Page 54 of Chain Reaction

Jake’s pulse pounded in his ears as he drove off the ferry onto Lantern Beach and back to Blackout.

The bad feeling still brewed in his gut, growing stronger by the moment.

The one good thing that had come out of this situation was his conversation with Raven. Her words had surprised him. Had made him feel better.

Maybe she didn’t hate him.

This wasn’t the time to address those questions, however.

Fifteen minutes later, he spotted the Blackout headquarters ahead.

Various emergency response vehicles were parked on the other side of the gate. Everyone around the vehicles seemed to have an urgency in their steps.

Something was definitely wrong.

He pulled to the gate and put down his window to address the guard. “What did I miss?”

“It’s been chaos. Our security systems were disabled and all communications cut off.”

A pounding began at Jake’s temples. “I need to get in there.”

“Go right ahead.” The guard hit a button, and the gate opened.

Jake sped inside.

“You think this is connected?” Tension tinged Raven’s voice.

“I think there’s a good chance that’s the case.”

He pulled to a stop in a space near the lodge and turned toward Raven. “Stay here for now—until I know what’s going on.”

She opened her mouth as if to argue, but then she shut it again and nodded. “Will do.”

Waiting in the SUV seemed safer than having her outside, where she could be exposed. Jake had no idea what was going on or what the threat level was.

He only knew something was majorly wrong, and he didn’t like it.

His gaze searched everyone on the sidewalk until he spotted Ty talking to a group of guys there.

“Ty!” Jake jogged toward him.

Ty paused, resting his hands on his hips as he turned away from the group. Once he spotted Jake, Ty turned back toward the group around him. “You know what to do. Go!”

The rest of the guys dispersed just as he reached Ty.

Jake paused. “What did I miss?”

Ty’s expression remained stony. “We’re trying to figure out what happened. Our systems went down, and all communications were silenced . . .”

Jake’s throat tightened. “Is there an active threat?”

“Not that I can tell,” Ty said. “I’m not sure what someone is trying to prove.”

“No more bombs?”

“Not that we know of. But now that you’re here, we could use your help searching the grounds for anything suspicious.”

“Raven is with me.”