Basement Level 5: Never Scared (20 page)

Dro’s eyes flashed to hers. “Alexa—”

“
Dro, I’m tired.” She grabbed her coat. “I understand all the reasons why we’re in this predicament, but I’m tired of living like this.”

“
Let’s get out of here,” Lei called from the foyer.

Alexa glanced at Dro briefly, and joined Lei in the foyer. Kendrick rolled an old trash can over to Janine, picked her up, and dropped her in it. Dro threw another tarp over the steel object.

One of Martinez’ trusted guards, Julio, appeared in the doorway. “Kendrick called and asked me to take care of something.”

Dro pointed to the trashcan. “Get rid of this. And take John with you. Send a crew to clean the house.”

***

As they entered the kitchen in B5, Alexa paused at the sight of Chase pointing a gun at them.

Chase let out a deep sigh and dropped his gun on the counter. “Sorry.”

She pushed past Dro. “What are you doing here? Where are the kids?”

“
I don’t know,” Chase replied with a sigh. “I was hoping they were here.”

“
What do you mean?” Kendrick asked. “You were supposed to be with them, Chase!”

Alexa took in Chase’s appearance. He looked haggard. His clothes were burned and he had visible bruises on his face.

“
Chase, what happened?” Dro asked.

“
We were ambushed,” Chase began. “On the way up to the house, I got this feeling we were being followed.”

They followed him into the kitchen.

Chase picked up a beer bottle from the counter and took a sip. “I called Pop and told him to go the contingent route. Nicholas and I continued up to the house to secure it. Once we got out of the car, the bullets started flying.”

“
Oh my God,” Alexa gasped. “Were you hit?”

“
No. Nicholas didn’t make it, though. I tried to get him out of there, but I couldn’t.”

Kendrick sighed. “Well, it’s a good thing you weren’t hit. Nicholas getting killed saves me from having to kill him.”

Chase frowned at Kendrick. “What are you talking about? Nicholas was one of us.”

Kendrick tossed a set of keys on the counter. “No, he sure as hell wasn’t. Nicholas is the reason our security was breached. But that’s too long a story for right now. What happened to Pop?”

Chase shrugged. “I got out of there as fast as I could. When I tried to call Pop to let him know not to go to the house, I didn’t get an answer. I thought he would come here.”

Alexa closed her eyes.
Where are my babies
? If she didn’t find them soon, she would go crazy.

“
If Pop arrived at the safe house and didn’t see your car, Chase, he would’ve gone to another safe place,” Dro said. “It makes sense to come here, but maybe he went somewhere else. Lei? Any ideas?”

“
Well,” Lei said, scratching the stubble on his chin. “Maybe we should check Pop’s house. He might have gone there.”

“
We were just over there,” Alexa said. “We didn’t see any sign of activity at Daddy’s house. Besides, he wouldn’t go there. It’s not secure. No one has been there at all since we got Ma out of there. We’ve pulled most of the security teams to this area.”

“
What about the hotel?” Lei wondered. “He might go there?”

Kendrick shook his head. “That doesn’t make any sense. The hotel is too public, even though there are hidden areas there. He wouldn’t risk being seen there. Besides, he knows that we would be here. He should have come here.”

“
Kendrick is right.” Alexa clenched her teeth together. “Daddy wouldn’t have gone there or to his house. It’s not secure.” She knew her father well, but there were some things he kept hidden from them. He could’ve gone anywhere. He had friends everywhere. Pop’s house wasn’t an option.

Alexa and Dro were renovating Enrique’s old house. That’s the reason she had even been at the B5 safe house in the first place. Chase was finishing the bunker and it was easier for him to look out for her and the kids in the safe house above B5. They had upped her security in recent months and Dro felt more comfortable if Chase was with her while Dro had been in Puerto Rico on business.

