He leaned down and gave me a quick, firm kiss. “Just making sure everything’s still quiet. Then I’m all yours again.”
I settled back against him, tracing the tattoo on his right pec while he scrolled through the feeds. Then his entire body went rigid beneath me.
I lifted my head. “What is it?”
His eyes stayed locked on the screen, and I glanced down to see that one of the exterior camera tiles had gone completely black. A moment later, another feed blinked out.
Brogan sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. I scrambled up beside him just as the entire house plunged into darkness.
The power was gone, but I felt Brogan turn toward the window. “I smell smoke.”
19
JACQUELINE
We were out of bed in a flash.
“Clothes. Boots. Now,” Brogan ordered, already yanking on his jeans.
I scrambled into the first things I could find while he shoved his feet into his boots. Then he grabbed his gun and phone. The house was pitch black, so he took my hand and led me down the hallway to the breaker box in the utility room.
Using his phone as a flashlight, he cursed. “No tripped breaker. Power’s out.”
We moved toward the front of the house. Brogan opened the door just enough to look outside, and a shot cracked through the night, the bullet slamming into the wood only inches from his head. He yanked the door shut hard and tugged me behind his back.
“Smells like accelerant, dammit,” he growled.
“What about the exterior roof and perimeter sprinklers Grandpa installed for wildfires?” I asked, my pulse thundering in my ears. “They should run on a backup generator.”
He moved us away from the front of the house, careful to keep himself between me and danger. “Won’t do any good if they damaged the water line too.”
“All of this for the notebook?” I whispered.
Brogan’s voice was grim as he murmured, “They gotta eliminate you as a witness too if Wade wants to keep his son outta jail.”
“Crap, right.” I pressed trembling fingers to my lips.
“Thank fuck the club is next door.” At my confused look, he added, “Cipher programmed the alarms to trigger if the power goes out. Most common way for thieves to bypass a security system.”
“Oh.”
“My brothers will be here soon.” He tipped his head toward the door. “Those assholes wouldn’t have counted on that.”
He was right. It didn’t take long for the low roar of multiple bikes and trucks to reach us. Gunfire erupted outside as the Black Crowns engaged the men blocking the main drive.
I grabbed Brogan’s arm. “They also don’t know about the old route through the root cellar. We can get out of here without them ever knowing.”
“Not sure why I’m surprised I had no fucking clue.” He shook his head and interlaced our fingers. “Otis liked his secrets.”
He let me lead him downstairs into the basement. Then he helped me push aside a heavy wooden shelf on the far wall, revealing a narrow door.
“My great-grandfather used this during Prohibition. The way I heard it, he ran bootleg alcohol through here to the back of the property. It comes out near the old oak.”
Brogan nodded. “That’ll work. Good job, baby.”
We moved through the dark, damp tunnel as fast as we could, his phone lighting the way. When we emerged into the cool nightair behind the house, the smell of smoke was stronger. The barn nearest us was fully engulfed on one side.
I pointed. “Daisy’s in the third stall on the left. Please?—”
