Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Lincoln
F ear and the cool night air sent a chill up my spine as I stepped onto the high school football field. The sound of the rhythmic thump of the helicopter’s rotors cut through the darkness, making talking almost impossible. The field, usually a place of teenage cheers and Friday night lights, felt surreal under the dim glow of the stadium’s floodlights. The chopper sat at the fifty-yard line, its sleek black form almost blending into the night. Our only hope of possibly reaching Zara in time.
It had been years since I suited up for combat, but I didn’t hesitate for a moment when our man at the chopper handed me a weapon as I jumped into the cabin of the helicopter. We were probably going to get a fine or something for landing at the local high school but that was a problem for another day. The interior was illuminated by the faint green glow of the instrument panel showing three more operators from G&H ready to join our team in the crazy race north.
Would seven men be enough to do what was needed? I slipped on a headset and strapped myself in.
“Ready?” The pilot's voice was clear. We all gave him a thumbs up. The door slid shut with a heavy clunk, sealing us inside. The noise of the rotors grew louder, a deep, thrumming beat that seemed to pulse through my entire body. With a lurch, the helicopter lifted off the ground, the field dropping away beneath us as we rose into the night sky.
The town below quickly became a blur of tiny lights, the high school shrinking to a mere speck as we gained altitude. The pilot banked sharply, and we shot forward, the dark expanse of the distance we had to travel looming ahead like a shadowy fortress. I could almost imagine the mountains barely visible moving closer. Adrenaline surged through me as we raced toward them, the hum of the rotors and the distant roar of the wind the only sounds accompanying us on our journey.
“What do we know?” Colin asked, his voice clipped with worry.
“Cell towers in the entire area are down,” Gresham our co-pilot reported. “From what we know, the security hasn’t been tripped, we think they took out the phone line from the street level but not our backup system. So if they are there they haven’t breached the house yet. Plan is to land if we don’t see activity, or do a hover stop if there is.”
I cursed. We should have made sure Brody and his team had a satellite phone as back up. We’d grown soft and treated this like Mihal wasn’t really dangerous. Desperation had made him into a bigger threat than any of us could have imagined. There was a level cleared area for the helicopter a five minute walk from the house but the backyard was clear enough of trees for him to hover if we needed a closer spot.
The roar of the helicopter’s rotors couldn’t drown out the pounding of my heart. There was nothing else we could do but wait and pray. The night was pitch black, offering no distractions to the thousands of negative thoughts racing through my mind. All I could think about was Zara. How she was out there, vulnerable, with Mihal closing in and didn’t realize it. The thought of her in his hands made my blood run cold.
I clenched my fists, trying to steady my breathing, but every beat of my heart screamed at me to move faster. Colin sat across from me, his face set in stone. We’d been through hell together. Survived so much, but I didn’t think we could survive losing her. His eyes met mine, and for a moment, we didn’t need words. We both knew what was at stake.
We both loved her. God, I loved her more than anything, and the thought of losing her—of not getting there in time—was a weight on my chest that I could barely breathe under. She was my light in the dark, my reason for fighting, and I would tear the world apart to keep her safe.
But what if we were too late? The thought gnawed at me, and I felt a cold sweat break out on my brow. What if we landed and she was gone, taken by that bastard Mihal? The image of her terrified, struggling, made me grit my teeth so hard my jaw ached. I wouldn’t let it happen. If she wasn’t safe when we got there, God help Mihal, because we’d hunt him to the ends of the earth.
Colin shifted in his seat, checking his weapon for the third time. He caught my eye again and nodded. We would do whatever it took, and we wouldn’t stop until she was safe. That much was certain. But the uncertainty—the not knowing if we’d get there in time—was like a knife twisting in my gut.
Now wasn’t the time to panic. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to picture her face, her smile, the sound of her laugh. I held on to those memories like a lifeline, pushing down the fear and focusing on what needed to be done. If we made it in time, I’d hold her close and never let go. But if we didn’t… I forced the thought away. We would make it. We had to.
“Just got notification the house’s alarm has been tripped.” Gresham’s voice cut through my thoughts.
“Is Zara okay?” The words were like glass shards in my throat.
“We’re not close enough for coms but headquarters say the upstairs safe room has been activated. Five minutes and we should be in range,” he replied.
“Patch the com channel to our headsets. I want to hear what is going on the second it’s possible,” Colin demanded.
“Wilco,” Gresham responded.
It was the longest five minutes of my life as if the universe itself was holding its breath. The sound of Brody’s voice cursing was the best thing I’d ever heard.
“Fucking pompous taint sockets.” The sound of gunfire followed the creative words.
I had no idea what he was cursing, but if he was talking, he was alive, and if he was alive, I had no doubt he’d keep Zara safe.
“Brody, back-up two minutes out. Give us a sitrep,” Colin’s words were tense but I could tell, like me, he was relieved.
“Thank fuck these assholes are idiots, but they have a lot of ammo and are spraying bullets everywhere, so be careful.” We could hear Brody take a breath over the com. “We’ve taken out three so far, but I think there are another five hiding in the woods taking pot shots at us. Donovan’s with me covering the front. He got hit in the first encounter, but he’s functional. Radcliffe and Norwood have the back covered. If we had more ammo we would have tried to take them out, but for now we’re saving our shots for when they are dumb enough to pop their heads up.”
“Well, we’ve got plenty of bullets that we’re happy to share.” Colin smiled. “We’re going to come in hot to the backyard. Make use of the distraction.”
The helicopter dipped as we started our descent, the mountains of the Poconos rising up to meet us. I gripped the seat, every muscle in my body taut with anticipation. Reynolds and Jackson opened the doors staying strapped in but raising their rifles to their shoulders and aimed out into the night. The two men were almost as close as Colin and I and had served in the same unit in the Marines. They knew what to do.
This was it. Everything came down to this moment. And I would be damned if I let anyone take her from me.