The Rising (Darkness Rising 3)

Antone. His opportunity. This was it.

I'd gone to sleep wearing my clothing, just in case. So I only needed shoes, a sweater, and my stash of money. They hadn't noticed the cash when they brought me in--or they didn't care--so I took it now, shoved it into my pocket, and followed the two guards into the hall.

When I stepped out, the noise hit me. Noise from everywhere--shouts and barked orders and running footfalls. The guards tried to steer me to the stairs, but I heard a voice behind me and turned to see Rafe breaking from his guards and jogging to join us.

The whole house was in an uproar. All the bedroom doors were open, as if we were all being taken out.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Rafe.

"Evacuation," he said. "No idea why."

This must be Antone's opportunity. Not just to get me out, but the others, too. That made sense. More leverage for negotiating.

Still, as they led us downstairs, I kept looking for Antone. Just a glimpse of him so he could tell me, even with only a look, that this was his scheme. But he wasn't there. Nor was Moreno. Had he launched this, then found an excuse to be elsewhere, so he couldn't be blamed? Or did this have nothing to do with him?

"Listen," Rafe whispered.

I caught snatches of conversations in other rooms. Conversations about what was happening. Most of it was out of context. Then I heard Nast's voice behind a closed door and zeroed in on that.

"--thought we had people working to prevent exactly this possibility," he was saying. "If we found out about the projects, so could the Cortezes. When they did, they'd want in and that is a problem we do not want to deal with. People were supposed to be making sure we didn't need to deal with it. So tell me why we are dealing with it?"

"We don't know for certain it's the Cortezes, sir," a man's voice said. "That's just the information we received--"

"So we're paying for unreliable sources?"

"No, sir, I just meant that it was a rumor. It might not be the Cortezes. It might not be anyone. Josef Nast has ordered an evacuation to be safe."

"Because he doesn't trust my judgment. Who the hell went over my head to Josef?" A pause. "His father wasn't notified, was he? I swear, if someone went all the way to Thomas on this . . ."

The voices faded as the guards hustled us through the house. So someone had told the Nasts that a rival Cabal was planning to raid the house. Had Antone planted the rumor? If so, what good did it do us?

As we were hurried out the front door, both Rafe and I scanned for an escape route, but the yard was filled with armed guards. Did Antone expect me to make a run for it? There was no chance of that. A minivan waited right at the end of the front steps. We were flanked by guards the whole ten seconds it took to get us into the van.

When I tried to lead Kenjii in, the guard stopped me. "Driver's allergic. Your dog needs to go in the second vehicle."

"Can't you switch drivers?" Rafe said. "Kenjii should stay with Maya. Or she can switch--"

"Got my orders. The girl goes here. The dog goes with the others."

Who'd given him the orders? Antone? So he'd have a hostage to secure my return? Or because it would be harder to run with a dog in tow? As much as I loved Kenjii, having her along in the city would be a problem. I whispered to her, asking her to go with the guard, then let him lead her to a second van behind ours.

As we crawled in, the others came out the front door. Nicole was first. Her hands were tied behind her and she'd been blindfolded. She held her head high, the bruises on her pale neck obvious even through the tinted glass.

Rafe took my hand as we watched her come down the steps. His grip loosened a little as they led her to the second van. Next came Sam. She was escorted to the same van. Annie and Hayley came out together. Annie seemed disoriented, blinking as if she'd been sleeping. Hayley was talking to her and she was nodding. Then they took Hayley on to the rear van and brought Annie to ours.

"Hey," Rafe said as she leaned in for a look. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded. "Emergency treatment. I'm still a little fuzzy." She looked from me to Rafe, then turned to the guard. "Actually, can I switch with Hayley? I know she hasn't had much time with Maya. I'm sure they'd like that."

Rafe snorted a laug

h, but before he could say anything, Annie said, "I don't think I belong in this van."

She spoke slowly, her gaze locked with mine. Did she know something? Or was she just guessing that we'd try to escape?

"I'm better off in the other one," she said. "The doctor is there to look after me."

The guard started to say something. Then there was a commotion from the other vehicle.