“I thought I’d finally try them out on my bags.”
She cocked a brow at me.“You seem like you’re in an awful hurry to do so,” she commented suspiciously, her brows furrowing as she watched me.
“Yeah, well,” I replied as I moved for the door, “there’s no time like the present.”
I exited the closet and stood in the middle of the bedroom, pausing at my next move.What the fuck was I supposed to do now?I couldn’t very well start collecting all the guns and ammunition I knew were hidden all over this room and the rest of the house.Not without drawing massive suspicion.I might actually have to pretend to work out until the shit finally hit the fan.
Fuck.
“What’s wrong now?”Sloane asked behind me.
My eyes shot back to her, completely forgetting she was standing there as I contemplated literal war on Darren’s doorstep.
“I was just thinking about something Darren had said earlier,” I answered and then stepped out onto the balcony to begin stretching while watching for any sign of movement over the grounds and water.
“You’re acting very strange, Jaden.Is everything alright?”Sloane asked, the suspicion in her Russian accent barely restrained.
I scoffed with a nervous laugh as I slid down into the splits, stretching my hips and legs.“Nothing is ever alright, Sloane.You should know that by now.”
She remained silent as I continued to warm my body up for the firefight I knew was headed our way.I just hoped I didn’t appear too paranoid as my eyes scanned the horizon.After counting for nearly six minutes, my anxiety could take no more.
And then I suddenly remembered something very important.“Where are Katherine and Ella?”I asked.
Sloane’s brows furrowed before she answered me.“I believe they’re both in their suite.Why?”
I sighed as I rubbed the ache beginning to form at my temples.How the fuck was I going to handle this?I needed to get them out of here somehow.
“I need to see them.”I turned for the bedroom door before quickly moving down the hall, Sloane groaning aloud as she easily caught up with me.
I continued walking toward the main stairway, their suite just on the other side, and trying my damnedest to covertly glance out the windows without turning my head.But just as we reached the end of the hallway, a loud commotion from the front of the house caught my attention.
I stopped in my tracks to listen to what sounded like some sort of crash, followed by screeching tires.Sloane’s face suddenly became concentrated as she listened in to her earpiece, prompting me to race for the nearest window that would offer a view from the front of the house.
The screeching tires were quickly followed by rapid gunfire echoing in the air as a black van sped down the front drive to stop in front of the fountain.Sloane was at my back in an instant just as the guards opened fire at the van.
“What the hell was that?”Sloane growled aloud as her eyes observed the van, pulling me back.“Jaden, get away from the window!”
“What the fuck is going on!”Turning my head, I saw Scott hurrying down the hall to join us next to the window as Sloane yanked me behind her.When he looked down at the van that was now surrounded by Darren’s guards, guns aimed high, he groaned.“What the fuck is that?”
Suddenly, all the lights in the house went out.Sloane and Scott paused, their eyes connecting as the gunshots began to cease.Peering behind Sloane’s shoulder, I could see the guards pulling open the doors of the van but finding no one inside.Had someone driven the van remotely somehow?
“Communications are down,” Sloane confirmed as she pulled out her earpiece to examine it.
Scott’s eyes widened as he looked out the window.“They just launched a fucking EMP!”he shouted.“Fuck!”
I felt my jaw drop at the revelation.
Holy.Fucking.Shit.
An EMP with enough voltage could easily render every single security measure on the property completely useless.All of their communications equipment—security systems, radars, cameras, computers, anything that required electricity—was not only completely inoperable, it was all effectivelydestroyed.
The landmines buried under the lawn, the automatic rocket launchers, all the drones, the electric cages and vaults containing all of the weapons and ammunition, and even some of the vehicles would be entirely out of commission.
The only thing they could use to defend the property were the literal guns in their hands.
And, in all likelihood, my collar was also probably toast.
I felt my breath catch in my throat.