Trouble in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 1)

by Sloane Meyers

  Suddenly, a laser beam shot through the solar panels and zinged the ground right next to her. With a yelp, Silver jumped aside. Thousands of shards of glass started falling around her as the solar panels shattered under repeated blasts from the laser beam. Her eyes wide and incredulous, Silver scrambled to the corner of the room and tried to stay out of the way of whoever was wildly shooting. As more panels shattered, Silver could see outside now. But she couldn’t see the sky. All that was visible was a huge cloud of smoke and a wall of orange flames. She felt her heart dropping. Whatever was going on out there didn’t look like it was very conducive to her escaping via the roof. She would have to find another way out. But how? She was running out of options, and she had a feeling that it was only a matter of moments before Mr. Astor or his security guards burst into the attic with guns blazing. Maybe it was even his security guards up on the roof, somehow trying to block her escape. Silver tried to take a deep breath to calm her nerves, but she instantly started coughing as her lungs filled with smoke.

  She turned around and started to run back toward the attic’s exit. She had to get out of here. A roof escape was obviously not an option anymore. She had no idea what she was going to do, but hanging around here in this smoky room wasn’t doing her any good. Just as she reached for the door handle, though, she was stopped by a familiar voice calling out her name.

  “Silver! Silver, wait!”

  Silver turned around, and saw a dark shadow falling through the smoky air from above, landing on the attic floor with a thud.

  “Jack?” she asked, tears suddenly springing to her eyes. He had come after her. Somehow, he had found her and come after her. It seemed impossible, but there he was, his silhouette running toward her through the smoke. As soon as he reached her he threw his arms around her and started kissing her face over and over.

  “Oh my god, thank god you’re okay,” he said, planting kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, and even her nose.

  “Jack, you came for me! How did you find me? And how did you get onto the roof? And-oh my god your forehead is gushing blood,” Silver said, noticing for the first time through the thick, smoky air that Jack had a large gash across the left side of his forehead.

  “It’s okay. Just a scratch,” he said. “Could have been a lot worse, trust me. Of course I came for you! We all came for you, actually. And wow, look at that dress! You’re looking quite fancy for being a kidnapped prisoner.”

  Silver couldn’t stop herself from chuckling. “I ‘borrowed’ it from Mrs. Astor after I shifted and lost my own clothes.”

  “You shifted?” Jack asked, looking concerned. “Did Mr. Astor see you?”

  Silver nodded. “Yeah. Long story, though. We should probably get out of here and save story time for later.

  Suddenly, there was another thud as another large silhouette fell from above and landed in the room. Then another, then another. Silver tensed up for a moment, unsure of whether these newcomers were friends or foes. But she soon felt both relief and disbelief flooding through her as she realized who had joined them.

  “Sawyer? Bash? Daddy!” Silver screeched out and ran into her father’s arms.

  “How did you get here? It’s so good to see you! What are you doing here?”

  Anderson laughed as the words tumbled out of Silver’s mouth. “I’m rescuing you, along with these three boys. I must say, you’ve caused us quite a lot of trouble today.”

  Silver didn’t respond. Tears were really running down her face now. “I can’t believe all of you came to rescue me. I thought I was done for!”

  “Well, let’s not get too excited yet,” Sawyer said. “We aren’t out of trouble yet. We can’t leave the way we came. Our helicopter’s up in flames out there, and we had to saw Bash out of it with our bear claws. Got him out just in time before it really started burning. Jack here came ahead to start looking for you, but it seems you didn’t take long to find.”

  “I was already here, trying to escape through the roof,” Silver said.

  “We’re going to have to find another way,” Anderson said. “Any ideas, Silver?”

  “Well, I know all the exits very well. But this place has eye scanners at every exit, and it’s on lockdown right now. If your eye scan doesn’t match an approved list, the doors won’t let you out. It’s a freaking fortress.”

  “Who is on the approved list?” Jack asked. “Joe’s family?”

