Basement Level 5: Never Scared (2 page)

Nicholas glanced at the children. “We’ll call him,” he said softly as he grabbed a cell phone. “What about Sara?”

“
We have to get her.”

“
Did you take the stairs down here?” he asked.

“
I didn’t want to take the chance. I was closer to the elevator, so I took that.”

“
Okay, let’s go up in the elevator.” He grabbed his gun off of the desk and placed it in his back holster.

Thunder roared in the sky. The kids jumped. Alexa bent down to their level. “It’s going to be okay!
Come on.”

She hated that her children had to go through this, but she knew Ky was a strong, capable girl. She would protect Alex to the death if she had to, and Alex would protect her as much as he could.

They all raced back to the elevator and rushed inside, pressing the A button. Nicholas dialed his phone then shook his head. Apparently Chase wasn’t answering.

Sara was lying across her bed with her iPod on. She jolted when Nicholas touched her arm. “Oh my God! You scared me.” She scanned the faces of the group. “What’s wrong?”

“
Intruders,” Alexa whispered. She was afraid she wouldn’t be heard above the rumble of the thunder, but she didn’t dare speak any louder. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nicholas with the phone to his ear again. “We won’t be able to get out of the house,” she continued. “We have to go to B5.”

Sara’s eyes widened, but she grabbed her backpack and followed Alexa and Nicholas to where the children waited, huddled by the door.

Nicholas yanked out a silver key, hurried to an old curtain on the far side of the wall, and unlocked the door hidden behind it. “We have to take the back stairs,” he said softly, then glancing at Alexa, he added, “I still haven’t been able to reach Chase.”

Alexa closed her eyes. The last thing she needed was to be worried about Chase. He would walk right into the trap if they couldn’t get in touch with him. The sudden ringing of her phone pierced the silence. She yanked it out of her pocket. “Hello.”

“
Alexa?” Chase demanded.

“
Chase? Thank God! Where are you?”

“
I’m on my way,” he replied, but the static made him hard to hear. “I saw that Nicholas had called me. Is everything okay?”

“
No. We have uninvited guests and they’re not friendly. I didn’t see much but there are at least four of them. There may be more. I don’t know. They’re all over the house, though. We’re up in the attic and heading down to B5.”

Chase cursed. “Hurry down there. I’ll be there in a few. Don’t worry. I’ll make all the necessary calls.”

She hung up the phone, setting it on vibrate only. “Let’s go.”

“
Is he going to call?” Nicholas asked.

“
Yes. We need to hurry.”

He opened the door. The walls of the staircase behind it were still unfinished, the steps uncarpeted. Once they were all on the landing, he pulled the curtain closed, shut the door behind him, and locked it with the key.

“
Don’t touch anything,” Alexa told the children. “And stay close. Ky, remember to hold Alex’s hand.”

They scrambled down the staircase as fast as the children could go. Sara held on to Ky’s hand while Nicholas brought up the rear. As they made their way down several flights of stairs, shouts could be heard in other parts of the house. Apparently, the men wouldn’t stop until they had searched every inch of it.

CHAPTER 2

Alejandro was speeding down Interstate 81 when the phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID before answering. “What?”

“
Dro, it’s me,” Chase answered.

“
I know. What’s up?”

Chase took a deep breath. “There’s a problem at the house.”

Dro nearly dropped the phone. “What kind of problem?”

“
Alexa called. She has unwanted guests. She doesn’t know the exact number, but she thinks at least four men.”

“
Shit.” Dro slammed his fist against the steering wheel. “Is Nicholas there?”

“
Yes, he’s with them. I’m headed there now. I’ll go down through the garage. We need to contact everyone.” Chase sighed heavily. “There’s no way anyone should have known the safe house’s location, let alone get close enough to break in.”

Dro looked at his sister, Ariana, sitting in the passenger seat. Then he glanced at his twelve-year-old niece, Alana, in the backseat. “I have Ari and Alana with me. Call Kendrick and I’ll call Lei. Get there now and make sure no one sees you.”

“
I’m right around the corner. Hurry.”

***

Kendrick yanked his ringing phone out of his pocket. It was his brother, Chase. “What?” His frantic wife and children were screaming, making it hard for him to hear.

“
Kendrick, what’s going on? Is that gunfire?”

“
We have a problem—unwanted guests with big guns. I’m trying to get Kara and the kids out of here.” He paused to shoot at their attackers. “Shit! Come on, Kara, grab the kids and let’s go.” He put the phone back to his ear. “We’re headed out to the garage. I hit one of them, but there are more. Where are you?”

“
I’m on my way to the safe—”

“
Kara, try to calm the kids down,” Kendrick shouted. “I can’t hear.”

“
I’m headed to the safe house,” Chase continued. “Alexa has her own share of these bastards. They are headed to B5. Come quickly. Dro will meet you there.”

“
Okay,” Kendrick yelled as he unloaded a few more rounds. He didn’t bother hanging up as he started the engine of his Lincoln Navigator and backed out of the driveway.

“
Get down!” He glanced at his terrified wife and kids and took a moment to reload before returning fire on the relentless strangers. Bullets whizzed by the truck and bounced off the glass. Thank God, he’d invested in the special bullet proof glass. Unrolling the window slightly, he fired his semi-automatic pistol through the opening.

Then he screeched around the corner on two wheels and sped through the neighborhood, watching his rearview mirrors to make sure he didn’t have any followers.

***

Lei lounged on the couch, drinking a glass of scotch and watching a movie with his wife, Makayla, who was lying next to him.

His cell phone rang. “What’s up?”

“
We have problems.” Dro’s voice was eerily calm. “Some men broke into the safe house.”

