“Hey there. Damn, you’re going to think I’m the most unreliable bastard on the planet. I’m hours late this time.” His voice sounded brittle, as if his attempt at humor was failing miserably.
Relieved to hear his voice she said, “I was working on my water system, so I wouldn’t have heard if you did try to call. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I heard on the news about the riots.”
“Yep. It’s a mess out there. I’ve been with my team all day guarding buildings. Couldn’t get back here to contact you.”
“What? No special high tech phones?”
“None that I can use to call you without getting my ass chewed.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Listen, there’s something I need to tell you. These riots will get worse before they get better. You live in that secure compound over on the north side, right?”
She absorbed the realization that he knew her location. “How did you…never mind. You’ve got access to government records, don’t you?”
“Yeah. There’s a lot of information on your father. The government didn’t like him much, did they?”
“They considered him a threat because of the stupid letters he used to send to them about Yellowstone or Long Valley erupting. As if he was a mad scientist and could cause the volcanoes to erupt.”
“Who’s laughing now, eh?”
She snorted softly. “No one. I hate that he was right.”
“Only partially right. Unless you believe his religious dogma.”
“No.” She said the syllable firmly. “Never that.”
“We need to get you out of there. ASAP.”
Taken off guard, she asked, “What?”
“You need to leave that place.”
All her alarm bells went off. “Why?”
“I realize your Father built a fortress, but there are people who will get in, and unless you’ve got an army living in there, you don’t have enough protection.”
“How do you know what I have in here? I could be hiding a tank.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, you probably could in that place. Look, what do you have for protection?”
Suspicion twisted inside her, and she hated that. She wanted to trust this man. “I don’t think that’s any of your business, nor should we be discussing it on an open frequency.”
“Fair enough, but do you honestly think you have a chance alone if some serious bad asses decide to storm the place?”
“Father knew what he was doing when he set up this compound.”
She heard talking in the background and couldn’t make out the words.
“Seriously, RomWriter148. Do you have weapons?” he asked.
“Yes. Firearms, steak knives, harsh language. The entire works.”
“Damn it, I’m trying to be serious. I don’t like that you’re alone.”
His concern was surprising, although she imagined any decent human might worry for another in dire circumstances. “I’m fine here. I have enough to last me a long time. The riots won’t go on forever.”
“Do you also have training in hand-to-hand combat?”
Her father had seen to it that she knew basic self-defense, but she wouldn’t exactly call it combat training. But she also didn’t have to let him know that. “Yes.”
He grunted. “Good. You might need it.”
“My most immediate problem is that the mechanical room has sprung a leak. Water is coming out brownish or grayish.” She clapped a hand over mouth as the words escaped. Hadn’t she just spouted off about open frequencies? She was an idiot.
“Ash deposits getting into the water maybe.”
“Do you know anyone who could come and help me?”
“Actually I do. One of the guys who works here is crazy talented with fixing things.”
“Could I pay him to come and help me out with this before the mechanical room floods?”
“He’d do it for free.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.” He switched gears. “Mally, the situation isn’t getting any safer. Things are starting to calm down today, but some seriously messed-up people have moved into our little city. I think you should consider coming to our garrison where it’s safer.”
“This compound is very safe. I can wait them out.”
“Can you? A few locals, even if they are a minority, have advocated the wealthy giving up all their worldly goods. Including money.”
Her stomach dropped again. “I’ve given half of Father’s money to charity over the last few years. More than half. I’ve given funds to disaster relief…especially this one.”
“Yeah but these crazy-assed idiots think people with a lot of funds should just turn it all over. It doesn’t matter that you’ve already given away a sizable amount. They want it all for their own reasons. Like buying weapons. They want an excuse for violence. Things will turn uglier.”
Fear crept higher, and she hated that she was allowing it to shake her. “So you’re saying I’m a sitting duck even here?”
“Possibly.”
The doorbell rang.
She started. “Holy crap.”
She froze for a full ten seconds, shocked. No one had rung that doorbell in…well, forever.
“What’s wrong?” Rescue248 asked.
“Doorbell. That means someone breached the gate. Why the hell didn’t the alarm go off for the gate?”
“Shit,” he said.
“I’ll be right back.”
“Hey, wait!”
The doorbell rang again. Mally rummaged in her father’s old desk where she kept the Glock he’d taught her to use many moons ago. Hell, he’d taught her to use more than that. One room in the bunker was a damned arsenal, but she hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She rushed upstairs to living room and the video feed next to the front door that showed who stood on the front porch. Decked out in a bright red jogging suit was Creepy Guy, packing some series heat in the form of a semi-automatic. Oookay. What the hell?
People hadn’t visited Father in his last few years here. They’d avoided him. Avoided everything about the eccentric—fucking crazy they’d said—man who predicted the end of Earth as they knew it. Yet it shouldn’t have surprised her that this guy had decided to turn up. He pounded on the large steel door, and this time sheer rage furrowed his brow and curled his lips. She flipped the sound switch under the video screen.
