Page 74 of Breached

“Wait, Daniel’s team was called Blackstone as well?” I had heard that before, but anything to do with Blackstone’s history always seemed to be vague, never hard facts. They were classic at keeping things out of the media, and any files I’d been able to access over the years had been heavily redacted.

“Yes, Cole wanted to keep the name going, so he took it over when he and Mark started their own team. Seems like yesterday.” He chuckled to himself.

“I wonder if Easton will do the same.”

“One can hope.” He patted my hand then turned back to look out the window. I rather enjoyed spending time with Dr. Roberts; he was so calm and easy to be with. It made sense that the guys wouldn’t gravitate toward Bash. He was entirely too aggressive at the wrong times and timid at the times when he needed to be assertive.

We slowed at the first checkpoint, and Chamness showed his ID. The soldier looked inside the car and then at Quinn, who sat in the front seat. Quinn held his up as well.

Then the radio on the soldier’s shoulder made an odd noise, and he looked at it and gave it a pat. It made another sound, and both Chamness and Quinn seemed to tune in to it immediately. It was something that I didn’t catch.

“Stand back!” Chamness barked at the guard, then he looked around like something might be out there. Nothing could be seen. I could feel the guys’ tenseness.

The soldier suddenly put a hand to his ear. I realized he was listening to something as he pressed his earpiece.

“Repeat, Fargus!” Then his eyes went huge. “Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!” he screamed at us, and in an instant, Chamness spun the SUV around so fast I didn’t have time to hold on. He hit the gas hard, and the engine screamed as rocks, dust, and smoke filled the air around us.

Quinn turned in his seat. “When we stop, you get out fast.”

I grabbed my purse. It wasn’t my first time being in a situation like this. I looked over at Sloane, and she reached for my hand and squeezed it.

My heart pounded in my throat. I wondered if this was it and Bruno had sent someone to snatch me. I knew I had pissed him off. That was the plan, but I thought I’d have time to get away first.

“Raven One, we’re heading back to the house,” Chamness yelled over the roar of the engine. The gates have been compromised.” He paused to listen. “Roger that, Raven One.”

He took a hard turn around the house and drove a little way down the hill before he slammed on the brakes and ripped my door open. He pulled me out before I barely got my arm free from the belt. Using a code, he opened a door I’d never noticed before and pushed me through it. It was dark and cold, and it took me a moment for my eyes to adjust. Chamness pulled out a flashlight as Sloane and Dr. Roberts were escorted in by Quinn. Dr. Roberts flicked a switch, and a long passageway lit up. Along the wall were doors, and they all had their own keypad. Odd.

“Come on.” Chamness took the lead.

Sloane and the doctor were right behind us with Quinn at the rear.

“Where are we going?” I asked after a few minutes, feeling my chest might burst. Something about being inside this part of the house felt frighteningly strange and distant.

“Nicole, Shadows was built to keep people out,” Dr. Roberts said gently behind me. “Daniel’s father, Cole’s grandfather, made sure the house had passageways to move about in case of such an event. Right now, we’re heading to the saferoom.”

“Oh,” I dragged my fingers along one of the doors, “is this how Paul was able to get into my room?” I said without thinking.

“Yes, it is,” Sloane said.

“This is all pretty amazing.” I tried to breathe a little deeper.

We stopped at a huge door where Chamness entered a series of numbers and then a fingerprint. The door opened, and we stepped inside to what could only be described as a full-blown apartment. It was bigger than any place I’d ever owned.

That was when I spotted Davie and Dell. They sat in front of tables that held laptops. They each wore headphones and were talking quietly to someone, so we kept our voices down. Both of them glanced up at us briefly, then went right back to what they were doing.

Dr. Roberts looked at Sloane and me as we stood together and gave us a reassuring smile. “This was meant to hold not just Blackstone and their families, but our staff, and whoever else might be here at the time it might be needed. Since the families have multiplied over the years, Daniel and Cole built a second one on the west wing of the house,” Dr. Roberts explained as he nodded toward the generational family photos on the wall.

Chamness turned a switch on a huge radio sitting on the far side of the room, and suddenly we could hear the guys speaking through their radios. “Maybe we can get an idea of what’s happening out there⁠—"

Boom!

The noise was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It wasn’t a bang—it was a force.

“Wow!” I grabbed the closest chair and sat as I realized what was happening on the grounds of Shadows. It had started.

“I thought this whole thing wasn’t supposed to happen for another few days!” Sloane’s voice was laced with panic as she directed her question to Quinn.

“Bruno’s right-hand man was spotted in Fort Benton, but it seems Bruno might already be here. He had people in Redstone that we didn’t know about.”