Chapter 20
EVELYN
Dutch’s blood felt hot and slick between my fingers as I pressed down on his shoulder.
The bullet had gone clean through, but that didn’t make the bleeding any less serious.
His face had gone pale under his weathered tan, the skin around his eyes tight with pain as he tried to sit up despite my efforts to keep him still.
“Stay down, old man,” I said, putting more weight into my hands. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Been shot before,” Dutch grumbled. “This ain’t my first rodeo.” He grimaced, then let out a string of curses creative enough to make a sailor blush.
I pushed harder on the wound, my hands already cramping from maintaining pressure. The coppery smell of blood filled my nostrils, mixing with the pine-scented Montana air.
Nolan and Ethan had shown up at the junkyard just in time, Ethan providing cover fire while Nolan landed the helicopter and ushered us aboard.
The flight to the old resort near the reservoir took nine long minutes.
Nine minutes of Dutch's labored breathing, of replaying Sheriff Parker's empty eyes and that flat voice saying my real name.
Evelyn Winslow. Nine minutes of knowing Langston had found us, had been watching, had turned an entire town into his hunting ground.
“Did everyone get out?” Dutch asked, his voice weaker than I’d ever heard it as Ethan and Nolan carried him off the helicopter. His eyes, though clouded with pain, remained sharp and alert, fixed on my face.
“Yes.” I nodded, glancing toward the convoy of trucks and cars parked in the clearing. “All twenty-three unaffected townspeople accounted for.”
Relief crossed his face, softening the lines of pain around his mouth. Even with a bullet in him, Dutch’s first thought was for the town he’d protected for decades.
“Preacher,” Ethan snapped. “We need you.”
Alistair appeared beside me within seconds, medical bag already open, taking in the situation with a single glance.
“GSW to the left shoulder, through and through,” Ethan reported. “Bleeding steadily but not spurting.”
“Good.” Alistair nodded, pulling on surgical gloves with quick snaps. “Missed the artery. I can work with that.” His voice carried a calm confidence that made my shoulders loosen slightly. He nudged me out of the way. “Evelyn, I got him now. You can let go when I count to three.”
He positioned his hands beside mine, gauze pads ready. “One, two, three.”
I lifted my bloody hands as he took over, expertly applying pressure while simultaneously checking Dutch’s pulse with his other hand.
“Pulse is steady, if a bit rapid,” he murmured, more to himself than to us. “BP looks acceptable given the blood loss.” He glanced up at me. “You did well. Pressure was exactly right.”
Dutch snorted. “Course she did well. Woman’s been running from trouble for years. Picks up things.”
I wiped my hands on my jeans, leaving rusty smears across the denim. “Not running anymore,” I reminded him, though his comment stung with truth. Five years of looking over my shoulder had taught me more about field medicine than I’d ever wanted to know.
Around us, the old resort buzzed with movement. Nolan’s helicopter sat at the edge of the clearing, rotor stilling. Townspeople huddled in groups, clutching bags and children, faces tight with confusion and fear.
My gaze found Sophia instantly, her small form curled against Mrs. Longfield’s side near one of the transport trucks.
The old woman had an arm around my daughter’s shoulders, her silver hair catching the moonlight as she bent to speak into Sophia’s ear.
The sight of my child safe, even temporarily, sent a wave of relief through me so powerful it made my hands shake.
A burst of static from the communications station nearby drew my attention. Decker’s voice crackled through, tight with tension.
“Bravo team engaging heavy resistance at south entrance. At least fifteen hostiles, armed and organized. We’re pushing through, but it’s slow going.”
Ethan stood at the comm station, his tall frame rigid as he processed the information. “Casualties?”
“Negative so far. Leo took a graze to the arm, nothing serious.”
Another channel cut in, this one from Lyric. “Sir, we’ve got confirmation. Gage has breached the facility through the tunnels. He’s gone dark but thermal imaging shows he’s engaging hostiles in what appears to be a lab area.”
Ethan cursed under his breath, the rare display of emotion revealing just how far sideways things had gone. “Confirm position of Alpha team?”
“Ten minutes out from mining facility,” came Trent’s voice, clear and steady despite the chaos unfolding. “Tower’s been destroyed. We’ve downloaded complete files from their computer system.”
That caught Ethan’s attention. “What kind of files?”
“Everything,” Trent replied. “Operations logs, personnel records, experimental data. Transmitting to Ozzy and Kate now for analysis, but I did a preliminary review. Sir, this is bigger than we thought.”
A tightness settled in my chest as I listened, my hands still sticky with Dutch’s blood.
“Multiple parties involved,” Trent continued.
“Someone called ‘Primary Investor’ funded the NeuroLink purchase. Almost certainly Langston, based on the references to his wealth and arms connections. But there are mentions of other interests, other beneficiaries beyond just acquiring Evelyn and Sophia.”
“What kind of other interests?” Ethan demanded.
“The data is encrypted, but fragments mention ‘genetic markers’ and ‘proprietary developmental protocols.’ Something about Sophia specifically.”
The world seemed to tilt beneath me. Genetic markers? Developmental protocols? What the hell did Langston want with Sophia’s genetics?
Alistair glanced up, noticing my frozen posture. “Evelyn?”
“I’m fine,” I said automatically, the lie practiced and smooth. But my mind raced through possibilities, each more horrifying than the last.
Langston was many things. Cruel, controlling, obsessive.
But above all, he was pragmatic. A businessman to his core.
