Page 81 of Broken Discipline

“Mama, I don’t like this,” Leon said.

“I’m scared, Mama,” Larkin said, tears filling her voice.

“It’s going to be okay,” the nanny said, putting her hands on top of theirs. “It’s going to be fine. We’ve just got to listen to your mother. She knows what she’s doing.”

My fingers twitched on the steering wheel. I had no clue what I was doing, but no one else was there for us.

It was just me.

Orange construction cones came into view, lining the edge of the highway, blocking the exit for the highway to Oakmont. My jaw dropped. We hadjustused this ramp. Had the Marked Blooms Syndicate set this up?

Another SUV rammed into ours, and the car lurched forward again.

Larkin sobbed, and Leon yelped, “Stop it, Mama! You’re scaring Larkin!”

I had to do something. I could take the next exit and pray that it was open.

Or I could go around the cones.

I sped up, skirting around the dividers. The asphalt was clear, as if the cones had been put up solely to block us. But a line of cars—SUVs, town cars, even a few police vehicles—created a thick metal barrier at the end of the off-ramp. I stomped on the brakes, the SUV screeching to a halt.

Every car had an armed soldier in it. And Saunders, the salt-and-pepper-haired board member, was seated in the middle of them.

Crying rang in my ears like a giant bell vibrating in my brain. The kids held each other’s hands, the nanny’s arms wrapped around them protectively.

What were we supposed to do?

My phone rang.Finnblinked on the screen. I answered quickly: “Finn?! Finn!”

But there was no sound.

The call had dropped.

Saunders motioned for me to come forward, and I looked back at the kids. “Stay in the car,” I demanded. “Protect them,” I ordered the nanny. She nodded, her chin trembling.

I opened the car door and eased myself to the ground. I lifted my hands in the air. “Please don’t shoot,” I shouted.

“We didn’t plan to, Mrs. Carter,” Saunders said, his voice irritatingly jovial. Two more car doors opened. Gore and Upchurch stood with ease. Bloom crossed his arms over his chest, and Upchurch leaned forward, leering at me.

Even if I got back in the car and rammed forward, I couldn’t guarantee that the SUV would push through the cars and carve a path for us to escape.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, Mrs. Carter, but we don’t take subterfuge lightly,” Bloom said.

Tires screeched behind me, coming to a halt right outside of the SUV. My chest palpitated, tremors rocking through my body. Soldiers in suits stepped out of the car, running toward the SUV. Everything in my mind went still.

“No!” I cried. “Stop. Don’t—”

There were thick woods to one side of the ramp and cars on all other sides. We were trapped. There was nowhere we could run.

I raced forward, flinging my arms at the soldiers’ chests. I pounded my palms into their bodies, but they didn’t move. A fist punched my chest, knocking me to the ground. My breath wheezed from my lungs.

Where was Finn?

I blinked, desperate to focus. Arms and fists flailed in the car. A suited arm removed a gun, cocking it. I shoved myself forward. I opened my mouth, screaming,Those are my kids!

But no words came out.

The bullet went off, the head of blond hair lying limp against the seat. A man grabbed me from behind, restraining me. I twisted, thrashing as hard as I could, but it was no use.