Chapter Twenty-Four
Braxten
A piercing siren yanks me from sleep. My eyes spring open, the flood lights from outside lighting up the darkness of my room. Sleep quickly clears from the dark edges of my mind, throwing me into action.
Alice gasps awake, covering her ears. She looks over at me, her face a mix of panic and confusion as she sees me putting on my jeans. “What is that? What’s going on?”
“The security has been breached.”
“What?” she screeches.
I toss her my shirt. “Put this on.”
She follows the order, but asks a thousand questions as she does. Questions I don’t answer because there is no time. Instead, I grab the rifle next to my bed, double checking that it’s locked and loaded.
“Braxten, please answer me.”
I turn toward her. “There’s no time. Right now, I need you to do exactly what I tell you, do you understand?”
She nods, fear paling the color of her face.
“Let’s go.” Grabbing her wrist, I pull her from bed. “Stay behind me!”
Her trembling hands grab onto the back of my jeans as she follows me out of the room. I keep the rifle trained in front of me, surveying the space as I head for the front entrance.
Despite the adrenaline pulsing through my veins, I’m calm. Poised and ready, my body and mind trained for whatever awaits.
The moment I open the door, I’m blinded by the flood lights. My vision adjusts quickly and I find Justice on his front porch, his own gun trained as Ryanne stands behind him in the doorway.
Justice motions for us to keep moving. “I got you covered.”
I head for the shop, but don’t make it far before Knox comes barreling out, shot gun in hand.
“He’s running!” he bellows, his quick feet never faltering. “East sector.”
I send Alice across to Justice. “Watch her!” My bare feet pound the hard earth as I take off running, making a wide berth from Knox in hopes of cutting the bastard off.
As I enter the woods, I dodge trees and duck branches, adrenaline pushing me harder and faster.
Eventually, I spot the fucker, his tall, dark form barely a shadow in the distance.
Knowing he’s too far to catch, I lift my rifle, bringing it to my shoulder.
My scope brings him into focus as he runs for the vehicle parked up the road.
I note it’s a brown Oldsmobile, the same car Lenora described.
With this as my only chance, I steady my breathing, calming the wild rhythm of my heartbeat, then take my shot, aiming at the spot in his back that will blow a fucking hole right through his heart.
The second I pull the trigger, he swings left.
He grabs his arm, his pace barely slowing.
“Son of a bitch!” I pull back for my next shot, but he’s already in the car, peeling away.
Knox appears on my right, firing off a shot of his own. He blows out a tire, but it’s not enough to bring it to a stop, the speeding car disappearing in the distance.
“Fuck!” The word rips from the angry depths of my soul.
“Should I get the truck?” Knox’s chest heaves, ready for battle.
I shake my head, knowing he will be long gone by then.
Turning around, we head back to the house in silence. The rage coursing through me festers with every defeated step I take, my mind working overtime as I take in what I saw through my scope.
We exit the woods, coming into view, and I find my father next to Justice. Gwen stands behind them with the others at the door, a scared Hannah clinging to Ryanne.
Alice pushes past my brother, relief exploding from her as she runs down the stairs, throwing herself at me. “Are you okay?”
I hold her close, offering her what little reassurance I can. “Yeah, I’m good, Wonderland.”
Knox makes eye contact with Justice and my father, delivering the news of our defeat with a shake of his head.
“Goddamnit!” Justice lashes out, punching the pillar of his porch, his rage mirroring my own.
Within that rage lies serious doubt because the intruder I saw through my scope was not Hobbs. I am certain of it. He was too tall, too fast, and too fit. Which means, we’re either not dealing with who we think we are, or we’re dealing with more than one threat.