Sander closed the hidden door and rearranged the clothing so that anyone who came looking wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

Boom!

Another strike against the cabin door. The door held, but it wouldn’t for long under that kind of beating.

He stalked from the room and entered the hall at a run. Leander and Jeremiah had taken up defensive stances in the center of the living area. Their weapons were aimed at the door.

“Three more hits and the door is going to collapse,” Leander said with a quick glance over his shoulder.

Sander took stock of the situation. The cabin was surrounded by armed men and all his other guards were either dead or had been taken prisoner. The chances that the attackers would kill Leander and Jeremiah once they’d breached the cabin were high. If they all used the hidden tunnel to escape like Elias, the attackers would find the secret door and follow. No one would be left behind to fix the clothing in the closet, leading the attackers right to them. There could be a shootout in the tunnel system or, worse, the attackers might penetrate Ahtissari Castle before he could gather enough forces to fight back.

The intensity and severity of the attack suggested more than a little preplanning. Whoever was behind the assault had to have had foreknowledge of his plans.

Boom.

The door rattled in its frame.

He didn’t have much time.

“Send out the king and the prince and no one else has to die!” someone shouted from the porch.

“You should have gone with Elias,” Leander said.

“I’m not leaving you here to fight alone with Jeremiah. You’re winded and in pain. They’ll kill you when they get inside.”

“This is what you pay me the big bucks for.”

“I won’t have them kill you both. There’s no time to—”

Boom.

Wood shattered near the lock and the door bowed at the edge.

“When I go out, brace the door with everything you can. They can’t get in the windows unless they use explosives, and if it seems like they’re going to, then take to the tunnels. The hell with it.” Sander divested himself of his weapon and the extra magazines.

“Sander! You can’t go out there. They might kill you on sight.”

“So be it. Do what I say, Leander. That’s an order.” Sander approached the door and took a deep breath. There was no telling what would happen once he came face-to-face with the attackers. Part of leading a nation was knowing when to fall back on negotiations, and this seemed like that time. The attackers wanted something from him and Elias. It was a matter of figuring out what and how to work around it.

“This is Sander. I’ll surrender on the condition that your men back off from the cabin and leave everyone else alive,” he called through the battered door.

“No! The king and the prince!” the attacker replied.

“Only me.” Sander wouldn’t have it any other way. If the attackers refused, and the threat to Leander and Jeremiah remained, they would have to revert to another plan.

“Last chance. The king and the prince, or everyone dies!”

“Sander, they’re not going to let us live. Get into the tunnel before it’s too late,” Leander said.

“I’m not leaving you two behind.” Sander didn’t mean to snarl at Leander. His frustration and annoyance at the situation knew no bounds. “I directed Elias to send troops, but I can’t be sure they’ll get here in time. You two get into the tunnel now. No arguments. I’ll brace the sofa against the door and follow.”

Leander looked doubtful.

Boom.

The cabin shook with the force of the hit.

“Go!” Sander hissed.

Leander and Jeremiah ran down the hall toward the master bedroom.

Sander wasted no time. The door was about to give any second. He maneuvered the sofa in front of the door and tipped the piece onto its back edge, creating a haphazard brace. It should hold through another two or three strikes, as far as he could tell. Although he greatly disliked exposing the tunnel, and possibly having a shootout within that subterranean space, he couldn’t risk all three of them dying when the attackers breached the cabin. The one positive aspect was that he knew the passageway by heart and the attackers did not.

He paused to snatch up his gun and the extra magazines, and was halfway across the living room when a sudden explosion ripped through the living area.

The concussive blast blew him against the wall. Shards of furniture penetrated his clothing, his skin. His ears rang. He wound up facedown on the floor, gasping for breath. The last thing he did was curse before hands grabbed his body and hauled him through the gaping maw at the front of the cabin.