#Chapter 364 – Assault
Ella
As the startled men hurry out of the conference room, Henry turns to Cora and I, looking at us with a grim expression as we stare at him in terror.
“I have made a grave miscalculation,” he informs us with a steady, regretful nod. “I am sorry, girls – I have failed you – ”
“Wha- what?” I gasp, holding my baby tight. “Henry – what are you talking about?”
“It was a trap,” he says, looking towards the door, where we can still hear the banging – increased in pace now – as well as shouts, the beginning of screams –
“A trap?” Cora asks, turning towards the door herself.
“They knew,” he says, and I’m still staring at Henry as he shakes his head. “They must followed us back here after the sewer and then bided their time, waiting for the bulk of our forces – and our most powerful wolves – to leave before they attacked. Damn it!” he shouts, slamming a frustrated hand against the arm of his chair. “I was a fool, to leave you and the child unguarded!”
“Oh my god,” I whisper, my voice trembling as I try to wrack my brain for something – anything to do next –
“Come,” Henry says, pulling himself together and rolling quickly to the corner of the room. There, he points to the edge of the carpet. “Cora,” he orders. “Pull that up.”
Cora does as he says, instantly falling to her knees and digging her hands into the corner of the carpet, getting her fingers beneath and pulling as hard as she can. I can’t help my surprise when I see what is revealed when she pulls enough of it back.
A trap door.
“Open it,” Henry snaps, and Cora does so, lifting the little latch and swinging the door up to reveal a very thin winding staircase that leads down, down, down.
“Go,” Henry orders, not looking to us and nodding towards it.
“Henry,” I protest, shaking my head. ” We can’t leave you.”
Sudden screams start to burst out from the hallway, making me jump. And then my face drops in horror as I hear gunfire as well.
“You will go, Ella,” Henry growls, wrapping his hand around my arm and shoving me towards the passage. “Go down. Keep going. At the bottom is a tunnel, and at the end of it, a car. God willing it is in good repair. You must run as far and as fast as you can.”
Then he takes his phone out of the pocket of his chair and presses it into my hand. “Tell them what happened as soon as you are out. But don’t tell them where you are until you get to a different phone. Who knows – ”
He sighs, and puts his head in his hands, and I can see his shoulders shaking. “There’s not enough time.”
The noise in the hall grows louder and my breath comes faster as I realize what we have to do.
“All right,” I say, nodding to Cora and then swooping down to kiss Henry on the cheek. “Henry, we love you. We’ll – we’ll come back for you.”
“Don’t,” he says, his eyes only on Rafe now, who squalls unhappily in my arms at all the noise. “Take the baby – take yourselves. Get safe girls. I love you too.”
And then Cora and I are moving, my heart wrenching to leave him – to leave him like this –
Cora goes down the twisting stair first and I follow quickly after, reaching out to hand her the phone so that she can light our way and the baby carrier so I can balance Rafe more safely in my arms. After Cora takes these supplies, I turn my face upwards to say a last word to Henry –
But the door snaps shut above me, leaving me in darkness.
“Ella,” Cora cries, “Ella please – come we have to go -”
“I’m coming, Cora,” I say, swallowing my horrible fear and steeling myself for all we have to do next. We have to survive. We have to get out of here – for the babies to warn our mates –
I open my eyes and look determinedly down at her. “Let’s go.”
Cora nods to me once, and then she starts again down the stairs.
Sinclair
“Any word?” Roger asks me as our men begin to unload themselves from the cars. We’ve arrived at our place of entrance, which I grimace again to see is a sewer.
I’m aware that this is the best way in –
that through this public sewer we can begin to access unseen the roads closest to Xavier’s stronghold. But still, if I never went in another sewer for the rest of my life, that would be fine by me.
“Nothing new,” I say, glancing at my phone, where I’ve been keeping in touch with my father. “Apparently they’re playing poker.”
“Oh,” Roger says, his eyebrows raising in pleasure. “Well, good. Cora will clean up at that.”
“Yeah,” I mutter, tucking my phone away. “I have a feeling that Ella bet the house.”
“Good,” Roger says again, grinning at me. “I always liked your house. Do you think you can be out by the end of the week?”
I don’t say anything, just shooting him a little glare, but I can’t help but smile a little bit. Roger’s certainly in a good mood, which makes me feel better.
But still I have to admit that there’s… something roiling in my gut. Something tugging at my instincts that just says wrong wrong.
But I push it aside, even though my wolf howls to see me do it. We’re on a mission, after all, and we’re short on time. I’m not going to call this off just because it doesn’t feel perfect.
I look around at the men ranged around me. “Ready?” I ask, and I get a series of nods all around. “Forward, then,” I say, nodding to them and pointing towards the sewer entrance.
The men go first this time, taking the lead so that Roger and I can bring up the tail. We’ll switch when we get closer to the assault itself, which should bring us, interestingly, right up into Xavier’s property, if not up into his house itself.
It’s good luck that the sewer connects so close there, but my wolf still prowls within me, snarling too good too easy – not right –
But I shake my head, watching my men disappear in the tunnel, dismissing my wolf’s nerves. After all, where were these hesitations when we planned the assault? Nothing has changed. We’re pressing forward, and that’s the end of it.
When each of our thirty men has disappeared into the sewer, Roger steps forward to go next. “All right, brother?” he asks, looking at me before he disappears into the dark. “You’re not quite yourself.”
“I’m fine,” I snap, tucking my phone into the pocket of my pants. “Prepare yourself. We’ve got about forty-five minutes of darkness and radio silence down there,” I inform him, slipping into the sewer after him. “We’re not going to get any cell signal down there.”
“No worries, bro,” Roger says, grinning at me in the darkness as I re- seal the entrance. “I know enough showtunes to whistle along the way. I’ll keep you entertained.”
And then, shaking my head at my brother but grateful to have him by my side, I begin the assault.
