screwy’s on his way to get her, but he’s gonna be a while. We need to get hold of the boys to reroute some of them.”