  Silver nodded. “I would think everyone in his family is on the list. Probably all of the security guards, too.”

  “So we just need to grab one of them and force them to scan their eyes. Then we can all escape. Easy. Boom. Done,” Jack said.

  Silver felt a little silly as she realized that Jack was right. “Why didn’t I think of that?” she said. “Although, I’m not sure how easy it’s going to be to capture someone. I’m pretty sure this place is swarming with heavily armed security guards. They’re probably all surrounding Mr. Astor like bees.”

  “It’s our only shot,” Bash said. “We don’t have a choice except to make it work.”

  Sawyer nodded. “Don’t worry. There are five of us. We can shift if necessary to give ourselves an extra edge, but let’s try to avoid doing that if we can. And let’s all stick together. I’ll lead the way, Anderson, you take up the rear. No one gets left behind, no matter what. Silver, you know this place pretty well, right?”

  Silver nodded.

  “Good. Stay up front with me to help navigate. Let’s go.”

  Silver pointed to the attic’s exit, and the group started making their way out. Just as they left the room, a huge crash sounded behind them. A huge hunk of burning metal had just fallen into the attic, quickly igniting several nearby boxes.

  “Let’s move,” Jack yelled, giving Silver a gentle push and a tap on her ass. “That helicopter is gas. It might blow at any moment.”

  Silver quickened her pace, coughing to try to clear her lungs of the smoky air that filled them. She could hardly believe that her dad was here, too. Jack had been so dead-set against involving any of the elders, but he must have changed his mind when he couldn’t find her. Silver was touched that he had obviously put her well-being ahead of his own fears about talking to the old folks. Silver had a lot of questions about what had happened and how Jack had even known where she was, but she would have to save those for later. Her top priority right now was still getting out of here alive.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  Jack glanced at the electronic watch on his arm. It had only been three minutes since they’d left the attic, but it felt like an eternity. This condo was unbelievably large, and the hallways were complex. Silver seemed to know them pretty well, but it didn’t matter how well she knew the hallways if they couldn’t find someone whose eyes would open the doors. The longer they were trapped in here, the more Jack worried. Surely, a helicopter going up in flames on a rooftop in Chicago would not go unnoticed. No doubt there were firemen, policemen, and other law enforcement agents on their way right now. Jack wanted to be far, far away from here when the dust settled on this whole situation.

  Silver turned down another hallway, glancing over her shoulder to look at Jack for a moment. He could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She was worried, too.

  “This hallway goes to Mr. Astor’s office,” she said. “It’s like command central for him, so there’s a good possibility he’ll be there.”

  When they arrived at the office a minute later, however, the room was completely empty. The place looked like a tornado had gone through, with overturned chairs and a huge crack in the computer screen that formed the top of Mr. Astor’s desk. Silver looked around, the frustration clearly showing in her eyes.

  “I was sure someone would be here,” she said.

  “Looks like someone was,” Bash said. “Someone was in here tearing this room apart looking for something.”

  “Well, whatever it was they probably found it, and they’re long gone,” Sawyer said. “Let’s keep moving. No sense i
n wasting any more time here.”

  The group continued down the hall, trying their best to ignore the alarms and smoke. The uneasy feeling in Jack’s stomach grew with each passing second. This was taking too long. And why hadn’t they seen a single person? Not even a security guard seemed to be roaming the halls.

  “Guys, I think everyone may have left already,” Jack finally said. “The building is very obviously on fire, so maybe everyone else already escaped.”

  “Well that’s just great,” Bash said. “How are we going to get out if we can’t find someone to help us bypass the eye scanner on the door?”

  “Is there somewhere we could just break through the walls?” Anderson asked.

  Silver shook her head. “No, Daddy. The walls and doors are reinforced with thick metal. When I tell people this place is a fortress, I mean it quite literally. It’s not nearly as simple as just hacking through the walls.”

