Page 148 of Stormhold

“Kill the power and keep Gigi ready,” I said to Mikhail just as they left.

“On it,” he muttered, typing on the pad that controlled our entire house system. Gigi was a prototype house security system.

Bella and I exchanged a glance. “Ready?” I asked, holding out my hand.

She nodded, and I pulled her into my arms.

“You can still leave,” I mumbled, kissing her head.

“There’s no place else I’d rather be,” she whispered.

Right on time, a loud blast reverberated through the walls. The sound was loud enough to send shockwaves through the walls, and it was coming right underneath us.

We were right; he was using the tunnels.

We stayed put, not moving an inch as we waited. And not even five minutes later, Jon ran into the room, frowning at us.

“What the fuck was that? What the hell is happening?” His confused eyes took us in, while his chest heaved for air.

“We’re under attack,” I told him flatly, tugging Bella to my side. “Where’s everyone?” I asked, half squeezing the trigger on my gun, ready to shoot. Just in case.

Jon noticed it, and his eyes hardened. “I’m not the White Hand, Kane,” he warned in a low tone, taking out a knife and a gun in the blink of an eye.

“I don’t know that for sure,” I replied, still on guard as I slowly lifted my gun to aim at him. And my heart didn’t feel right at all doing the act. Although I’ve been prepared my whole life to put an end to the White Hand, I didn’t know if I had it in me to take the shot if it was my own flesh and blood.

His cold blue eyes flashed at me. “It’s not me, Kane,” he gritted out.

“Let’s all be rational for a second and go look for others,” Bella explained with her hands as she took a skeptical step between us. “We still don’t know what’s happening here.”

“Fine,” I slowly said. “Let’s go.”

Jon nodded, but the tightness in his jaw didn’t fade as the three of us moved through the dark hallways, heading straight to my office.

Only the sound of our footsteps echoed through the empty floors.

The house was too quiet. The Surmans should be swarming the place by now. Why weren’t they? Something felt amiss, and the unease in my gut grew. Something wasn’t right. We were under attack, but where the fuck was the attack?

When we returned to the office, it was empty, except for a frustrated Karl stabbing his fingers on his phone. “Great, you’re here!” He threw his hands in the air. “What the fuck is going on? I can’t fucking reach anyone.”

“Where’s everyone else?” I asked instead, my arms still half raised in the air, as I held my gun in a tight grip.

Karl frowned, his hands dropping to his sides. “Well, they went looking for you. What’s happening? What was that sound?”

Fuck.

Where the fuck were they? One of them might as well be the White Hand. Or… it could very well be Karl or Jon, and all of this was simply a play in their game.

Bella noticed my sentiment and clasped my hand in hers. “You okay?” she whispered just for me to hear, and I nodded, anchoring myself to the warmth of her touch.

My eyes dashed to Jon, who stood in the corner looking murderous, while Karl leaned by the table, his sharp eyes thinned to slits as he regarded us. It was apparent that we all doubted each other and were waiting for that doubt to soon turn into a bloodbath.

Mikhail looked equally grim and alert. “It’s strange. No one is coming in or out, and no sign of anyone in the house.”

Jon let out a low curse, kicking the air. “What the fuck is going on here, Kane?” he demanded.

I had no answer for him.

We’d already wasted ten minutes staring at each other. By now, we should’ve been fighting head and neck with the enemy, but all we had were missing people and complete silence.