Page 119 of The Souls We Claim

“Is he here?” I ask as Jax hurries me into the safe room before giving me a swift kiss. He’s turned on the small screen in the panic room that shows me the front and rear doors.

“Yes, kitten. And he brought company. Go. Only open up if you see me come to either of those entrances with my hand up and three fingers raised.”

“Why three fingers?”

“Then they can’t force me to just stand there so you let me in. Also, it stands for three words.I love you. You remember how to connect to the router in here, right?”

Halo walked me through safety precautions when we first arrived. “I do. But that was sweet how you just dropped ‘I love you’ like that. I love you too.” I kiss him. It’s brief, but with as much meaning as I can give to a two-second brushing of lips.

“Like hearing that from your lips.” He pauses before he shuts the door, and studies me for a moment. “You’ve swiftly become the very best part of my life, Ari.” Before I can answer, he closes the door.

The light is dim, so I gently lay the sleeping Lola on the floor on the cushions. It doesn’t give me much space, but I need to sit and breathe for a second.

Worry floods me. For Jax, who morphed into the badass Halo before my eyes.

Panic threatens me. This is a small space. A very small space. I can probably touch either side if I stand. There are weapons in cages, but I have no idea how to arm them. I’m not sure it’s even safe in this small space to have one with bullets in.

But if it’s the only thing I can use to protect Lola with…

I know what I can do. I connect my phone because I need to be able to make a videocall in here to the only person I know can help.

“What’s wrong?” Catalina says when she finally answers. Her forehead is sweaty, hairs sticking to it like she just took her helmet off.

“There are people outside,” I say as quietly as I can. I pan the video to the sleeping Lola on the floor, then back to me. “Lots of them. I’m in King’s safe room and there are guns, but I don’t know how to use them.”

“Show me,” Catalina says.

I move the video slowly over the cases.

“Middle shelf, second from the right. Grab that one. It’s a Glock model 19 9mm Luger. See the little square on the side of the handle? That’s your magazine release.”

I grab the gun and look for the square, finding it close to the trigger. “Got it.”

“Above is the slide stop and slide release. It locks the slide back.” She starts waving to someone.

“Why did you stop, babe?” I recognize Niro’s voice.

“Because there are multiple men outside the cabin and Ari is inside the safe room with weapons she doesn’t know how to fire,” Cat says.

Niro’s face appears in the screen. “Are you secure?”

“For now.”

“Are Bates and the others okay?”

My hands are unsteady. “I don’t know. Did you find West’s sister?”

Niro shakes his head. “House was empty when we got there. My guess is they knew they were moving in tonight and got her out of town. We’re headed straight over to you now.”

While my morals had worried about involving her, my heart drops that a small piece of insurance has been ripped away.

“Focus on the gun,” Catalina says. “Show me the base of the handle.”

I orientate the gun so she can see. “Of course it’s fucking unloaded. You need to look for a magazine. Black. Looks like it could fit in the bottom of the handle.”

“I don’t see anything. There’s a drawer, but there’s a combination lock on it.”

“Keep telling her what to do when she’s got it. I’ll get the number from King,” Niro says, his phone already to his ear.