I go over and do as he asks. Three screens turn on showing four different angles on each one, inside and outside the house. There is one right outside the door and a man is there, doing his best to get in, jamming numbers on the keypad. I tell Noah everything I see when he asks, the number of the camera and what is there. Where the men are.
“We’re here.”
“Be careful.”
“Turn off the screens. Do it Cherry, I don’t want Oscar to see.”
“They’re going out the back.”
“Good, I have to go. Turn the screens off.”
I look up as a man tries to run through the door to the yard, but he falls backwards like a car has hit him. Just before I flick off the screen, Noah steps into view and he runs at the man, jumping on him.
The screens all turn off when I slap the power button and I take a step back. Noah shot that man. I should be in shock but I don’t have time for that. They were trying to kill us. They might have killed Jesse. Someone messed with his insulin.
I have no idea if they know about Oscar or if they were going after Jesse, but they weren’t expecting me. Not that I’ve done much. Searching the small room, there is a sink and a door leading to a small toilet. The bed, a fridge which is fully stocked and all the electronics.
Soaking two cloths at the sink I place one on Jesse’s forehead to try to bring his temperature down, and then pull Oscar onto my lap as I sit on the ground beside him, talking softly to him as I clear his face of snot and tears. He clutches the puppy between us and I press a hand to the back of his head, holding him close. Jesse is doing his best to eat the chips I'm passing to him.
It’s hard to hear anything going on upstairs but there were three men in the house and even though I was watching Noah coming in the back,I saw his men swarming in on the other cameras. Easily outnumbering them.
Whatever they’re doing, they need to do it fast. I’m really scared for Jesse right now and there is literally nothing more I can do to help him.
Chapter Twenty Three
Nero
Nothing can come close to the fear and rage pouring through me right now. Hearing Jesse and then Taylor’s voice, Oscar screaming in the background. My soul tore out of my body in that single moment as the thoughts ran through my head that I’ve lost them. All of them.
There is no doubt in my mind who this is.
As we race to my house I curse living so far away. Rebel is in my ear warning us to be careful, it could be another trap but I can’t even think about that. Not when I don’t know if my family is safe. My bike races ahead of the others but they keep behind me, not letting me do this alone.
Another call comes through from Rebel. “We can’t get hold of Gunner.”
He’s dead, they will have taken him out first. I mourn him for a few seconds then ask Rebel to get off the line so I can call the house. He doesn’t argue. We blast through the streets, recklessly swerving to avoid cars. It’s a miracle no one is seriously hurt or the cops haven’t caught up to us.
None of it matters. The phone rings and rings and I about lose my shit until she answers. She tells me they’re safe and even though I can hear Oscar crying, knowing they’re in the panic room eases some of the pressure.
That thing cost me nearly thirty grand, but it’s fucking worth it, knowing they’re protected. Now I can focus everything on the assholes in my home. Going after my son.
Then Taylor says something that scares me. That Jesse is in a bad way. After she has told me what she can see on the camera screens, that there are only three of them, I make sure she turns off the screens as I swerve my bike around the side of the house. I jump off it and it slides across the floor and lands on its side but I don’t care.
“Cherry, turn off the camera now.”
“Okay.”
I hang up and round the back of the house, the door opens, and a man comes through it. He isn’t looking at me so when I pull the trigger, he can’t escape, and falls back into my house. Adrenalin pushes me on and I burst inside, dropping down and punching the man who is gasping for air. He’s wearing a mask, which I rip off. I don’t know who he is.
“Where is Storm?” I scream in his face.
“Fuck you.”
I grab his head, pull it up and ram it back down on the floor, rattling his fucking teeth and cracking something.
“We have the others. One down, Fury is taking the other one.”
“Keep him alive. Where the fuck is Storm?” I shout again, shoving the gun under his chin and punching him in the gut where I shot him. He cries out and blood spurts from his mouth. I hit him again and again.
