Chapter 132: Friends In High Places
Derek groans and I breathe a sigh of relief. He gets up and drags me with him, hearing shouts behind us. We shift with Logan and Felix and disappear into the trees. We all hide in the brush until they pass us, then double back to where we started. As we shift back I see blood coming from Derek’s shoulder.
“You’re hurt!” I exclaim.
“The bullet just grazed me, I’m fine,” he replies.
“We need to check it out,” I say and move towards him.
“There’s no time, we need to go. They aren’t going to be fooled for long and they will head back this way,” Logan says. He checks their car and remarks that they took the keys, then goes to ours. It takes a minute, but it finally starts up and we all pile in.
“Why didn’t we just go deeper into the woods and wait them out?” I ask Logan as we start driving.
“Because those woods aren’t that deep and we need to get farther away and hide out somewhere. They would have destroyed our car anyway and we would have been stranded,” he replies.
I look over at Derek and see that blood is still running down his shoulder. Logan is already handing me his overshirt to wrap around his shoulder. I put pressure on the wound and he winces.
“Is it really bad? Do we need to find help?” I ask him.
“It’s fine. We have bigger things to worry about,” he says and I’m a little taken aback at his shortness with me. Then his eyes soften and he gives me an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t mean to get irritable with you. I’m just so tired of this. We can’t seem to catch a break,” he says.
“I have a buddy with a safe house somewhat near here. It’s probably another 3 hour drive but I think it’s our best bet,” Logan tells us.
We keep driving and luckily there’s no sign of anyone pursuing us. We reach the safe house in record time but we still don’t have any word on Brian’s location. When we pull down a long driveway and approach a house that looks more like a castle than a house, I gasp in shock. Logan puts a code into the gate box and presses his thumb to a scanner and the tall iron gates open for us.
“This is the safehouse?” I ask Logan.
“It belongs to a friend of mine. He happens to be very wealthy and extremely anal with his security. He’s out of town right now but the house will let him know I’m here,” he replies.
“The house will let him know?” Derek asks with a confused expression.
“It’s a smart house. There are cameras everywhere and it’s linked to his devices. Like I said, he’s pretty serious about security. Nobody will be able to get past those gates,” Logan tells him.
We pull in the driveway and a butler is standing outside the door waiting for us. The place is massive and makes our house look like a cottage. We are surrounded by thick woods as well so it’s very private.
“Welcome back, Mr. Smith,” the butler says cordially.
“Hello, Martin. Nice to see you again. I trust Broderick knows we’re here?” Logan says.
“Yes, sir. He sends his regards and hopes that you and your guests will be comfortable for the duration of your stay. The staff is preparing the rooms as we speak and there are refreshments being set up in the sun room,” Martin replies.
“We will need some medical care for my friend,” Logan informs him and Martin looks at Derek’s shoulder.
“I will have someone come take a look at him shortly,” Martin says. Logan nods and we all follow him into the house.
I’m in awe at the splendor of the home. It’s beautifully furnished, classic traditional with some small modern twists here and there. Artwork is covering every wall and I have a feeling they are all originals. The electronic aspects of the house are discreetly placed and fabricated to match the decor so you would hardly notice them if you weren’t looking.
Logan leads us to the sun room which is more like a huge greenhouse with exotic plants and a vaulted atrium. Several members of the staff are setting out trays of sandwiches, fruit, crudités and shellfish. I still don’t feel like eating much but I can’t help the rumbling of my stomach at the sight of such delicious choices.
As we all eat and talk about how to avoid Antonio’s men while tracking down Brian, another person comes in the room to assess Derek’s injury. I don’t know if she is an actual doctor or some kind of triage nurse, but she stitches him up and puts a bandage on him very efficiently.
Suddenly an alarm goes off in the house and Martin walks in immediately.
“Mr. Smith, I believe we have some unwanted guests at the front gate. They have shot the gate box with their weapons, so the house is now on lockdown. You can follow me to the control room if you would like to speak to them,” Martin says in a monotone voice. His feathers don’t seem to be ruffled at all by this recent development.
“I’m not sure I have anything to say to them, but I would like to see their faces so I know who I’m dealing with,” Logan retorts.
“Very good, sir,” Martin replies. We all head to the control room and there are video monitors from floor to ceiling showing the entire house and grounds at different angles. One large monitor is in the middle and Martin clicks a few buttons to bring up the front entrance. On the screen is a group of thugs, but I don’t recognize them as Antonio’s men.
“Felix! We know you’re in there! Come out and we’ll leave your friends alone! Don’t and we’ll burn this place to the ground to get to you!” one of them shouts. We all turn to look at Felix and he has a combination of shock and shame in his expression.
“What the hell, Felix?” Derek asks him. He gives him a sheepish look.
“I guess we know that it’s not Antonio,” Felix replies with a shrug.