He wouldn’t pour millions into mind-controlling an entire town just to recapture his runaway wife and daughter, no matter how wounded his pride.
There had to be a bigger payoff. Something worth the investment.
The realization hit me like a bucket of ice water. What if we weren’t the goal? What if we were just... bait? Leverage for something else?
I thought of Sophia’s birth. How Langston had insisted on a private clinic, private doctors. How he’d been obsessed with her development, tracking every milestone. I’d chalked it up to his controlling nature, but what if there was more to it?
“Evelyn,” Ethan’s voice pulled me back to the present. He stood before me now, his piercing blue eyes assessing my state. “We need to move the civilians. After that evac, it’s likely they followed the helo and know where we’re stationed. Can you help coordinate?”
I stood, wiping my bloody hands on a towel Alistair handed me. “I’m going to the mining facility.”
The words came out firm, decisive. Not a question.
Ethan’s eyebrows rose slightly. “Abso-fucking-lutely not. You’re staying here where it’s safe.”
“Nowhere is safe,” I snapped, meeting his gaze without flinching. “And you need me. I know Langston Winslow better than anyone here. I know how he thinks, how he moves. That makes me an asset, not a liability.”
“You’re a civilian without tactical training.”
“I’m the only one who can predict what he’ll do next.” I stepped closer, forcing myself not to back down. “If there’s something more going on, if Sophia is somehow valuable to him beyond being his daughter, I need to know what it is. And I need to stop it.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “Your ex-husband has spent years and millions of dollars trying to find you. If you walk into that facility, you’re giving him exactly what he wants.”
“Or I’m giving your team exactly what they need: a distraction.” I surprised myself with the calculating edge in my voice. “If Langston thinks he has me, he’ll get sloppy. Focus on me instead of your people.”
Alistair coughed lightly. “She’s got a point, Grim.”
Ethan shot him a look that would have silenced most people. Alistair just shrugged and continued patching up Dutch.
“Tell me I’m wrong,” I pressed. “Tell me having someone who knows Langston’s patterns, his weaknesses, wouldn’t help your operation.”
Ethan studied me for a long moment, his tactical mind visibly weighing options, calculating risks and benefits. I knew the moment he made his decision; something shifted in his eyes, a grudging respect replacing his initial refusal.
“You go with me,” he said finally. “Stay behind me, follow orders, and if I tell you to run, you run. Agreed?”
Relief and fear coursed through me in equal measure. “Agreed.”
“Evie,” Dutch said softly and reached out for my hand. “Think about Sophia. She needs her mother alive.”
I looked over at my daughter, still safely tucked against Mrs. Longfield’s side. Was I risking too much? Putting my need for answers above my child’s need for a living mother?
No. I was fighting for her future. Whatever Langston wanted with her “genetic markers,” whatever these other parties had planned, it couldn’t be good. Running and hiding had kept us safe for years, but it hadn’t solved anything. Langston had still found us. He’d always find us unless I ended this.
“Mrs. Longfield and Alistair will look after her,” I said, my voice steady. “And I’m coming back.”
Alistair looked up from finishing Dutch’s bandage. “I’ll guard her with my life,” he said simply. The conviction in his voice left no room for doubt.
I crossed to where Sophia sat and knelt in front of her. Her small face, so like mine but with Langston’s eyes, looked up at me with that too-old expression she’d worn since the cult.
God, I’d done so many things wrong in my efforts to protect her from Langston.
And yet he’d found her anyway.
It was long past time to put an end to his reign of terror.
“I’ll be back soon, sweet pea,” I said, touching her cheek. “I need to make sure the bad people can’t hurt anyone else.”
“Mom, are you going to fight the bad people?”
I swallowed hard. “I won’t be fighting. I’ll leave that to the professionals.” I nodded toward Ethan. “But I’m going to make sure they can’t hurt anyone else.”
She nodded solemnly. “Like when you took me away from Dad?”
My heart twisted. “Something like that. Dr. Shaw, Dutch, and Mrs. Longfield will stay with you. I need you to be brave for a little while longer.”
“I’m good at being brave,” she said with heartbreaking seriousness. “Will Vigi be with you?”
“Yes,” I promised, though I wasn’t actually sure. “We’ll both come back.”
She held up Mr. Hoppy and Agent Waddles. “I kept them safe.”
I kissed her forehead, inhaling her scent of pine needles and strawberry shampoo, trying to memorize it. “Keep being brave. I love you more than anything.”
“More than the stars,” she replied, our nightly ritual.
“More than all the stars,” I finished, then forced myself to stand and walk away. Each step felt like tearing something essential.
Ethan waited by one of the tactical vehicles, checking his weapon with methodical thoroughness. The rest of his team—Nolan and two operators I hadn’t met—were already geared up.
“Last chance to back out,” Ethan said as I approached.
I thought of Langston’s face the day I’d left, that moment when his mask had slipped and I’d seen the true coldness beneath. The way he’d talked about Sophia sometimes, more like a project than a daughter.
“I’m done backing out,” I said. “I’m done running.”
Ethan nodded once, then handed me a lightweight tactical vest. “Put this on. Stay behind me. Don’t be a hero.”
I slipped the vest over my bloodstained shirt, feeling its unfamiliar weight settle across my shoulders. The reality of what I was doing—voluntarily walking toward the man I’d spent years fleeing—made my stomach clench.
But for the first time in nearly five years, I wasn’t running from Langston.
I was running toward him.
And this time, I wasn’t alone.