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“Hi, Mrs. St. James, this is the principal at the school. I have some unfortunate news.”

I frown and immediately head into the house to grab my purse, knowing that I’ll be going to get my child.

“What’s going on?”

“Charlie is sick. He’s been throwing up and is running a fever, and we think it’s best if he goes home.”

“Of course. He was just fine this morning. I’ll be there in less than thirty minutes to get him. Do you mind if he rests in the nurse’s office until I get there?”

“He’s with her now and is comfortable. We’ll see you soon.”

He hangs up, and I try to call Carson, but I get that stupid fucking beeping, and the call drops, making me growl in agitation.

Damn phones.

“Bacon,” I call out as I round the house toward the front door. I don’t know what they do out here all day, since they’re not allowed inside the house, but he’s always here when I need him.

Does he ever sleep?

I have no idea.

“Yes, ma’am,” Bacon says. Ricky is right there with him.

“I need to go get Charlie from school. He’s sick.”

“No problem,” Bacon replies with a nod.

“Have you heard from Carson? Or anyone?” I ask him.

“No, ma’am,” Ricky replies, shaking his head, and I can see that they’re both frustrated. “As soon as the phones come back, they go out again. If they’re not back by noon, we’ll send some men into town, but we’ve been given orders to keep twenty men on duty at all times, so sending someone away would lessen the firepower here, and I know Carson wants you well protected.”

I nod and buckle my seat belt, and we’re off, driving down the long driveway that leads to the highway to town.

My poor kiddo. I hope he’s not feeling too horrible. I need to get some Tylenol in him for that fever and see if he can keep broth down. I hate it when he’s sick, and schools are such germ farms. I’m surprised it took him this long to catch something.

I hope it doesn’t spread through the whole house.

I pick up my phone to see if there’s any connection, but there’s not.

“How can Vegas be without cell coverage for this long?” I wonder out loud. “It’s so weird.”

“Someone must have destroyed a cell tower or something,” Ricky agrees.

As I glance up, I see that we’re driving through an intersection, and then there’s impact from the right side and the SUV is spinning. Before it can come to a stop, there’s another impact on the front side, and we go rolling, and the entire world is out of control.

I think I’m screaming, or maybe that’s the sound of glass shattering. Both? When we come to a stop, upside down, I frantically look to Ricky and Bacon, but they’re unconscious.

“Oh God, please be alive.”

I unclasp my belt and fall into the roof of the car, wincing because my hip is still sore from last week, and with blood rushing through my ears, I reach up to find pulses on the guys.

Bacon’s is strong, but he has blood coming from his temple.

Ricky’s eyes are vacant, and when I check his pulse, there isn’t one. It looks like his neck is broken.

“No.” I shake my head and scramble to find my phone to try to call for help.

The phones are out! How do I call for help?