A few more days passed. Jack pushed open the tall black doors to Henry's office."You asked to see me?" Jack said, standing in the doorway of Henry's office.Henry was flicking wildly at his screen. Zeven sat to the side of him reviewing them."Yes, James. Please. We're dealing with another crisis. I really can't miss another board meeting. Can you go to the Truex Combouya and meet with them on my behalf?""Sir, are you sure you want me to do that? Maybe someone else is more qualified."Henry shook his head and tore his eyes away from the screen. "No, you are the only one I trust right now to handle this. Please hurry. It has to be in-person to instill confidence in them."Jack nodded and hurried out of the room. He hopped in his pod and rushed to the combouya. After a brisk walk, he burst through the door, drawing the secretary's eyes."The meeting is already in session," she said.Jack nodded. He walked up to the door and swiped his hand in front of it. It opened. All eyes tu
Alex exited the board room and jumped in surprise."What are you doing here?" Henry asked.She flicked her fingers quickly behind her back to tell Jack that Henry was out here. She put on a shy smile. "I was visiting James. Is that a problem?"He cocked his head, looking at her. "No.""Are you here for the board meeting? It just got out," she said.He crossed his arms. "I was going to talk to James about how it went."Jack strode out at the mention of his name. "Ah, Henry. You missed it. The board meeting went great."Henry smiled but it didn't reach his eyes. "Good. Anything I should know about?"Jack shrugged. "Sounds like business is doing well and sales are up one percent. They are doing some small tweaking to the budget to increase its sales and changing some marketing ideas to get more humans interested in upgrading.""Sounds like you learned a lot in that meeting."Jack nodded. "Were you able to take care of things on your end?"Henry's eyes shifted to Alex and then b
An unknown number rang to Tom's cuff. He ducked into the corner of the hall and answered it."Hello?""Tom? It's Ellie." She stated, her voice sounded calm, but he could hear a hint of concern in it."Ellie? Is everything okay?""Alex has gone off my radar. I was watching her location and now she's just gone. I'm pulling surveillance to find it, but it doesn't look good. Be careful.""Okay, thanks. You be careful, too.""I will."The transmission ended with a click. Tom backed around the corner to his post. Brooke was gone from her desk. His heart jumped to his throat. With a quick turn, he ran to the bathroom."Kena? Are you there?"No one replied."Kena?" He yelled down the hall. A few heads from other guards turned. "Kena!"He flicked at his cuff. The cuff rang. It rang again."Hello?""Where are you?""What's wrong?""Where are you?""I got summoned to pick up a package at the main entrance."Tom's feet started moving. "Run back to me.""Why?""Just run! Zucchini
The pod pulled up to the mansion. The guards at the gate were missing. Jack got a bad feeling deep down in his core. He reached under the seat and pulled out a lockbox. He flipped it open then drew out the loaded pistol with some ammo. Penny's face drew tight with worry."You should go. Take James. This pod will park next to one that will take you to a friend of mine's house." Jack flicked in the direction of the pod. "They will take good care of you and James. Just, please, be careful."He leaned over and kissed the toddler on the head. He gave him a few pats and a nuzzle. His little hands grabbed at his jacket. "You be good, too, okay? I'll come for you when this is all over.""Be careful," Penny said. "And take good care of our girls.""I will.""I want three more, you hear me?"Jack chuckled. "We're lucky with what we have already." He ducked out of the pod."Three more!" She called after him.He watched the pod zip off down the tunnel then turned his attention back towards
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he whispered into her hair.Lexi holstered her guns and patted his arms. "It's okay. We're okay. We're alive, right?""You should never have seen or heard any of that. Or had to do any of that. Never. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."She laughed dryly. "Dad, come on. Pull it together. This isn't the time to lose it." She patted him a few more times then pushed away. "We need to get out of here. There will probably be more."Jack took a deep breath as he looked down at her. "You're right. Let me grab some stuff and we'll get going.""Do we have time?""Probably not, but we need to be armed. I don't have anything more than a pistol in the second pod.""Where's the first one?""I sent James and the nanny away in it. They'll be safe. I was going to send you in it, too, but the guards were missing and I didn't want to-"Lexi laid a hand on his arm. "It's okay. Let's hurry."Jack jogged to his room with Lexi at his side. He dressed in a tactical suit with a buil
Alex stood locked in a small empty room the size of a utility closet. The walls lay bare except for the light switch. She flicked at the walls, but the screens were disabled and didn't respond.She paced back and forth, rubbing the Vice at her neck. Her bare feet didn't make a sound as they worked the white tile of the floor. She had to figure a way out of here. She needed to find Brooke and Tom. They had to be free. They were only here because of her. This was her problem, her world, not theirs. She flicked her palm open and drew a fireball. Her insides were still hot, but the pull of energy from just one fireball was tremendous. The amount of focus it took to wield it was much harder than it had been when she was pregnant.Alex pressed her ear to the door. Two heartbeats from the other side. She had no weapons other than the fire. She may be able to take out one Alpha, but not two. She sighed, then moved to another wall. There was no sound coming from that side. She tapped on it. S
Jack turned to Lexi. "You have to stay here. Got it?""But, Dad-""No. Stay. Promise me that you will stay?""Please let me help."Jack shook his head. "There is nothing you can do, muffin. Please. I don't want to worry about you. I have to get your mother and I need you to be safe. So take the pod and go. I will catch up as soon as I can." Jack flicked at the controls, locking them in place.He held his arms out for a hug. She stepped into it, burying her face in his shoulder. He held her tightly."I love you," he whispered. "You've grown into a fine young lady. I couldn't be more proud of you.""Please don't leave me again," she whispered.His heart sank and he hugged her even tighter. "It will be the last time. When this is all over, I will always be at your side. I promise.""You better."He stroked the back of her head. "Please be safe." He stepped back to look at her."Wait." She pulled the sapphire ring off her finger and stuffed it in his shoulder pocket."What's th
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him as the gunfire continued to rain down on them. She lifted her chin up. Her eyes connected with his and she smiled.He smiled back. They were going to make it. Somehow, they were going to make it. He tilted his face down and pressed his lips to hers. The liquid electricity filled him. He could feel the energy building in them. He held on to it as he kissed her. She parted her soft lips and he slid his tongue inside. Her tongue moved along his, soft, slow, and passionate. He pressed her against him, gathering the energy they created. He could feel the energy sparkling on his fingertips, asking to be released. He held it back until they vibrated. Finally, he let it go.The white-hot fire burst from them. In his mind, he could feel it like an extra sense. He coated the stadium with it. He could tell it what to touch and what not to. Screams of Alphas pierced the gunshots as the white fire flashed into a nova. He could feel the en