Page 39 of Hacker Revelation

Glass shattered in the kitchen, and everyone’s eyes turned toward the noise. Muffled voices drowned out the sound of rain. I jumped up and grabbed Ant and Alex Jr. in my hands and ran down the hall to the panic room. Getting the boys to a safe place was my number-one concern.

I could hear shouts from the kitchen. The lock mechanism opened when I pressed my thumb to the pad, and the steel-reinforced door opened. Tears ran down Ant’s chubby cheeks. I set him and his cousin in the room and put a finger to my lips for them to be quiet. “Take care of your cousin. I will be back soon.”

The door closed with a thud. I could hear faint cries from the other side. My heart broke when I stepped away from the door. I wanted to turn back and cradle my baby in my arms. Instead, I had to deal with someone who thought they could break into my house.

I reached for my phone to dial 9-1-1, but cell service had been disrupted. I couldn’t send a text out or let anyone know we needed help. The room next to the panic room was Antonio’s office. In the safe, he kept a large supply of weapons. After I input the date of our wedding, the safe popped open, and I grabbed two Glocks and shut the safe door.

I could hear Bridget’s cries in the hall. “Who—” Bridget asked before a loud sound of skin hitting skin echoed through the house and cut off her words.

“Where is the redhead?” The men wanted me. When I peeked around the corner, three men’s faces came into view—Juan’s men. Had Antonio been sent into a trap?

All three men were heavily armed.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins.

Sophie growled when one of the men pointed his guns at Bridget’s belly.

I raised the gun in my hand and walked around the corner. My heart was kicking against my ribs. I wasn’t going to let anybody come into my house and harm my family.

“What do you want?” I spotted a fourth man in the kitchen.Damn. When my gaze went past him, I saw Brock’s two men lying on the ground outside the door. My gut twisted, thinking they might be dead.

The gunman’s eyes focused on me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Sophie reach under the table. Antonio was like Zane in that he had guns under the coffee tables. Ours also had to have a thumbprint for release. Antonio had uploaded all our friends’ prints in case this very situation occurred.

I saw Bridget reach for her phone and swipe her finger across it. She was trying to dial 9-1-1. She didn’t know they had jammed the cell frequency. Her call wouldn’t go out.

To keep the men’s attention from my friends in the room, I walked to the right and headed for the kitchen. “What do you guys want? Did Juan send you?” I asked a second time. I tried to keep my voice calm.

The only hope we had was that Neal’s cameras were on and he would send help. Four gunmen would be a hard fight.

Fear fought to take over. My friends and family were in danger.

The thug who seemed to be the leader stepped forward. He was the biggest of the men. His bulky body was three times my size. “Where is the ledger, you cunt?” he snarled at me.

Ledger? What ledger did they want? I was about to respond when it hit me.Fuck. The ledger I took from the bunker. When I got home from being detained, I placed it in a kitchen drawer. With everything that happened, I forgot about it.

When I didn’t respond right away, he motioned to one of his men, who moved his gun from me to Sophie. I forced myself to keep my cool. If I showed any type of vulnerability, they would take action.

“It’s in the kitchen. Follow me.” I hoped someone in the living room could use this moment to strike.

“Don’t be dumb, bitch. Tell me where it is, and I will get it.”

I pointed toward the kitchen drawer.

When the leader turned to walk past me, I used the opportunity to hit him over the head with the butt of the gun. He dropped to the floor with a thud.

“You fucking bi—” a man almost as large as the leader shouted. He swiveled his gun in my direction. Before he had time to fire, a loud bang sounded from Daisy’s direction.

She was standing, with her eyes level with the target she had taken out. Her cheerful smile was gone.

With my attention on Daisy, I didn’t hear the leader get up from the ground. A thick arm came around my throat. “Drop the gun, or this bitch dies.”

With my eyes, I pleaded with Daisy not to listen, but she obeyed and lowered the gun to the floor. Bridget had tears streaming down her face.

A glint of silver in Sophie’s direction caught my eye. She had a gun.

“Boss, we need to hurry up.”

The leader had dragged me over to the kitchen island. “Open it.”