Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
S omeone was attacking. I had no idea who. I had no idea why. All I knew was there was a small force currently making its way through my house, and they weren’t here with peaceful intentions.
From what I could see on the cameras, they were all wearing black jumpsuits.
No masks. Some had guns, others had knives, machetes or axes.
I wasn’t sure how many of them there were, or how’d they had managed to get all the way up to the house without an alarm being raised.
That was all shit I’d have to figure out later.
Right now, I needed to eliminate the threat and find my family. Make sure they weren’t hurt.
As I walked out of Drea’s room, I quickly pulled out my phone and fired off a text in our WhatsApp group chat that held all of our soldiers.
It was one character. Just the explosion emoji.
That was all that was needed. Every one of our men knew what that message meant.
It meant we were under attack, and we needed reinforcements.
It would take roughly ten to fifteen minutes before anyone would arrive.
I needed to clear as much of the house as I could before then.
I took slow, measured steps down the hallway, my gun up, eyes sweeping over everything as I listened out for the tiniest noise.
So far, everything was coming from downstairs.
There were hollers and whoops. People cheering followed by loud banging, like they were trashing the place.
There was screaming and crying. People calling out for help.
We had three maids that permanently lived at the house, as well as a few that rotated in and out on a day-to-day basis. Someone was obviously hurt. It made me grind my teeth together. These fuckers were going to pay big time.
Creaking reached my ears. Someone was walking up the stairs. I plastered my back to the wall and dropped to one knee, taking aim. I leaned around the corner. Two assailants, both armed with guns. I waited, lined up the shot and fired.
The first guy’s head exploded , the bullets ripping through his forehead and out the back of his skull, spraying blood all over the wall. I moved an inch to the right and fired again. The second guy dropped just like the first.
Bullets smashed into the wall I was using as cover and I jerked back. Shit. There was someone else there, but they weren’t in my line of sight. I’d have to move to get a clear shot.
The gunfire suddenly stopped, the click , click , click that followed telling me they were out of bullets. Now was my time to strike before they were able to reload.
I went to move when the door to my right opened, making me pause. Dayton walked out, his head darting side to side in alarm, like he wasn’t sure what was going on. What all the noise was about.
Another pair of those stupid fucking headphones hung around his neck, which was probably why he hadn’t heard what was going on until right then.
The world slowed around me. Dayton was right in the line of fire. If he didn’t move before whoever was on the stairs reloaded, he’d end up dead.
I ran for him at the same time a new stream of bullets unleashed. I dove, tackling Dayton to the ground in the doorway. Pain flared from my arm, but the intensity of it told me it wasn’t serious. More than likely just a graze.
Dayton screamed as wood rained down all over us, bullets shredding through the door like it was made of paper.
“Stay low!” I barked, trying to shuffle him further into the room. “Move it!”
Dayton army crawled along the floor, me staying close behind. “What’s going on?!” he yelled.
I didn’t bother answering. The events taking place were pretty self explanatory. We were under fucking attack. I didn’t need to clarify that for him.
The gunfire stopped. My ears rang inside my head, the sudden silence disorienting. “Under the bed. Go, now,” I whispered harshly.
Dayton didn’t hesitate. He crawled under.
I ran for cover. We had only minutes at best before whoever was shooting came looking for us.
Sure enough, not even forty-five seconds later, I heard them. Three different voices whispering to each other. Three didn’t make me nervous, but I’d have to be smart, dispose of them quickly before they had the chance to use their numbers against me.
The broken wood crunched under their feet as they cautiously stepped into the room. I took deep, quiet breaths, my hands tightening around my MG3 machine gun as I peeked around the side of the couch.
Three men dressed in black jumpsuits began to spread out into the room. One had a gun, the other two an axe and machete. They weren’t wearing masks so I could see their faces, but I still wasn’t sure who they were. Something to be figured out later.
