Basement Level 5: Never Scared (3 page)

“
There’s a security room to the right with surveillance equipment,” Nicholas said. “I’m going to go see if I can get things up and running. Once I do, I should be able to see what’s going on in the house.”

Although she was relieved they were safe, Alexa couldn’t help but be irritated. Sure, it was nice that B5 was available to them in times like these, but it was a basement—an exceptional basement, but still...

The fact that she didn’t know what was going on also annoyed her. She glanced at her children. Thank God they were safe. The need to hold them overtook her thirst for answers. She grabbed them and hugged them close.

“
Where’s Papa?” Ky asked.

Alexa smiled and stroked her daughter’s long black hair. “He should be here soon.
Don’t worry,” she said in Spanish.

Sara cleared her throat. “How long do we have to be here?”

Alexa paused. She hated that Sara was in this situation, hiding in a basement when she should be enjoying college life with her friends. But Alexa wouldn’t lie to her. “I don’t know. I wish I had a better answer for you. Hopefully, once Chase gets here, I’ll be able to tell you more. I’m sorry you have to be here at all.”

“
Don’t apologize. I love you all. You’ve been like my family for so long. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. Do you need me to do anything?”

Alexa shook her head, hoping to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. “We should be good.”

“
Are we going to be safe?” Alex asked, climbing on her lap.

She ran her hand over his dark curls and down his plump, golden cheek. “We’re going to be okay, baby. You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, right? And neither will your Papa. We’ll always protect you.” Briefly, she wondered if she should even make that promise. There were no guarantees at this point.

Forcing her mind from such thoughts, she pulled both kids and Sara into a hug.

***

Chase turned his headlights off and drove into a remote garage, hidden behind a wall of trees about a mile from the massive estate. Turning the engine off, he jumped out of the car, hurried around to the backseat, and yanked the door open.

“
Wake up, CJ,” he whispered, nudging him. “We’re here.”

CJ, his eleven-year-old son, wiped his eyes and peered up at him. “Where are we?”

“
We’re at a safe place. Come on, we need to hurry.”

Once CJ climbed out of the car, Chase rushed to the garage window and scanned the grounds. The rain was still pouring down, which reduced visibility to almost nil.

He wondered who had found the safe house and how. Sighing deeply, he crouched and lifted an old rug, uncovering a trap door. He pulled out a key, unlocked the door, and stared down the long, dark stairway. Motioning CJ to enter, he followed the boy down the stairs, locking the heavy trap door behind him.

At the bottom of the stairs were two tunnels. Grabbing CJ’s hand, Chase took the tunnel on the right. The passageways were clean, dry, and well lit.

He had made sure of that when he built them. Being underground this deep had its limitations, but his background in construction and architecture proved invaluable when designing B5.

His parents were safe in Canada, and he was glad he didn’t have to worry about them. He had called his father to let him know not to come back to the States unless Chase gave him the “all clear.”

However, Kendrick was another story. Chase couldn’t help but worry about him. His brother was smart but he didn’t have any back up. Not to mention, he had the added distraction of trying to protect his wife and kids. And although Nicholas was with Alexa, Chase worried about her most of all. He hoped she’d made it to B5 safely.

After about a half a mile, he and CJ came to a wall. Chase swiped his hand over the wall, and found the hidden ridge. He pulled out a green key, inserted it in the keyhole under the ridge, turned it, and the wall opened.

The smell of fresh paint invaded his nostrils as he walked through the door with CJ right behind him. B5 had two entrances and this one was connected to the laundry room. He heard a gasp and spun around. Alexa stood in the doorway. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her hair was in a simple, but messy ponytail. Her clothes were dusty, probably from one of the unfinished hallways leading to B5. But to him she was still a beautiful sight.

CJ broke away from him and ran into her open arms. “Hi,” he squealed.

Alexa hugged him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re here safely. I missed you.” She gave him a big kiss and pointed toward a door. “The kids are through there and past the kitchen. They’re watching a movie. Go on in and I’ll be right along.”

CJ ran from the room, calling for Ky and Alex.

Chase smiled at Alexa as she rushed into his arms. He held on to her for a couple of minutes, not wanting to let her go.

“
I was so worried,” she cried. “I prayed you and CJ wouldn’t walk into an ambush. I’m so happy you got here safely.”

***

Alexa wanted to hold onto Chase forever, but she realized they needed to talk about what had happened. She pulled back and kissed him on the cheek.

“
I’m fine,” he said. “You don’t look so good, though.”

She nodded absently, wiping off the tears that had spilled onto her cheeks. “I was scared, I won’t lie about that. It’s a good thing you finally finished this place.” It still amazed her that the construction of B5 had been completed just two short months ago.

“
You did well.” He ran a finger down the side of her face. “Everyone should be safely on their way here.”

She nodded and pulled him into the great room. When they entered, the kids ran up to him, wanting hugs.

Chase knelt down to their level. “Are you guys okay?”

Ky and Alex nodded.

“
It took a long time to get here,” Ky said. “But we held hands the whole time.”

“
Nicholas is in the security room getting things up and running,” Alexa informed him.

“
I’m glad he was here with you.” Chase said. He patted Alex on the head and squeezed Ky’s hand.

Alexa couldn’t help but smile. “How about you three go get a bath and put on fresh pajamas?” she told the kids. “Sara, can you help them out?”

Alex frowned. “Mama, we don’t have any pajamas.”

She smiled. “If you go into the room with the big bunk beds and look in one of the drawers, I’m sure you will find some. You’ll also find clothes, toys, and games. That’s going to be your room for a bit.”

