Page 10 of Under Fire in Big Sky

Henry nodded again. This time his face showed no doubt, only resolve. “A new dawn.”

They sounded like a new cult.

A deadly one that was ready to trap her inside this room and set the entire resort ablaze.

“Let’s start the fire in the hall and then we’ll move to the grand ballroom,” Audrey said. “I don’t want Pioneer knowing who to hunt.”

Henry looped the chain through one of the door handles. Then he handed Audrey the padlock, removed the cap from a jerry fuel can, and splashed gasoline on the carpet.

Audrey shut the second door, making the room even darker with no natural light.

The chain clanked on the other side.

Olivia ran to the doors and shoved them. The chain was wrapped so tightly around the handles, with the padlock securing it, she couldn’t get a crack between the doors to see into the hall.

At least it wasn’t pitch black in the room. A bit of light came in under the doors.

The smell of smoke teased her nostrils. Turning, she looked around the dim room for something that might help. Her gaze fell to her purse on the floor.

They’d made the mistake of leaving her handbag in the room. She hustled to it, picked up her purse, and grabbed her phone that was inside. Quickly, she dialed Eli.

The call didn’t go through.

She made sure airplane mode was turned off. Checked that it wasn’t on Do Not Disturb.

But none of that was the problem because she still didn’t have any bars.

“Try calling 911,” she said to Dempsey as she dialed Eli again.

Nothing.

“That’s strange.” Dempsey stared at his screen. “It’s not connecting.”

“Is this a dead spot?” She winced at the poor choice of words.

“Calls always go through with no problem in every part of the hotel. I don’t understand.”

That’s why Eli didn’t call her. Cell phones weren’t working. Wi-Fi had probably been down earlier also. The New Dawn Revolution was using jammers. Now they had cut the landline and power.

Leaving her purse hadn’t been a mistake. Audrey knew Olivia and Dempsey wouldn’t be able to call for help.

“They won’t be able to burn the place down,” Dempsey said. “Any moment the fire suppression system will kick in. We’ll be okay until help arrives.”

“They probably disabled the system,” she said, and Dempsey grimaced.

Smoke from the hallway wafted under the doors into the room. Panic slammed into Olivia.

She didn’t want to die. Not now. Not here. Not like this.

Eli.

Maybe procrastinating in having the talk with him had been for the best. She pressed a hand to her belly. If she died, then it was good she spared Eli and didn’t muster the courage to tell him the truth.

That she was carrying his child.

Chapter Three

The New Dawn Revolution successfully employed disruptive tactics, causing widespread chaos. Eli had briefed Jason about what was going on, instructing him to let the rest of the security team know and to begin searching for Mr. Dempsey. It was his best chance of finding Olivia.