Chapter 246

The phone goes dead, the call cut off. From where I am, with my face smashed against Archer’s chest, I can’t tell if Neil ended the call himself or if the Alpha King hung up. I suppose it doesn’t matter right now, what with the Pyramid in darkness and who knows what potentially breaking in.

If the power is out, potentially the security system is too. And if the security system is out, then any number of enemies could be breaking in at this very moment.

At least we were all together… except Mia!

I gasp.

“Archer! We have to get Mia!”

“Shit,” he growls. “Steven?”

“I’m working, I’m working.”

“We’ll go together,” Neil says. “Move as a group. There’s safety in numbers.”

“Okay,” I say.

Mia’s room isn’t terribly far from the living room, but with the fear gripping around my heart, it is the longest five minute walk of my entire life.

My heart is pounding so hard I can hear it in my ears. My limbs are trembling. I’m not going to collapse or anything, but having Archer’s arm around my middle is helping do wonders for me. It’s as if I can feel some of his strength seeping into me, like I’m borrowing it.

When we finally make it to Mia’s room, I rush to her crib – only to find she is fast asleep inside of it, blissfully unaware to the terrors of the world outside her dreamland.

“We’ll go to the panic room,” Neil says. He’s stayed at the doorway and he’s peering out. Steven is still typing away on his tablet.

“Which one?” Beau asks him.

“My room is the biggest,” Neil says.

The other brothers nod.

I scoop Mia from the crib, careful not to wake her, and hold her against my chest. Then I walk with the others toward the door. Archer stays at my side, his protective arm around my shoulder now.

With nothing more than a glance between them, the brothers seem to devise a plan. Neil and Beau go out into the hallway first. Neil guards one end of the hallway while Beau guards the other. Then Steven leads the way into Neil’s bedroom. Archer stays at my side the entire way, as me and Mia bring up the rear.

At the far end of Neil’s bedroom there’s a bookcase. Steven pulls on a book, and a secret door pushes inward. Steven goes in first, then Archer leads me in.

Inside the room is a simple couch and chairs. A plastic bookcase sits in one corner. It holds jugs of water and some non-perishable foods. Along the closest wall is a series of monitors with a keyboard and a landline phone. The room is lit up by a series of battery-powered lanterns. Did Steven turn them on remotely?

Archer has me sit on the couch with Mia, then he goes to guard the door. Beau returns first, then Neil. Neil and Archer then close the massive door. I see how thick it is now, unlikely to let anything, even bullets break through it.

Steven goes to the keyboard and begins tapping away. This computer must be on some kind of backup power source as well. It comes to life quickly.

“I’m turning on the generator,” Steven says. A few clicks later, and a fan turns on overhead. A much stronger light flickers to life and the room is suddenly much better lit.

Mia squirms, waking up in my arms.

“Shh,” I tell her and rock her gently. “Go back to sleep, Mia. Everything’s okay.”

Beau comes over to me and sits beside me. He smiles down at Mia, though it doesn’t reach his eyes. His adrenaline is surging. His protective modes are kicked in. His body is tense, like he might shift at any moment. But he doesn’t. He just smiles at Mia, and then up at me.

“It’s going to be okay, Nanny. We’ll keep you safe.”

I realize then, yeah. The Alpha King kind of made a threat on my life. On all our lives, actually. Then I start to tremble. Am I in shock? No. No, I can’t be. I’ll face mortal peril all the time as a warrior. I won’t let some Alpha King asshole on a power trip bring me down.

I look at Beau and say, “I’ll keep you safe too.”

“How are the security systems?” Neil asks as he walks to where Steven is typing away on the computer.

“Online now, with the generators,” Steven says. “Though from first glance, it does not appear the Pyramid has been breached.”

“He’s flexing his strength,” Archer growls.

“Like we don’t already know how strong he is,” Beau scoffs.

“No, this can’t be right…” Steven says. He types some more into the computer.

“What is it?” Neil prompts.

“He didn’t just turn off the power to the Pyramid,” Steven says. “He cut the power to our entire section of the city!”

Beau looks at Archer. “That’s more than a flex.”

“What about the hospital?” Neil says. “Can we reroute some of our power there?”

“They have a generator of their own,” Steven says. “I made sure of it, the last time you were there.”

The brothers all fall silent.

Mia starts to babble now, unknowing of the seriousness of the situation.

“She’s up from her nap now,” I whisper, when all the brothers turn to look at her. In their eyes, I can see something harden. They are all fiercely protective of what is theirs. To have Mia have been in such danger must have set off some kind of instinctual fierceness inside of them.

“You’re safe now, Chloe,” Neil says, and I realize that the look they were giving Mia wasn’t exclusively for her. They are now giving me a similar look.

I don’t work for them anymore. I’m not an employee. I don’t know what I am. A friend? But they shouldn’t feel the same protectiveness for me as they would for a family member.

Yet, with that look, I know they do anyway. And nothing I say to them or to myself will change that.

I only wish it could help me feel any safer.

The Alpha King just flexed his power, shutting off an entire city section just to leave us in the dark and prove a point. That kind of reach… it’s frightening.

I could fight in a war as a soldier and warrior, facing opponents of equal skill. But how could I possibly fight a King who controlled everything from the power grid to the water supply, and all in between.

The odds against us seemed insurmountable.

I don’t want to panic, I try to keep my cool for the sake of everyone in this room including myself. But I can’t deny that I’m properly intimidated.

And I’m also fearful as hell for the brothers.

The Alpha King will want a meeting with me someday. If I don’t go to meet him, he’ll do something to the brothers.

I don’t know if I can trust that. But if push comes to shove…

I understand Carrie’s predicament with fresh consideration now. When Carrie had believed turning me over to the Alpha King would make things safe for Mia, she had been willing to do it.

What am I willing to give to make sure the brothers stay safe?

My own life?

I hope I never have to find out.