then call Lang, “Do you have a drone nearby?”
“Ready to fly. What do you need?”
“Beacon’s studio just exploded. I need you to search for any other explosives around the premises.”
I sigh with relief. If I had sent his family underground, it’d be almost impossible to get them out of there until we remove all the debris.
“One of the guys is going to release a couple of land bots to search the area,” Lang tells me. “In the meantime, I’ll survey the perimeter, but I doubt I’ll find anything. Is everyone okay?”
“Yes, no one was inside,” I explain. “We don’t know where to search. I have the feeling that whoever did that is camping on the northeast side of the property where the cameras were deactivated.”
“They timed it well—too well,” he explains. “According to Nathan, it happened today when the sun was setting, and the camera couldn’t film the face of whoever did it.
“Start searching by air while I search by land,” I order.
“Who’s coming with me?” I start walking toward the arena.
“Where are you going?” Dad asks. “We need to stay under.”
“They’re trying to get everyone out of the house—they don’t know it’s empty,” I tell him. “We can go to the arena first. I have a feeling that they’re hiding there. It’s under construction—no one would notice. I think they want us to be sitting ducks in the dark and shoot everyone they see.”
His eyes stare at me for a second before giving instructions to Harrison, “Go to the barn, be careful because they could be hiding there.” Tiago is the next one to get orders from him. “Check the arena.”
“It was my idea,” I tell him.
“You, Hawk, and I are going to the house,” he explains. “If they’re trying to break in, we’ll intercept them. As you said, they don’t know the house is empty.”
I never noticed how big the estate was until I realized that even with all the people who have been scouting and watching the premises, these men were able to move around. My blood is running hot. I’m not upset that we missed anything. My guess is that they caught up with what we knew and found a way to take at least half of the team away from here before they made a move. I shoot a text to Beacon.
Grace: Trap, be careful. TTYS.
I put away my phone, hoping that I’m wrong. Dad puts on his night vision goggles and I do the same. As we approach the house, I notice them. Two men climbing up the house. Black hoods cover their heads. They’re unrecognizable. I can make out the gun harnesses under their jackets.
Dad and Hawk slow down when I point at the men. This isn’t new to me. I go into autopilot, pulling out two knives from the pockets inside my combat boots. Usually, I don’t have any emotions when I’m on a job. This time I’m raging and worried. They broke into our property, destroyed Beacon’s studio to distract us, and are trying to possibly kill Vance if not the entire family. How far are they going and how many are in here?
Is Beacon walking into a trap?
They can’t avoid going in because they have our men. We never leave anyone behind—ever.
“There has to be another guy,” I mumble.
My body tenses when I hear a shot coming from the barn. At that exact moment, one of the men climbing the house reaches for his gun. I react and throw a knife, stabbing his hand. I realize he had an automatic gun hanging on his shoulder.
I aim the next knife at his shoulder. He loses his balance and falls to the ground. I reach for another blade and shoot it toward the second guy as he jumps down to aid his partner. I hit his leg, but he doesn’t care. He’s bending down, reaching for the M-70 his partner is carrying.
“Stop, or I’ll shoot you,” Hawk orders, pointing his gun toward the guy.
The guy straightens up and grins. He takes a step closer toward me. I approach him because this man might take the bait and believe I’m an easy target. He pulls out his gun and points at me. “Try it, and she dies.”
“G,” Dad yells. I squat, take out another blade, stab him in the side of the ribs, and punch him when my father shoots him in the leg.
“You fucking bitch!”
Dad fires a second shot that hits the guy in the shoulder. “Watch your fucking language.”
I see movement