“Hey lady, I know you’re in there! Come out here and pay restitution.” He hammered the mesh screen door with his fist. “Heard they’re making all the rich bitches like you pay up for your sins. ‘Cause its bitches like you that made this volcano shit happen. Your father once said all the sins of the world would bring this upon us!”
Yeah, the guy is a nut ball. She could wait him out. Eventually he’d give up. Then six other men came into view behind Creepy Guy. They didn’t look like thugs, but like everyday, general men she’d see mowing their lawns or guys playing basketball on a Sunday in the neighborhood. One forty-something was wearing a suit and tie, for heaven’s sake. The others looked very young. Late teens maybe or early twenties. Caucasian males with black hoodies and those stupid-looking baggy jeans that threatened to fall off their asses at any time. How the hell had they entered the property? Obviously the same way Creepy Guy had gotten in. Her muscles tightened and her breath shortened.
“Hey there, man,” the guy in the suit said. “What’s going on?”
Would he be a voice of reason for the rest of them? She could only hope.
One of the thug kids slipped the hoody off his blond head. He looked no older than sixteen, but she couldn’t say for certain. “Is this where the rich lady lives? We heard about her on television.”
Creepy Guy smiled. “Yeah, but I get first crack at her.”
“Crack at her? Are you doing a home invasion?” the guy in the suit asked.
“Yep. She deserves to give us her stuff,” one of the other boys said.
His companions joined th
e chorus in agreement with laughing and jeering.
“Shit,” Mally said under her breath. “Shit, shit, shit.”
Creepy Guy lifted his long gun, backed up and fired at the door.
Chapter 4
Mally flinched at the booming sound, but stayed where she was as the bullet bounced off the steel door. Tension gathered tight and hot in her stomach as the threat outside went into high gear. Again and again he peppered the door with bullets, and she wondered when one would ricochet and hit him. Maybe he was drunk off his ass.
He shot again, and she flinched. The sound was loud despite the heavy door. Her breathing came quicker, her heart starting to bang in her chest. Insecurity squeezed her heart. She had enough firepower in the bunker to do the men outside serious harm, but the thought of using it turned her stomach.
Right then another alarm went off and she understood exactly what the sound meant. Something had gone terribly wrong with the system throughout the compound. Fear shot through her body. If the locks failed, anyone could simply walk right inside.
Damn it.
She turned and ran through the living room and back to the bunker. Once inside, she slammed the door and secured it. If somehow Creepy Guy and the loonies that joined him found their way inside, she’d have to wait him out down here.
Then she heard Rescue248’s urgent voice coming from the office. “Damn it, answer me RomWriter148!”
She rushed to the office and set the Glock on the table. “I’m here.”
“What’s going on?” His question was urgent and deep.
“Creepy Guy who’s been standing outside my gate is somehow at my front door. There’s six other men now with him. He’s shooting at the door right now and the rest of my security system just went down. He could get in at any time.”
“Shit,” he said. “Are you somewhere safe in the house?”
“The bunker.”
“I’m coming for you now,” he said, voice taut with determination.
Another loud noise came from above. “Hold on. I’m switching on the other cameras. I should have thought of this earlier.”
The fact she’d gone all the way upstairs to view the front door camera was stupid when she had screens down here in her office—she felt like an idiot.
She went to the table where six monitors sat and turned them on. Powered up, they showed crystal clear pictures around the property. Creepy Guy threw open the front door and marched inside with the other men right behind him. Her heart leapt right into her throat and threatened to choke her.
She grabbed the radio. “Creepy guy just came in the front door with all his friends.”
“I’m coming for you now,” he repeated.
She closed her eyes and wondered if the madness would ever end. Anarchy seemed right around the corner.
“Mally, stay in the bunker until we get there.”
“We?”
“The streets are still wild enough it isn’t safe for a one-man army. I’m not going across town without a little help from my friends. You say there are six men?”
“Yes. And Creepy Dude has a semi-auto of some sort.”
“No problem.”
She took a shuddering breath. “Look, I don’t want to be responsible for you getting hurt or killed.”
“You’re not responsible for anything I do. I make my own decisions.” His voice went deeper, the husky tone sending a sweet shiver along everything feminine within her. “Worried about me?”
Heat filled her face. “I—look, just don’t get your ass shot off.”
“I won’t. And Mally, don’t leave the bunker until we get there.”
“How will I know it’s you?”
“Got a camera at the front gate?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll be in a black SUV, geared up in full battle rattle. I’ll hold up my identification.”
After he left her with static, she didn’t switch off the radio, half afraid he’d call back and say they weren’t coming and couldn’t spare the resources. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She steadied her nerves, or at least tried. Her heart still hadn’t slowed down, and part of her was thoroughly disgusted with herself for allowing any panic. Creepy Guy was probably drunk, but it didn’t really matter since he’d gotten over the wall and into the house. Was there a weak spot? Nah, that couldn’t be. All that concrete and the fact the wall rose twenty feet high made it unlikely anyone could scale it without climbing equipment. The gate would prove a serious obstacle for one man trying to conquer it because the top featured razor wire.
