AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I want a man on them twenty-four seven. If we can get into that meeting, we don’t have to wait any longer,” I say.
Cato frowns. “Fuck, that is too easy.”
Kieran shakes his head. “No. They think we have no clue who they are—that’s to our advantage.”
I just want to be fucking done with it all and concentrate on my political career. The little mishap will trail after me anyway, but with time, I’ll make sure it’s just a story no one remembers.
When we’re done with them, we can get back to our lives.
I inhale the fresh air, a combination of pine and moss as we speed away. Chiara is just ahead of me, while Alessandra and Aurora are behind us as we drive our golf carts through the forest.
Mild panic hits me. What if we get lost? Do they know the way back?
As if she can hear my stress level rising, Chiara says, “We know this road with our eyes closed. Safety is paramount in our family. The men are quite obsessed with it. So, don’t worry. You’ll be safe.”
With her reassurance, I feel more at ease. We reach a small meadow, and I sweep my gaze around, not finding anything resembling a bunker. The women giggle and Chiara hops out of the golf cart. She leans against a tree, eyes looking intently at something.
The earth beneath us suddenly starts to rumble. I gasp when the ground splits open, and an elevated platform resembling a cement elevator appears. We all drive into the lift that’s big enough to fit all our golf carts.
It lowers into the ground, and I grip the cart as if it can hold me. The moment we stop, I blink at the flickering lights and a tunnel opens before me.
We step off the platform. Claustrophobia wraps around my mind, squeezing out every bit of logic.
Alessandra says, “The first time is always a bit odd.”
I’m pretty sure I will never be entirely comfortable with this underground place.
Aurora and Chiara move toward the lights, and I stay with Alessandra. “We were quite skeptical about this at first, but now we like it here.”
I stare at her, incapable of forming words. What is there to like? It’s dark and smells musty.
“Once a month, we play our version of laser tag with the men. It’s always fun when you forget why they want to play in the first place,” Alessandra chimes in.
“And why is that?”
She huffs in annoyance. “Cam should really start telling you more about this life.”
She smiles at me in sympathy, and we find the girls in a vast, open-spaced room. The walls project a video of a forest, creating an allusion of more depth in the space. With a flip of a switch, Chiara changes the screen and a menu of landscapes appears. Okay, this is pretty awesome. Along one side of the room, six doors line the wall.
“This is the westerly part. It’s a bunker in a bunker. The walls will close around this perimeter and nothing can penetrate them,” Aurora informs me.
Each of the girls points out their respective rooms.
Alessandra gestures to another one. “That’s Cam’s. And now yours.”
I pull the handle and step inside a suite that’s both minimalist and luxurious, with shiny floors and an impressive king-sized bed. The deep gray walls, lavish lighting, and black furniture offer a touch of sophistication. I can’t help but wonder if Cameron’s sparseness is a lifestyle choice or a void that needs to be filled.
We move past a large steel kitchen, an opulent bar, a state-of-the-art theater room, and a fitness area. It’s quite impressive.
The final door reveals a gun arsenal. My hand flies to my mouth.
“You see. That’s the normal reaction,” Alessandra says.
“I got excited. We can fit more guns here than in the basement at home,” replies Chiara. I blink at her in utter shock and Aurora approaches me.
“If it makes you feel better, I had the same reaction. But choosing Kieran meant also accepting all this.”
Behind a glass wall, there are four SUVs. The girls tell me they are all bulletproof.