“
Get some men up to the Canadian safe house and go both routes,” Dro told Lei. “Maybe we can get an idea of where he went. If he’s not in danger, Pop will get in touch with us at some point. That’s all I really have to hold on to. Ari is with him. She can handle a gun and so can Ma. I know they’ll protect each other.”

“
I’m sorry,” Chase said, bowing his head.

Kendrick placed a hand on Chase’s shoulder. “It’s okay, bruh. We’re just glad you got out of there. Who was driving?”

“
They were in two protected trucks,” Chase answered. “Ari and Pop were driving behind us. We thought it would be safer if we went first to case out the spot. When they veered off, Pop was leading.”

“
It doesn’t make sense for Pop to go anywhere else except here,” Kendrick mused. “That’s what makes me worry. It’s just not like him to not stay in touch.”

“
If he thinks it’s best that he doesn’t stay in touch, he won’t,” Dro said. “I think we need to assume that Pop is fine until we know differently. If he’s lying low, it’s probably best if we focus on neutralizing the enemy. We need to go to Misti’s”

“
Why do we have to go to Misti’s?” Chase looked confused.

Kendrick patted him on the shoulder again. “It’s a long story. Why don’t you get a shower or something and we can discuss our next move.”

***

An hour later, they all gathered in the security room. Kendrick had filled Chase in on everything that had happened.

Alexa paced back and forth in the small space. “We’re wasting time here. It makes sense that we just go in for the kill. I’m tired of playing around with these people. They don’t own us and they don’t control me.”

Dro frowned. “Will you just calm down, baby? It doesn’t make sense to just stroll into a public diner and open fire. I know you’re worried and ready to get this over with, but come on.”

She sighed heavily then plopped down into a chair. Deep down, she knew Dro was right. But they had no idea where her children were and terror ripped through her gut. It was hard to get a hold of her emotions.

“
What if we just buy the diner?” Kendrick suggested. “That way we can control who’s there.”

“
It makes sense.” Chase fiddled with his gun. “I’m sure if we approach the owner with enough cash, he’ll let us do what we want.”

“
What if he doesn’t?” Dro asked. “We have to have another plan.”

“
Buying the diner is the wrong move,” Lei said, ending a phone call. “We don’t want to be connected if we do have to “open fire.” The guards just called. They got rid of Janine. I also have some feelers out to some of Pop’s contacts. Hopefully, we’ll hear something soon.”

“
Okay.” Dro walked over to the wall and punched in a code on the keypad, opening a hidden panel. “I want to make sure we have all the fire power we need. If we get separated for some reason, we meet here. I sent a small group up to the Canadian safe house to check around too. Until we hear differently, we’re going to go ahead and get a handle on this enemy.”

All of a sudden, Alexa felt like she couldn’t breathe in the stuffy room. She stormed out. Little pins pricked her body. She clenched her fist, stretching her neck from side to side. She was frustrated and it wasn’t helping the situation. It wasn’t like her to let her emotions control her, but these were her children, her parents, and her best friends. If something happened to them, she was sure she wouldn’t survive it. A hand on her shoulder jarred her from her thoughts. She whirled around, fists ready, poised to fight. Kendrick was standing there.

She dropped her arms to her side. “Don’t you think you should be in there planning?”

“
I’m right where I need to be. Alexa, you have to get a hold of yourself. You know that emotions are only going to make this harder. I know it’s been a while since you’ve had to turn them off, but you have to try. Once this is done, we can make some decisions about where you want to be.”

She stared at the ceiling. “I already know where I want to be and it’s not here. I told you, Kendrick, I’ve been feeling this way for a while. I need to get out of here. I need to take my children and leave town.”

“
We can talk about that when this is over,” Kendrick said softly.

“
Dro will never let me leave,” she mumbled, pacing back and forth.

“
You’re right,” Dro agreed, stepping into the hall. “You’re not going to run, Alexa. Why would you even want to? I can’t just leave. I have a company to run, obligations here. You want to leave so bad, but are you willing to leave me?”

