We shot through the gates.

“Close them!” I yelled.

Alexander tapped his phone again.

The iron gates began to swing closed behind us.

The SUV reached the gate just as the two sides met with a heavy, metallic clang.

In the mirror, I saw the SUV brake hard, its tires throwing up gravel.

We had made it inside.

But we were trapped.

I drove up the winding driveway to the front of the house.

It was a massive stone structure, dark and silent in the rain.

“Get the boys inside,” Alexander said.

He opened his door and stepped out into the downpour.

I did the same, opening the back door for Lucas and Noah.

They scrambled out, holding their hoods over their heads.

We ran up the stone steps to the front door.

Alexander unlocked it with a key from his pocket, and we burst into the dark entryway.

The house was cold and smelled of old wood and leather.

“Where is the safe?” I asked, wiping the rain from my face.

“In the library,” Alexander said.

“Stay here with the boys.”

“I’ll get the drive.”