Lei jolted in surprise, dropping his glass on the floor and startling his wife. “Is Alexa okay?”

“
Chase talked to her. She and the children are heading to B5. I have Ari with me. Chase is on his way there. I need you to call Pop and then get there as soon as possible. Meet me at the garage.”

Lei hung up the phone and turned to a wide-eyed Makayla. “You need to get up. We have to get out of here.”

“
What’s going on?”

“
I’ll tell you in the car. We have to go. Now.”

She rushed to the bedroom and came back with her purse.

Lei dialed his mother, Veronica. While the phone rang, he packed his laptop into a briefcase. “Ma, I’m coming over,” he said when she answered. “Pack a bag and be ready when I get there. Call Pop and tell him we have a problem at the safe house.”

“
Is Alexa okay?”

“
She’s fine, Ma, but we don’t know what’s going on. I’m on my way, be ready.” He snapped the phone shut and hurried to the garage.

The car was already running when he charged out of the house. Makayla had started it. He jumped in, backed out of the driveway, and sped down the street. After a few minutes, he looked at Makayla. “It’s going to be okay.”

She stared into the night. “Is it ever going to be okay? What happened to Alexa?”

“
Someone learned the safe house’s location and broke in. She had to take the children to B5. But she’ll be all right.”

“
You always say that, Lei. But what if she’s not? The fact is no one should have known where she was. She didn’t even tell
me
when I talked to her the other day. Obviously someone is hell-bent on getting to her. First, someone attempts to snatch her from the grocery store. Now, she’s getting ambushed at a location very few people knew about? And you’re telling me everything’s okay?”

“
She’s fine, Makayla. Alexa can take care of herself.” He tried to stay calm, but it was harder as time passed. He hoped he was right. Although he knew she could indeed take care of herself, she was still his baby sister.

Makayla didn’t say anything else, and they rode the rest of the way in silence. When they pulled up in front of his mother’s house, Veronica barreled out the front door with a black bag on her shoulder.

“
I called your father,” she said as she slid into her seat. “He’s going to catch a plane home as soon as possible. He’s worried about Alexa.”

Lei looked at his mother in the rearview mirror. “Pop shouldn’t worry. He knows Alexa can take care of herself. She’s fine.”

Veronica’s dark eyes welled with tears as she sputtered, “But—the children—she hasn’t—”

“
Ma, don’t. She’s fine.”

***

Dro’s death-grip on the steering wheel had turned his knuckles white. What was happening at the safe house? If any harm had come to Alexa and the children...

He couldn’t stop thinking about his family. He was farther away from the safe house than anyone else. What if he didn
’
t get there in time?

Ari had been watching him without comment. Now she placed a hand on Dro’s arm. “
Hermano, todo estara bien.
”

“
You don’t
know
it’s going to be all right,” Dro growled. He kept his eyes on the road, and willed himself not to think of worse-case scenarios.

“
B5 is secure,” Ari said. “And we’ll figure the rest out when we get there.”

“
I hope so, Ari. Because if she’s not okay...” He couldn’t finish the thought. Alexa had to be all right. If she wasn
’
t, there would be hell to pay.

CHAPTER 3

Her heart thundering in her ears, Alexa herded everyone down the dusty, narrow staircase. Who could have known where they were? Only a handful of people knew the location of this safe house, which meant someone close to them had betrayed them.

The children were silent. Sounds from above told her the men were still in the house. They were obviously searching—probably destroying everything of value—and wouldn’t stop until they got what they came for. Fortunately, Chase had thought of all that when he designed the elaborate tunnel system and hidden stairways.

Once they reached the landing at the bottom of the stairwell, she peered down the long, narrow hallway on her left then turned and headed that way. “Are you okay?” she asked, glancing back at the kids.

They answered her with nods but didn’t speak.

When she came to a dead end, Alexa pulled a brass key out of her pocket. Smoothing her hand across the wall, she hunted for the ridge Chase had told her about. Once she found it, she lifted it, revealing a keyhole. She inserted the key and turned it.

The wall slid open.

Alexa walked through the opening then looked for another key hole. Once everyone was on this side, she used the key again and the wall closed.

What a difference from the dungeon-like hallway! The freshly painted walls and the plush carpet seemed strangely out of place, considering they were in an underground bunker.

Alex tugged on her shirt. “Mama, where are we going?”

“
We’re going on an adventure and we’re almost there.” She picked him up and headed down another corridor then down two more short flights of stairs. A steel door blocked their way. Using the same key, she unlocked this door and heard a short beep. The lights flickered on and fresh cool air flowed from an overhead vent.

They stepped inside. Nicholas pushed the door closed. It locked automatically with a loud clang.

Turning around, Alexa sighed deeply. The foyer was decorated like their house—ceramic tile, coat hanger, and a half bath off to the side.

“
Wow,” Ky whispered as she took in her surroundings.

“
It’s nice, huh? Uncle Chase did well, didn’t he?” Alexa shifted her weight because Alex was squirming in her arms, wide-eyed and eager to explore. She lowered him to the floor.

Chase had thought of everything when he designed this place. Alexa wasn’t surprised, though. He’d always been a calm and dependable friend. Over to the left, there was a hallway leading to a great room. The huge sectional in the middle and the big screen TV were just her style.

She toured the rest of the bunker. Connected to the great room, the full kitchen boasted dark cherry wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. He had even put in a breakfast bar. No wonder Chase had been busy on this project for so long. He’d spared no expense to make this place feel just like home.

B5 was located five floors underground with plenty of living space, five bedrooms, lots of bathrooms, and several other rooms that were sure to come in handy. Chase had outfitted it with a state of the art security room, laundry room, and even a playroom for the children. The only problem was the lack of windows.