She picked up on the first ring.
“Rose,” he spoke quickly. “Someone’s in the building. They’re in the system.”
He heard her moving quickly. He’d left her naked in bed, so the rush of fabric was easily depicted as her getting dressed. Unfortunately for him, he was in simple sweats and bare feet. He had plenty of condoms in here, but no shoes. Go figure.
“How long?”
Keys’ jaw tightened. “Seven minutes, give or take. The apartment’s system is independent,” he reminded her. “I activated it, but only you can control it. Get to Oscar’s room and stay there?—”
“I can help!”
“You can help by guarding our son,” Keys snapped, harsher than intended. “I don’t know what’s happening, but you’re safest there.”
“What about you?”
“I’m in the lab, and I’ve notified the club and the Riley brothers.”
There was a slight pause before she begrudgingly said, “Fine. But I swear to God, Keys, if you get yourself killed, I’m bringing you back as a robot with no dick.”
Keys had to stifle a laugh so he didn’t get distracted. “I’ll do my best. Be careful, and if anything feels off, you call me.”
“Same. I don’t have my set up in here, but I’m not helpless.”
“I know, baby.” His fingers never stopped moving on the keyboard. “I love you.”
“Don’t you fucking tell me that like you’re actually saying goodbye,” Rose growled into the phone.
A noise on his comms alerted him to another communication. “I’m not, baby, I swear. But I do have to go.”
“Wait! I was just being a bitch! I’m sorry. I love you, too. Please don’t die!”
“You’re not being a bitch,” he told her with a slight reprimand in his voice. “Take care of our boy.”
“I love that you call him ‘ours’.”
“Rose,” he warned, hearing the alert again.
“I know, I know. Sorry. Please be careful. Don’t worry about us. I’m in his room and I have my gun.”
Keys prayed to Nethys that she didn’t need it. He hung up before either of them could say anything else and get distracted even more. Switching to the new connection, he said, “Thorne. Eastern perimeter’s been breached and someone’s in the building. Camera’s been compromised, roughly ten-minute window. I have no eyes on that section, unless I make it known we’re aware they’re here.”
Thorne’s voice came back immediately. “I’m on the move. I was crashing in Poker’s room last night. Got him and Scooby with me. Others are on their way.”
Checking another monitor, Keys said, “Ghost didn’t answer my alert. I’m reaching out to Bulldog and Lucky.”
“I don’t know what was going on last night, but Bear was called away from the game early. He didn’t say why or to where, and I assumed it was to his own home, but maybe the two are related.”
Keys frowned, because he hadn’t gotten any messages from the club. He hoped Tessa was okay, but then again, if it was Ghost who summoned Bear then maybe it was Becks.
“Where are Grimm and Goose?”
“Five minutes out,” came over the comms. It sounded like Goose. There was road noise in the background. “Catch us up. Where are we headed and what’s happening?”
Keys pulled up every feed he had, cycling through them fast, looking for anything else that had been touched. He found two more that he knew weren’t present minutes ago. A door sensor on the eastern ground floor entrance showing closed when it might not be, and a motion detector covering the service corridor that had been taken offline entirely. The entire eastern side of the building was blind.
“Thorne, service corridor, eastern ground floor, now,” Keysinstructed. “Goose, Grimm, pick up the pace. I don’t know what the fuck is going on or who is in my fucking building, but I am not happy.”
“We’re nearly there! I just have to—oh fuck! Boss! Boss, you’re not going to like this, but there’s a caravan headed your way! All armored vehicles! What the fuck is happening?!”
