“So?”
I zoom, not believing what I’m seeing, then take a deep breath as my stomach flips. “They… They’re at the mansion.”
“What?” Mark grunts as he tugs his beard. “The Bissonnette mansion?”
“Yeah.”
“Get your fucking shoes on and grab Leonor’s gun.”
Twenty minutes after following Mark’s order, we’re flying down the long ass driveway, heading right for the circle drive and when we get there, I’m pretty sure my heart stops beating.
Our Jeep and Pete’s truck are both sitting there but that’s not what has me seconds from flipping out. All the doors on both vehicles are open, so is the tailgate on the truck, and the keys are inside.
“I’ll go in through the back, you go… what?”
Shaking my head, I shift my gaze between Mark and the front door. “We go together. I don’t know what’s happening and I can only pray everyone is okay but if you’re feeling the same thing I am I think the worst thing we can do is split up.”
“Ok,” Mark says as he looks me in the eye, gripping the side of my neck before kissing me. “We stay together. They’re going to be fine, Luck; Leo, our babies, Peter and Norman, Justine. Everyone is going to be fine.”
I just nod, pressing my lips to his one last time before I take a deep breath. “Let’s go get our family.”
Pulling out Leo’s gun, I follow Markus up the front steps, covering his back while he aims his SIG toward the door.
Ever since the shit with Dirt Sack in the corner fields, all of us have brushed up on our marksmanship but I never thought I’d have to fucking use it.
If I wasn’t terrified for what we’re going to find when we get inside, I’d laugh at us, checking the front porch and windows like we’re FBI or some shit.
It’s not funny, though.
Especially once we go through the open door and walk into an eerily silent, completely dark first floor.
This place is creepy in broad daylight and full of people but right now it’s fucking terrifying and you can practically feel the negativity and sadness shifting around and filling the darkness.
Clearing the library and formal dining room, we keep going past the sitting room and staircase toward the kitchen.
Every room looks untouched, the first floor closest to the original before they shut everything down, and walking through feels like we’ve stepped into a Time Machine.
The most fucked up Time Machine ever, but still.
We check the sunroom and hall closet and just when we’re about to walk into the kitchen, we both jump and take a swing at what we see.
“Sorry,” Chase whispers, his own gun now pointed away from us. “I didn’t know anyone else was here.”
I frown. “What are you doing here then?”
“Collinsworth called. The team he hired for the property are in between shifts and someone set off the alarm so he got a hold of my boss who sent me out.”
Mark and I both nod, resuming our previous stances as I glance behind Chase. I can tell Markus isn’t buying this dude’s story and quite frankly, neither am I but aside from being a little creepy he seems harmless enough. And honestly, I don’t mind the extra help.
The three of us finish the first floor and make our way to the second, carefully checking bedrooms and closets, Pierre’s office even though it’s obviously empty. The third floor is about the same; no signs of any people, not even the restoration crew. It’s quiet, way too quiet, but the further we get from the only safe escape, the more uneasy I feel.
Then I hear it.
A muffled thump comes from somewhere above us, then another followed by what sounds like something heavy being dragged and bum shoulder or not, it has me running.
“Where’s the entrance to the attic?” I bark as I start checking rooms again.
“Through here.”
