Page 88 of Once A Crime Lord

Her daughter’s name snapped her out of the red haze. Blade shoved her toward the stairs and pulled out his gun.

“Hurry!”

Carmen barreled toward her. “Come on, Lyla.”

She whirled and ran upstairs with Carmen. There was a loud boom that made the windows shudder. What the fuck? Did they bring bombs? It was happening all over again. Her worst nightmare was coming true. Sadist was launching an all-out attack. He was here to finish them off. Where the fuck was Gavin?

Beau stood in front of the crib, tail standing at attention, growling low in his throat.

“I’ll get Nora. You have a leash for Beau?” Carmen asked, digging through the drawers and coming up with a baby carrier.

“Yeah. Come, boy,” she said and dashed into her bedroom.

She snatched Beau’s leash and a bag of guns and ammo before stuffing her bare feet into a pair of sneakers. She clipped the leash to Beau and went down on her knees. His ears flicked from side to side as he listened to the commotion outside. She gripped his face and looked into his alert eyes.

“Stay with me, okay? Stay with Mommy. You’re going to be okay.”

She dashed into the hallway and saw Carmen had Nora strapped to her chest with a baby bag slung over one shoulder. Their eyes met for a moment before they moved toward the stairs.

“Let’s go!” Blade bellowed.

They rushed downstairs as Pat tried to scuttle under the couch. Blade hauled him up and shoved him toward the wine cellar.

“Where are you taking me?” Pat demanded.

“We’re getting out of here,” Blade said.

“What? How—?”

Blade pointed a gun in her father’s face. “Do what I say or die. I don’t have time for this shit.”

Pat glanced at her before he held his hands up and allowed Blade to propel him forward. Blade punched in the code for the wine cellar, and they rushed down the wide steps. Blade closed the door. The sudden silence put them all on edge.

“What the fuck is going on?” Pat asked again.

No one answered because they all knew what was happening. Carmen swayed as she cradled Nora’s neck. Her baby was still blissfully asleep. Thank God Nora could sleep through a gun battle.

The cellar was a small room with three walls full of wine bottles. She had been here a handful of times, but she knew what to do. She went to the third shelf and pulled off eight bottles before she saw the square panel. She tapped it and typed in her code before she realized Gavin might have changed it since she went on the run the first time. The panel flashed green and swung inward. She was so relieved, her eyes stung with tears. She shot to her feet and pushed the wall open.

“There’s a way out?” Pat sounded stunned.

He tried to go first, but Blade hauled him back and nodded to Carmen and Lyla. Lyla stepped forward. Two lights at ground level lit up as Beau edged forward, sniffing madly. A dark tunnel stretched out in front of them. The darkness was so dense that she took a step back and bumped into Carmen. Blade and Pat forced her forward. More lights flared.

“Lyla, lead the way,” Blade ordered.

Beau eagerly started forward and pulled Lyla after him.

“Still no phone service,” Blade reported from the rear. “Let’s roll.”

Lights welcomed them into the hollow tunnel made of rock and stone and faded once they passed. Nora fussed, but they couldn’t stop. She focused on putting one step in front of the other and felt naked without her phone, a flashlight, or adequate clothing. The cold penetrated easily through the large weave of her oversized sweater and leggings. Carmen hadn’t changed out of her robe or house slippers and had to be freezing.

The tunnel seemed endless, and the feeling of being safe began to wane. Where the hell were they going? The sound of her father wheezing came from behind her. It felt like a half hour passed before the tunnel opened into a cave with a dirt floor. Four ATVs waited for them. By mutual accord, Blade and her father climbed onto one. Lyla forced Beau onto the floor in front of her and took Nora from Carmen who got into the driver’s seat.

“Gavin doesn’t leave anything to chance, does he?” Carmen asked as she turned the key in the ignition.

“No.” She only wished he could have foreseen that Sadist would strike again. Fuck, four months of radio silence and now this.

Blade took off on a narrow dirt path with only the headlights of the ATV for light. It was like an awful Disneyland ride. They hit ruts that made Lyla clamp her legs around Beau and hang onto Nora for dear life. They climbed steep inclines and then rushed down slopes. Dirt gave way to sand and they continued. The fact that Gavin had carved an escape route through the mountains was unbelievable. The sheer planning and work that must have gone into this was mind-blowing.

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