  Jack watched Anderson furrow his brow, but the old man remained remarkably calm. Jack was impressed with the general calmness that Sawyer and Anderson seemed capable of. Even when the helicopter crashed and burst into flames with Bash trapped inside, they hadn’t panicked for a single second. Jack was beginning to see that he might have been wrong about refusing to call them in to help sooner. Sure, they were a little old school with their viewpoints on clan law. But these guys knew how to handle dangerous situations.

  Bash’s face turned dark, and Jack could tell that he was struggling to remain calm. “We have to figure something out, and soon. Otherwise we’re going to burn alive in here. This entire place is obviously built to be flame resistant, but it’s not enough to combat the mass of fire currently taking over the roof.”

  Jack bit his lower lip and tried to think. His only idea was to try to find rope and break through the windows, then lower themselves down. He wasn’t sure where to find rope long enough for that, though. If they couldn’t get all the way to the ground, the fire department would rescue them. But then they would have to admit to having been in the condo, and they would have a lot of explaining to do. That option seemed only marginally better than burning alive at the moment.

  Suddenly, Silver snapped her fingers. “I know what to do,” she said, turning around and starting to run back in the direction they’d come from.

  “Where are you going, Sil?” Jack said. “You’re heading straight back to the fire.”

  “I’m heading straight toward the room Mrs. Astor uses as a closet,” Silver called out over her shoulder. “She’s still in here, I guarantee it. That woman is crazy about her clothes. She’s probably freaking out right now, trying to pack up a bunch of stuff to save from the fire.”

  A grin spread across Jack’s face. “If you’re right, then we can grab her and use her eyes to get us out of here.”

  “Exactly,” Silver said. “Come on, everyone, hurry up. We don’t have a lot of time. Firemen are going to be swarming this building within minutes. I’m surprised they’re not up here already.”

  The group all fell into step behind Silver, following her closely as she ran back through the hallways. The smoke was getting thicker and thicker, making it hard to see anything. Silver didn’t slow down, though. She seemed confident that she knew exactly where she was going. After a few minutes, she reached a large bedroom and burst into it.

  “Where are you, Mrs. Astor?” Silver called out through the black smoke.

  A surprised coughing sound came from the back corner of the room. Jack strained through the dim light to try to see. Moments later he heard an angry shriek and saw a tall, skinny silhouette rushing toward Silver.

  “You skank!” the silhouette cried out. “That’s my dress! And my shoes! How dare you!”

  The woman, whom Jack quickly realized was Mrs. Astor, started trying to tear Silver’s dress right off her body. Jack stepped up and grabbed Mrs. Astor, pinning her flailing arms to her side. Mrs. Astor desperately tried to escape, but Jack was far stronger than her.

  “Looks like we’ve got our set of eyes,” Jack said. “Let’s move. Silver, take us to the closest exit.”

  Silver nodded, then paused. “Wait. What’s this?” she asked, bending down to look at a small black object that Mrs. Astor had dropped in the middle of all of her flailing.

  Jack squinted at the small black square. “Looks like a data drive,” he said. “Hold on to it in case there’s something useful on it.”

  “No! You can’t have that! It’s mine!” Mrs. Astor yelled out, wriggling even harder to try to get free. No matter how hard she struggled, though, her stick-thin arms were no match for Jack’s burly biceps.

  “I’d say it’s definitely got something useful on it,” Sawyer said, seeing how much Mrs. Astor was struggling. “Come on, Silver. Let’s go.”

  Silver nodded and stuck the data drive into one of the small pockets on the dress she was wearing. “I thought those pockets were ridiculous and just for show,” she said. “But I guess they are actually good for something.”

  She laughed, and then started running again. Jack did his best to follow as closely as he could, which proved more difficult than he would have liked. Mrs. Astor continued to struggle, and even kicked one of her high-heeled feet into Jack’s shin at one point. The stabbing pain this sent through his leg caused him to yelp and let out a string of expletives. He reached down and pulled the shoes off, throwing them aside with another long string of curse words.

  “Hey, those are my favorite Louboutins!” Mrs. Astor screamed.

