Free A Father's Sacrifice by Mallory Kane

with awareness as she endured his smoky gaze. There was no denying that he was devilishly handsome and sexy, but that wasn’t all that drew her to him.
    It was his fire, his brooding passion. The focused intensity with which he approached everything from his research to his protective care of his son.
    He loved Ben. But Mintz was right. Love was not enough. Her parents had loved her. But they’d died.
    She didn’t want to be a part of separating Ben from his father. She hated that Mintz was right. But he was, and she had to help him convince Dylan that Ben would not be safe until he let him go.
    A deep rumble shook her bed.
    Oh, God! Her eyes flew open. An explosion? Her heart leaped into her throat and blinding fear threatened to paralyze her.
    The sirens were close. Too close. And no repeat. She remembered Dylan’s list of signals.
    Someone had breached the front gate.

Chapter Four
    The siren’s screech distorted in Natasha’s ears as she groped under her pillow for her weapon. Her heart pounded frantically in her chest and shock reverberated through her.
    The front gate. A direct attack.
    She thrust her feet into her boots and pulled on a sweater. She buckled on her fanny pack and crossed the room, flattening her back against the wall next to the door.
    When she eased the door open, the siren’s screech intensified, hurting her ears. She darted a quick look into the hall, but saw no one, so she angled around the door, leading with her gun.
    A noise to her right made her whirl, her weapon trained. It was Charlene’s door. The girl’s pale face and wide eyes shone in the dim hall light. She eyed Natasha’s gun with undisguised terror.
    Natasha sidled toward her, glancing behind her every few seconds. “What’s happened? Do you know?” she asked.
    Charlene clawed at her neck above the dainty blue nightgown. “Something triggered the alarm at the gate.” She sent a worried look toward the atrium. “But I’ve never heard sirens go on this long.”

    “I’m going to check it out. Get back inside,” she commanded, putting her mouth close to Charlene’s ear. “Ben’s going to be scared.”
    “Don’t you think I know that?” she yelled. “Ben is my charge and Dr. Stryker is my boss. You’re trying to get into his good graces by undermining me. Well it won’t work. He’s—”
    “Get Ben’s braces on him,” Natasha snapped.
    Charlene blinked.
    “If we need to move him, I want him ready.”
    Charlene bristled. Natasha held her gaze. Finally Charlene nodded and stepped inside her room and closed the door.
    Natasha moved quickly toward the atrium. As she approached the doorway, a different blare filled her ears and the door in front of her swung shut. She lunged for it as the latch clicked into place.
    “No!” Her heart jumped into her throat as she wrenched the doorknob. Mintz had told her about the lockdown sequence, designed to protect the living quarters in case of a breach of the estate’s walls.
    Panic constricted her throat. She was trapped. She struggled to breathe. She had to get out—now!
    Frantically, berating herself for her weakness, she rattled the knob, then stared down at it.
    Think! The fingerprint pad was right beside the knob. Where was her pass code device? She unzipped her fanny pack and dug inside.
    A hand touched her bare shoulder. A hot strong hand. She tensed. Her right hand tightened around her weapon even as her senses told her whose hand it was.
    Dylan.
    “I’ve got it.” He pressed his thumb onto the pad and then keyed in the pass code. The lock clicked.
    Her breath whooshed out in relief as she pushed the door open.
    He squeezed her shoulder. “Ben’s in his room?”
    “I told Charlene to put his braces on and wait.”
    Dylan sent her an approving glance. “Good. She’s been with him most of his life. He feels safe with her.”
    They slipped through the door and Dylan pushed it closed. The atrium was empty, but Natasha saw men in dark clothing moving about