She turned away from him. “If that’s the only way I can keep my kids safe...” She didn’t finish the sentence, but Dro wasn’t stupid. They had been having this conversation for some time now. She was feeling increasingly uncomfortable in their environment. She needed a change, but Dro was adamant against it. He couldn’t just pick up and leave. He did have obligations that needed to be met. But she only had one thing keeping her there—him.

“
What, Alexa?” he challenged. “If that’s the way you can keep
our
kids safe, what? You would leave me? Walk out on me, and take my family away?”

She glared at him over her shoulder. “You know I don’t want to leave you, Dro. It’s not like that. I just...forget it. This is not the time to talk about it anyway. We need to end this so I can see my kids again—if they’re still alive.”

“
Stop,” Kendrick and Dro shouted simultaneously.

“
Don’t ever say that to me,” Dro roared. “My kids are still alive. Our family is still alive.”

“
You don’t know that, Dro,” she cried. “Where are they? Where’s my Daddy? They’re not here. We don’t know where they are. I know Daddy is good. He can take care of them, but why hasn’t he touched base with us?” Fear gripped her throat as she yelled at Dro, cutting off her breath until she had no choice but to fall to her knees. She collapsed onto her stomach and broke down sobbing.

***

Dro waved Kendrick away, but he didn’t move. Lei and Chase stepped out of the security room. Dro was sure the sight of Alexa breaking down stunned all of them. He dropped to his knees, gathered her into his arms, and stroked her back. “Baby, it’s okay. The kids are fine. You have to believe that.”

“
Oh God, I hope so,” she sputtered. “Please God, let them be okay. My babies—”

Dro locked her in his embrace and swayed back and forth, rocking her.

“
My babies,” she whimpered. “Where are they? It’s my fault. All of this is my fault. What if they got my Daddy? What if they hurt my babies? Ky—what if they—”

Dro tipped her head up and gazed into her swollen, red eyes. He wiped an errant tear from her chin. “Don’t say it.”

“
I can’t stop thinking it. She’s my baby girl. And Alex? Where are my babies, Dro?”

Dro glanced back at Lei and caught him absently wiping tears from his face. “Baby, I don’t know where they are,” he whispered against her ear. “But you’re going to have to get control over this. We have something to do. Pop is taking care of them.” He grasped her face with his hands when she tried to bury her face in his chest. “Come on now. Stop crying. We have to take care of this. Do it for me and do it for our children. Be the strong woman I love.”

The sound of Lei’s phone ringing penetrated the room.

“
This is Lei,” he said, his voice raspy.

They all remained silent as he spoke on the phone. Dro noted the subtle changes in Lei during the conversation. It wasn’t good news, judging by the tense, all business tone in Lei’s voice and the vein throbbing on the side of head.

Lei ended the call and massaged the back of his neck. “They found the two trucks abandoned on an old dirt road off the interstate. There’s no sign of the children or anybody else.”

Dro held Alexa closer when she started crying again.

“
That just means Pop ditched the cars,” Kendrick said. “He’ll be in touch as soon as he can.”

Dro knew Kendrick was just trying to think positively because anything else was unacceptable.

Dro helped Alexa to her feet. “Right. Pop has this under control. I mean, that’s why we sent...” His voice cracked.

“
Pop is fine,” Lei whispered. “We all agreed Pop was the best person to go with the kids. He’s fine.” With that, Lei returned to the security room. Eventually, they all shuffled in behind him.

Alexa peered into the panel in the wall—the weapons closet. She opened a drawer and pulled out a wig and some colored contacts.

Dro watched her suck in all of her emotions and wondered if he could do the same. He had tried to tell her to get it together. When Lei got the call about the trucks, though, his heart dropped. He had no other choice but to believe Pop had everything under control.

Kendrick grabbed some ammunition out of a drawer and a black duffle bag. “We need to be extra cautious. No splitting up. We do everything together.”

Chase packed a few tools into a flat bag. “If something should happen, we know that we meet back here.”

They gathered everything they needed and left B5.