  “Should have thought of that before you kicked me with them,” Jack hissed out, throwing Mrs. Astor over his shoulder as he struggled to catch up with the group. This woman was a piece of work.

  By this time, they had reached an exit door. Mrs. Astor started laughing when she saw where they were.

  “You guys aren’t going to be able to get out,” she said. “It requires an eye scan, and you’re not on the list.”

  “Are you really such an idiot?” Silver asked, her patience clearly running out. “YOU are our ticket out. We’re going to scan your eyes, and get out.”

  Mrs. Astor looked momentarily taken aback, but then smirked again, and squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “You can’t scan my eyes if I refuse to open them,” she said.

  Silver shook her head in exasperation, then turned to the door. “Computer, open door,” she ordered.

  “Eye verification required,” the computer replied back. “Please get in scanning position to confirm your identity.”

  Silver looked back at Jack and nodded. He dragged Mrs. Astor, who kicked and fought the whole way up to the eye scanner. Mrs. Astor still had her eyes squeezed tightly shut, so Bash and Anderson stepped up to help Jack hold Mrs. Astor still while Sawyer and Silver each reached out to try to force the stubborn woman’s eyes open. Even when they pulled her eyelids back, though, she rolled her eyes back into her head to keep them from scanning her irises, which was the part of the eye that the scanner used to register identity. Exasperated, Jack decided to try startling Mrs. Astor. Normally, he wouldn’t raise his hand to hit a woman, even in a war type situation. But all of their lives were on the line right now, including Silver’s. And Jack would be damned if he let anything happen to the love of his life.

  With a determined look on his face, Jack pulled his fist back and then brought it forward with all his might, landing it squarely in the middle of Mrs. Astor’s stomach. Her face registered a shocked look and her eyes flew open in surprise. She realized her mistake and quickly shut her eyes again, but it was too late.

  “Identity confirmed, Mrs. Astor,” the computer said. “Door opening.”

  “No!” Mrs. Astor cried out. “You tricked me! That’s not fair.”

  Jack could hardly believe his ears. “None of this is fair,” Jack said, letting go of Mrs. Astor quickly, causing her to tumble to the ground. “Especially not the way you treated Silver. If I were being ‘fair’ right now, I’d tear you to shreds. We don’t need you anymore. You’re free to go back to saving
your precious clothes, if you want. I suggest you leave the building, since it’s on fire. But that’s your call. You’re on your own from here.”

  Mrs. Astor started screaming something about how they were all going to pay for this, but Jack didn’t bother to reply. He quickly left the condo, following the rest of the group as they ran down the hallway. A new alarm started blaring, and the computer started sounding off a warning about how more than one person had exited the door under a single eye scan. Jack laughed at the absurdity of setting up a security scanner to lock people in. The Astors had basically turned their home into a prison. What an awful family.

  Jack quickly caught up with the rest of the group, who were now standing in front of the elevator, arguing over whether or not to take the stairs.

  “You’re not supposed to take an elevator in a fire,” Bash was saying. “It might not even work properly. We could get stuck and burn to death.”

  “We have to take our chances,” Silver said. “Going down fifty flights of stairs is going to take way too long, even if we shift to bear form to run faster. We’re already pushing our luck. If the police catch up with us while we’re still here in this building they’ll arrest us as suspects. I guarantee you Mr. Astor is down there whining about how he has so many enemies and that the police have to stop the criminals who want him dead. We have to get far, far away from here before they can arrest us.”

  “She’s right,” Jack said. “We have to take our chances on the elevator. It’s probably still working okay, since the security system seems to be still working okay.”

  Bash frowned, but nodded. Silver pushed the button to call the elevator, and moments later, it had whooshed up to where they were. Jack held his breath as they all made their way inside and the door closed behind them. Silver pushed the button for the bottom floor, and the elevator started speeding downward. So far, so good. The whole group was silent as they waited the few seconds it took the elevator to reach the ground floor. Even though the elevator was top-of-the-line and extremely fast, time seemed to stand still.