Alex cheered and proceeded to pull Sara toward the room with the big bunk beds. Ky and CJ followed.

Once the children disappeared from sight, Alexa pulled Chase into another hug.

CHAPTER 4

Parking near the estate, Kendrick tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. The kids and Kara had settled down on the drive over, but he knew they were all scared. Gunfire and high-speed chases weren’t an everyday occurrence, even considering his past. He peered at his wife, sitting in the back seat, biting her nails, with both kids tucked into her sides.

He sighed and wondered what he could say that would make this all better.
Nothing.
He heard a noise and immediately tensed up. Pulling his gun, he checked his rearview mirrors. Lei’s black Lincoln MKT pulled up behind him, lights off. Ten minutes later, Dro’s black Cadillac Escalade stopped behind Lei.

“
Okay, kids,” Kendrick said, turning to his children. “We need to be extra quiet. When you get out of the car, go straight to Uncle Dro’s truck, you hear me?” When they nodded, he unlocked the doors. He waited for them to get out before he hopped out and followed them to Dro’s truck.

Dro jumped out of his truck and headed toward Kendrick and Lei. “We need to move fast—through the garage,” he said. “We don’t want to be seen. Kids, remember, no talking.”

Kendrick took up the rear and followed Dro down a dark path, through the trees to the remote garage where Chase’s car was parked.

***

Inside B5, Alexa held on to Chase. Eventually, though, she had to pull away. “I guess we should talk now?”

He sighed and dragged her back to him. “Alexa, it’s okay. We’re safe.”

She gripped his shirt. “I know Chase, but not everyone is safe yet. I won’t feel better until they’re all here.”

“
They’re on the way. No worries.” He swiped a thumb under her eye, catching a stray tear. “Listen, why don’t you take a shower and get a change of clothes on? The others should be here shortly.”

“
That sounds good.” He was right. It didn’t make any sense to sit there worrying when there was nothing she could do. She turned and headed toward her room.

A blast of cool air hit her as she walked in. She looked around, still in awe over everything Chase had done. No matter how real this situation was, she just couldn’t believe they were actually in B5. When the idea first came up all those years ago, she thought it was impossible, but Chase had made it work—like he always did. That was one of the things she loved about him. Still, B5 was like life insurance—it was great to have it if you needed it, but you hoped you never did.

This wasn’t the first time she’d had to hide from danger. As a child, her father had shipped her off to different remote locations whenever there was a threat of danger or violence relating to the Martinez Organization. The family business’s success didn’t come from baking cookies.

Those who dared to compete with the company were met with murder and mayhem. Even those who had branched out into the more legitimate Martinez Security, like her immediate family had, weren’t safe from the violence caused by the Martinez organization’s activities.

The question was—were their attackers here because of something the security personnel had done or because of someone in the other part of the family organization?

She walked into the master bathroom, stripping her dirty clothes to the floor as she went. She turned on the shower and waited until steam filled the room. Stepping in, she leaned against the tile and let the water flow over her body.

***

Chase checked on the kids then headed to the security room. Nicholas was busy at the computer. He stood up when Chase walked in. “Glad to see you. We were worried.”

Chase nodded. “Have you been able to get the cameras up?”

“
They’re just running through their startup procedures now. It’s a good thing there was nothing important on the computers in the house.”

“
A very good thing,” Chase agreed. Once Kendrick arrived, he could deal with the computer situation since that was his specialty. “The sooner we can get those cameras up, the better. The others should be here shortly. In the meantime, what the hell happened?”

“
Well—”

A shrill alarm interrupted Nicholas’ explanation. He stepped into the hall with Chase right behind him. Logically, Chase knew it had to be the others, but he was still on edge. He waited cautiously, his hand on his gun.

When Lei walked into the large great room, Chase let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. As the others streamed in quietly, Ky, Alex, and CJ came out of their rooms. They ran up to their Uncle Lei and gave him big hugs.

Dro appeared last. Chase finally took his hand off his gun and smiled at the sight of his family.

***

Dro gripped the phone against his ear and tried to listen to Pop on the other end. “Pop, I can’t really hear you because I’m underground. Chase will be there when your plane lands.” He hung up just as Ky and Alex latched on to him, clinging to his legs. CJ followed suit shortly after.

Dro bent down to address his son. “What’s up, Alex?”

Alex grabbed his outstretched hand. “I had pajamas in my room, and games.”

Dro tousled his hair. “Good. Did you take care of Mama?”

“
Uh-huh,” Alex replied, his head held high. “And I held Ky’s hand the whole time.”

Dro reached out to stroke Ky’s cheek “You took care of your brother?”

She nodded, standing taller and looking straight into his eyes. “Yes. Mama said not to let go of him, and I didn’t.”

“
Good.” Dro pulled her into a hug. “Can you, Alana, and CJ make sure the little kids don’t get too out of control? It’s late and it’s going to be time for bed soon. I love you, baby girl,” he added in Spanish. “And you, too, son.”

“
I love you too,” Ky said, wrapping her arms around him again.

Alex nodded his agreement and jumped into his father’s arms for a quick embrace before running off with Ky to help get the other kids settled.

Dro looked over at Chase. “Where is she?”

“
She’s in the shower.”

Dro walked into the kitchen and pulled a six pack of beer from the fridge. He turned to find Chase standing behind him. Handing over a cold beer, he asked, “Have we gotten the cameras up yet?”

“
Not quite. Nicholas is still working on it.”

After making sure everyone was occupied, Dro asked Kendrick, Chase, and Lei to join him in the security room. They all took a seat in front of the still picture-less monitors.