Still, now that several men invaded the property, she felt more vulnerable and lacking than she ever had before. Her sanctuary was breached. The scary world outside was darker and dangerous.
“Damn,” she said.
That’s when she realized that Rescue248 knew her name, but she didn’t know his.
How much could she trust this guy who knew her name but hadn’t given his? Battle rattle. Only people in the military or former military used that type of verbiage. Well, she’d find out soon enough if he was legit.
Despite feeling tired as hell, she kept a close eye on all the cameras. She couldn’t see what the men above were doing. But she could hear the crashes through the audio. She flinched. They had to be wrecking her upstairs.
Just take what you want, assholes, and get out of my world.
But what world did she have now they’d trashed it? Where could she be safe?
For at least fifteen minutes she heard the crashes, the laughing.
“What are you doing up there? Having a bake sale?” she asked under her breath.
It wouldn’t be too much longer before they found the bunker. At least the bunker door was secured manually even when the rest of the system went down. Still, her heart galloped and her breath came faster as her predicament hit her full in the face.
Heart pounding, she looked at the front gate camera and saw a solid black SUV, streaked with dirt and mud, roar up to the gate. A man jumped out of the passenger side front seat. He was a tall figure in all black. Black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, Kevlar vest with pockets all over it, t-shirt, leather gloves, cargo pants and matching combat-type boots. Solid jaw, determined and grim mouth. Five o’clock shadow over olive skin. The baseball cap obscured his hair, but black eyebrows arched just above his sunglasses. He held up a leather wallet to show an identification card. His name and birthdate. Thirty-five years old. She pushed the button that would allow her to talk to him as a combination of wild relief and continuing fear poured through her veins.
“Adam Becker, Sentry Security,” she said, feeling a little dumb saying it out loud for no particular reason. She had a name to go with that gorgeous voice. “You really made it.”
“Hey Mally.” A simple statement, cloaked in that husky and fluid tone that rumbled over her senses in a ridiculously sensual way. He tucked the identification into a pants pocket. “Stay inside the bunker until we disable these boneheads.” His voice demanded no argument. “We’re ready to clean up this mess.”
With that he jumped back into the SUV and it pulled rapidly through the gate. She saw it park close to the front door. Adam and two other men spilled out and entered the front door with moves she’d only seen military men make when clearing an area.
She gripped the weapon in her right hand. Muscles tightened across the back of her neck and shoulders. Mally felt like she might crack as she listened to the action on the audio.
“Hands up!” another distinctively husky, deep male voice said out of the range of the camera.
The suit man and the blond kid held up their hands in surrender.
“Hey man,” one of Creepy Dude’s friends said, “you should help us, not arrest us, pigs.”
“Wrong agency, you ass,” said a voice with a distinctive Scottish accent.
“Get the fuck outta here!” Creepy Dude said at the top of his voice.
“Put it down before you get hurt!” Adam’s voice broke through the silence.
“Fuck you!” Creepy Guy’s voice crackled with hostility.
Mally’s throat felt like it was closing as tension tightened her body.
She heard someone roar, yelling at the top of his lungs. Shouts. Grunts. Sounds of fighting. She couldn’t see a damned thing as they fought outside the camera angle. Finally the sounds decreased, and she was pretty sure the three security men had taken down the invaders.
Adam’s voice shouted, “Mally, if you can hear me, it’s okay. We’ve got them.”
Relief spilled over inside her all over again, but her hands shook. Screw this. She wasn’t staying in here any longer.
She rushed to the bunker door with her weapon still in hand. She opened the door and took the stairs slowly. When she reached the living room and open kitchen area the devastation was obvious. Everything was trashed. Tables overturned, furniture shattered. Food lay in a mess all over the kitchen counters and floors.
“Oh, damn,” she said.
Adam didn’t look up as he kept his full attention on the man he pinned to the ground. A second man stood close by, a semi-automatic rifle in his hands but pointed away from Creepy Guy for the moment. Yet another guy stood near with firepower, decked out in the same military-like clothing. All three men looked loaded for bear and ready for anything. A weird, curious excitement twisted in Mally’s belly at the same time undeniable fear prickled and stung. Her skin turned to goosebumps.
Adam leaned down close to the guy’s ear. “What’s your name, sport?”
Creepy Guy was panting, as if he’d run out of breath. “Bob. Bob Tanner.”
“Well, Bob Tanner, my friend Mally tells me you’ve been stalking her.”
“No,” the guy said, a whiny tone in his voice. “I don’t stalk women. But she’s one of the rich. She needs to open her house to everyone!”
Adam sniffed. “You stink. You been drinking?”
“Yeah.”
Adam cleared his throat. “Figures. I don’t care if you think she’s rich or not…she’s a human being. Second, you don’t threaten to hurt a woman. If I ever find out that you’ve put your hand on a woman in anger, I’ll hunt you down myself.”
Ashfall Page 3