Defiance (The Protectors 9)

“Outer fence is electrified 24/7, inner fence is only at night,” Vincent began as he grabbed his bag and headed towards the doorway where the cat was still sitting. He stopped long enough to run his fingers over the cat’s head. I reached for my own bag and followed. The kitchen opened into a large, open floor concept living room with black leather furniture, and a flat screen TV hung above the huge fireplace. Light streamed in through the large windows facing the back of the property as well as through the skylights in the vaulted ceiling. “Glass is bulletproof,” Vincent continued as we walked. He stepped into a room just past the living room. It was a spacious office with several computer monitors on the wall along one desk, and a single monitor and desktop computer on the other side of the desk. Vincent went to one of the drawers and pulled something out. He tapped some keys on the keyboard of the computer, then did something with his phone before coming to me. I finally realized it was a watch similar to the one he was wearing.

“Leave this on. It’s waterproof,” he said as he handed it to me. “It has a tracking device in it so I’ll know where you are even when you’re not in the house.”

“I’m allowed outside?” I asked snidely.

He sent me a dark look. “If there’s a threat from the air or along the perimeter, the watch will notify you. Get your ass back in the house if that happens. I’ll show you the entry points once we’re outside.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Is all this really necessary?” I asked. “Surely he can’t find me here.”

But Vincent didn’t respond, and it occurred to me why. “It’s not about me, is it?” I asked as I once again looked at the monitors.

“The bedrooms are upstairs. If something happens, we go into lockdown mode.”

“Lockdown?” I asked, but before I could even ask what he meant, he hit a button on his watch and I jumped as a heavy piece of metal slid over the only window in the room as well as the skylight above us, pitching us into darkness. Similar sounds rattled outside the room and when I followed Vincent out the door, I saw the house was almost completely dark except for lights along the floorboards that came on and turned off as we moved, illuminating only a few feet in front of and behind us at a time.

“Jesus,” I muttered. “Who the hell are you?”

“The only way out of the house during lockdown mode is through this door,” Vincent explained as we reached what looked like an ordinary closet at first. He pushed the jackets aside and then took my hand and put it near the back wall and the panel instantly slid open. “The watch controls the door.” Vincent took me by the wrist and led me into the small space that was barely big enough for the two of us. The panel slid closed behind us and dim lights illuminated a narrow walkway that led to some stairs. “See that ladder?” I followed his finger to my right and nodded. “The closet upstairs is identical to this one,” – he motioned over his shoulder to the closet behind us – “except you have to climb down the ladder to get here. Follow this corridor and down those stairs, through the hall to another set of stairs. You’ll end up in the garage. There’s a trapdoor beneath the SUV. There’s an extra set of keys to the SUV and a gun taped to the trapdoor. The garage door won’t open in lockdown mode, but as soon as you open the trapdoor, the locks on the door will silently disengage so you’ll be able to use the SUV to break the door down-”

“Why are you telling me this?” I interjected.

“In case I’m not around to get you out,” he said simply. “If the house is breached, your only goal is to get to this door or the one upstairs, do you understand me?”

There was barely enough light to see the firm set of his jaw. “What about you?” I asked, as even the thought of leaving him behind had my mind crying foul.

Vincent maneuvered me backwards until my back hit the wall. His hand came up to clasp the back of my neck. “This is not Q&A time, Nate. This is shut up and listen time.”

“So what, I’m just supposed to leave you behind?” I asked.

“God, you’re so…” He dropped his head briefly as if trying to control himself. When he lifted his head again, I expected him to continue, but he didn’t. I didn’t need to see him to know he was looking at my mouth. And I knew why.

I couldn’t let him, though.