Ellie tensed when she heard an engine race up the street. She saw one of the security cars drive around a corner too fast, another vehicle following it—a large pickup truck that appeared to have been converted into a want-to-be tank. On the side of the truck the word “Hunters” had been spray painted childishly in bright red. Ellie watched in horror as the truck rammed the much smaller security car, causing it to lose control and fishtail. The tires on the smaller vehicle hit the curb, came to an abrupt halt in front of the building, and the truck locked up behind it. Ellie gaped at the sight of guns when two jeans-clad men jumped from the back of the truck. Worse, she saw the back door of the security vehicle thrown open and two women sprinted toward Ellie.

The two security guards who exited the car pulled their weapons and gunfire erupted. The men from the truck dived behind it and returned fire, giving the women time to run to the dorm. Ellie’s hands shook badly as she gripped the door and prayed hard for the sisters, Blue and Sky, to reach her safely. Ellie threw her weight against the door she’d opened and pressed her body tight against the glass to get out of the way of the two large women who barreled through the open doorway.

“Go to your rooms,” Ellie ordered them. She slammed the door closed and jerked on it to make certain the automatic locks engaged. When the door didn’t budge, she released it and lunged for the phone on the wall.

It was dead. Shit. More gunfire outside drew Ellie’s attention. In horror, she witnessed one of the security guards being struck by a bullet. He flew backward, sprawled on top of the hood of the security car then his body slumped to the street. He didn’t get up or move. The second security guard kept firing but he was outnumbered. A cry of anguish came from Ellie when bullets tore through the remaining security guard. His body spun from the impacts, blood bloomed over his face and chest before he fell out of sight behind the car.

Ellie reeled, horrified. The intruders laughed and two of them high-fived each other. They turned to face the building and approached, coming right at her. Shit. Ellie grabbed the emergency bar and slammed it down. It had been added as an extra lock in case security cards were stolen or someone managed to torture the code from a guard. They would need both to bypass the lockdown security measures to gain entrance.

“She don’t look like no animal,” one of the men stated loudly, glaring at her.

Another man, the biggest of the four, pointed his gun directly at Ellie and yelled, “Open up.”

Ellie knew the glass would hold. The building had been designed to withstand an assault. She raised her middle finger while pressing down the com button with her other hand to give them the ability to hear her clearly.

“Screw you. It’s bulletproof.”

“You f**king animal,” one of them shouted. He pulled a handgun, aimed at Ellie’s face and fired.

She flinched but the glass didn’t break. It left a small mark but it didn’t even crack. “This is just a meeting building and you can’t gain entry,” she explained. “You might as well beat your chests, you stupid apes.”

She knew she pushed them but as long as they stayed where they were, making threats, they couldn’t hurt someone caught outside. She hoped security would show up soon to arrest them before they realized she just wanted to distract them.

“I’m also not an animal. You should go look in the mirror if you want to see one.” Ellie gave all four of them a dirty look. “You’re a walking zoo, boys.”

The one with the shotgun cut loose with his weapon. Ellie winced and flinched from each loud blast. She released the button on the com but it barely muted the sound while the man kept firing. A few marks appeared but the glass held. She hated that she’d gotten an up close and personal test of bulletproof glass effectiveness. The jerk with the shotgun stopped firing.

Ellie remembered the wireless security camera and took a few steps back. The camera hung high on the wall and pointed down at the entryway. She kept her attention trained on it while frantically waving to get someone’s attention. She held up four fingers and then mimicked a gun with her fingers, moving her thumb to stimulate firing. She pointed to her watch to indicate it was happening now. She hoped someone at the security office who watched that camera had played charades before since those cameras weren’t wired for sound. She touched her arm where the guard patches were and sliced her finger over her neck to tell them two guards were dead, hoping they understood all that.

The men opened fire again at the windows, this time in unison, perhaps thinking multiple-weapon attack would break it. Ellie covered her ears to protect them from the loud noises. She backed farther from the windows and tried again to relay what intruders were doing for the camera.

The gunfire suddenly stopped. Ellie turned her head and watched the men form a huddle to talk. One of them broke away to run toward the vehicles. She wondered why he went to the security guards’ car and climbed into the driver’s seat. If he thought stealing one of the employee identification cards would help them get in, he would be disappointed.

Ellie had a bad feeling when grins split the men’s faces. They looked downright gleeful when they moved out of the way. The man behind the wheel of the security car started it and positioned the car on the street to point at the dorm. Her stomach churned, a sick feeling pitting there. She knew what he planned to do in that moment. The driver stomped on the gas. The car lurched forward, jumped the curb, and barreled up the sidewalk that led right to the double, glass doors.