AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He took off running. The only reason doors would be blocked was if someone was inside. As he got closer, the heat took his breath away. How could his Remi survive this heat and smoke?
Hands grabbed him and pulled him back. He turned to see who dared keep him away from Remi.
“Hold up, I’ve got the camera. We should be able to see if anyone’s in there.” Cannon waved the thermal imaging camera they’d ordered for the tactical course and brought back with them from Texas.
War watched the screen as they walked around the building toward the office. He could see the heat from different parts of the building and even pieces of the ceiling on fire falling but no bodies. Two parts of the building had caved in. He wasn’t a fire investigator, but it was suspicious with what he knew about the building and their fire suppression system. Noah and his daughters would never have done anything unsafe.
“There’s no one inside.”
If she wasn’t inside, where was she and why were none of her sisters answering the phone? The automated message seemed like a last-ditch effort. The two prospects who’d come back with them from Texas ran over.
“I checked the well to see if we could get a hose going. Someone cut the lines to the pump.”
The screech of a siren filled the air along with the roar of pipes. Bear pulled in right before the ambulance and ran over.
“Where’s Winnie and Remington?”
He shook his head. “We can’t find anyone.”
“Did you check the hatch?”
“What hatch?”
Bear didn’t answer but took off running across the field, hopping the barbed-wire fence. War followed with Cannon. Bear had a head start and he’d always been fast. Bear paused at something on the ground, pulling his gun.
War pulled his and stopped. Bear had yanked off the cap on the guy’s head. His shoulder was bleeding along with his ankle. He screeched as Bear pressed his boot on the ankle wound.
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know and I’m not talking without a lawyer.”
Bear chuckled. “Do you think I look like the person who is going to call a lawyer for you? Who shot you?”
“That bitch. I came out to make sure no one escaped. She came out of the lean-to and shot me.”
“Cannon, tie him up and we’ll talk with him later. War, come with me.”
War could care less his VP was giving him orders. Once he’d realized Remington could be in the structure, he couldn’t think straight. He kept wondering if his ineptitude had killed another woman. The attacker had called it a lean-to, but it wasn’t like any lean-to he’d seen. It had three full sides with the fourth having a four-foot-wide opening. The floor was cement when he’d only seen them as dirt. He followed Bear in. Bear stepped around a four-foot cement wall blocking the back third of the structure. He leaned down, swept some straw away and did something that beeped.
“Come on.”
Bear opened a hatch and turned to go down a metal ladder. War followed him, closing the hatch and twisting it to lock it. He joined Bear at what looked like a crossroads. One tunnel led to the right, and another led to the left which would be back toward the gym. He’d grabbed a flashlight and a walkie-talkie from a shelf. Flipping it on, he waited.
“This is Bear. Code Chandler. I say again. Code Chandler. Holding at Crossroad.”
He took a deep breath, waiting to see if anyone would reply. He’d learned their codes but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what Code Chandler was. Remi was missing. He’d known she was coming to mean a lot to him, and he was in love, but the thought of never having her again had him wanting to drop to his knees.
“Code Joey. Evac site homestead.”
He might not remember Chandler, but he’d heard Code Joey when Bear was injured. Someone was hurt. He had a hard time catching his breath imagining it was his Remi. Bear grabbed his arm, pulling him to a golf cart, pushing him into the passenger seat. Bear started it and floored it to the homestead. Jesse must have gotten her hands on it and modified it because they were going faster than he’d ever had a golf cart go but it was still too slow for him. Bear parked it by another golf cart and he followed him to another ladder on the wall.
“Code Chandler. Entering homestead.”
Bear didn’t wait for a reply, just punched in the code and was up the ladder, opening the hatch. War followed as quickly as he could. What he saw had him pausing. They were in what looked like a safe room but was larger than any he’d ever seen. One wall held medical supplies and had two beds. Remi and Winnie were each sitting on one while Jesse was holding oxygen to Remi’s face. Winnie’s arm was haphazardly bandaged as if she’d taken care of herself. Sarah was monitoring one wall of computers along with Beth. Locks had the door to the outside room open and had a gun in his hand in addition to the rifle over his shoulder and a bulletproof vest on his chest.
He ran over to Remi, pulling her close. “I don’t know how you got out and I don’t care. I only care I can have you in my arms. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Remi leaned into him, coughing behind the mask. Bear was standing by Winnie, trying to check on her but she batted his hand away.