I needed to take the guy with the gun out first. He was the biggest threat. I stayed low, moving around the couch as the men moved further and further into the room, so I ended up behind them instead of in front.
I jumped up and let loose a spray of bullets, hitting two of them in the back, but the third managed to dive out of the way just in time, taking cover behind the bed. Dayton’s screams could be heard over the gunfire and I lifted my finger off the trigger. I didn’t want to risk hitting him.
The guy jumped to his feet and threw his axe. I turned my body to the side, the axe scraping across the top of my bulletproof vest as it whistled past me and buried itself deep into the wall.
Fuck. That was a close one.
The guy charged me, picking up the dropped machete off the floor at the same time. He swung hard and I brought my gun up to block, sparks flying at the contact. I kicked him in the chest and he flew back.
I dove on him before he had the chance to get back up, wrapping my legs around his arm in an arm bar. I squeezed, putting unrelenting pressure on his arm and the bone snapped. He screamed, his legs kicking out wildly.
I pulled a knife from my ankle holster and stabbed him in the head. The screaming stopped and all the fight vanished from him.
I rolled to my feet, tugging on the strap around my shoulder until my machine gun was back in my hands.
“Dayton, let’s go,” I grunted, taking out the magazine and replacing it with another. He slowly crawled out from underneath the bed, his eyes red and puffy, tears streaming down his face. His eyes landed on the knife sticking out of the guy’s head and he vomited.
I walked over to the bedside table, putting a bullet in the other two guys’ heads on the way.
I had to ensure they were dead before I left, otherwise I ran the risk of them coming up on me from behind.
When I pushed the button underneath the bedside table, the bookshelf on the right opened, revealing the safe room behind it.
There was one in each room of the house. When my father built this house for my mother, he built in a few extra things; trap doors in the floor, hidden passageways in the walls and safe rooms. He was paranoid before my mother was murdered. Her death just exacerbated that trait.
I put the code into the keypad and the door unlocked.
I pushed it open and gestured for Dayton.
His eyes were wide as he took in the room, much like Drea’s had been.
“Don’t come out until I come for you, you hear me?
” I said, shoving him inside. “Don’t open this door for anyone you don’t know.
Stay. Here.” I didn’t wait for him to say anything.
I didn’t have the time. I walked out, shutting the heavy metal door behind me.
I rushed out of the room, keeping my gun up as I moved through the hallway and down the stairs.
I stepped cautiously, picking where to place my feet with each step.
I knew this house better than anyone. I knew where all the kinks were, knew where to step so the staircase didn’t creak. So I could move silently, stealthy.
I reached the foyer and paused, listening carefully.
I had a clear view of the lounge to my right and it was empty.
I went left, moving into the dayroom. I fired on the first fucker I saw.
He was bent over the body of one of our soldiers, ramming a knife into his gut with a sadistic smile on his face.
Someone came running in from the hallway, swinging an axe at my stomach. I used my gun to block, pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the shoulder. He cried out in pain, dropping the axe. I yanked out the blade, flipped it into a reverse grip and slashed it across his throat.
My instincts screamed at me to move and that’s when I heard the footsteps behind me. I pivoted to the side, narrowly missing the thrust of a knife. I kicked the blade away and it clattered to the ground.
He backed up a step, putting his fists up.
“You’re a big fucker aren’t you?” he laughed, dancing on the balls of his feet like some prime time boxer.
“I take you down and all the boys will think I’m the man.
So let’s go big boy. Show me whatchu got.
But I promise you, I know some moves. I’m a black belt in karate and I’ve been known to dabble in MMA. Come on, let’s get it on.”
I pulled out one of the handguns from my chest holster, aiming it right at his head. His eyes widened in shock. Did he really think we were going to have some big macho showdown? He’d broken into my house with a gang of armed men. Like fuck I was playing this game.
“You talk too much.” Was all I said before I shot him clean between the eyes.
As he dropped, someone else walked in from the entrance that led into the kitchen. The machine gun in his hands made me curse.