Page 136 of Fall of a Kingdom

“Aye,” Tony agreed, his tone bleak. “Someone has gotten through our—”

Static filtered through the phone.

“Tony?”

The line beeped and then went silent. I looked at my screen. My phone had dropped the call.

“Fuck,” I said, scrambling up from the couch and running into the house.

The moment I had seen the alert on my phone that several of the security cameras had gone down at the same time, I knew it was more than just something electrical. I felt it on a gut level.

There were too many events that had occurred in the last several days to be coincidence, and I didn’t believe that our state-of-the-art security system would accidentally fail now.

I didn’t know my enemy. I didn’t know who was at my gate. But I did know I had to get my children to safety.

I rushed up the stairs and hit the light switch on the wall when I got to the second floor, but I didn’t stop. I ran to the third floor.

“Julie! Bella! Suze,” I called, and then I pushed open a bedroom door.

“What’s wrong?” Julie asked, her voice tinged with sleep.

I turned on the light. Her hair was askew, and her cheek was creased from the pillow.

“There’s been a security breach,” I said. “You need to get the kids out of here.Now.” She jumped from the bed just as Bella and Suze filled the doorway. I looked at them. “Did you hear that?”

“Yeah,” Bella croaked. “I heard it.”

“Get dressed,” I commanded. “And then meet me on the second floor.”

They attempted to move out of my way, but in doing so, collided with each other, looking like lost little lemmings.

“Whatever you do, stay calm,” I said. “We don’t want to panic the children.”

“I’ll get Piper,” Julie said.

I nodded.

The lights flickered and then went out, pitching us all into darkness.

“Shit,” Suze muttered.

“Double shit,” Bella added. “I can’t see in front of my face.”

“Mam!” Hawk yelled. “The lights went out!”

“Do you have your flashlights?” I hollered back.

I had my phone in hand and I turned on the flashlight feature which allowed Julie enough light to find her phone and do the same. She illuminated the hallway for Bella and Suze.

I took the stairs carefully, not wanting to trip on my own two feet. When I made it to the second floor, I called out for the boys. Their doors were open, and Noah and Iain popped their heads out. Noah held a flashlight in one hand, and it blazed brightly. Thank goodness for little boys who liked tents and nature, who always had flashlights nearby. Thank goodness their father was Flynn Campbell and he had taught them to be prepared.

They were dressed in jeans and thick wool sweaters. Their hats and coats were by the front door.

“Where’s Hawk?” I asked them.

“He went to Piper’s room,” Iain said. “He didn’t want her to be scared.”

Iain’s voice trembled, letting me know he was terrified.