Chapter 14 Eli
FOURTEEN
ELI
The water shuts off with a metallic clunk and I step out of the shower, steam curling around me like fog on the mountain.
I grab a towel and dry off quickly, already thinking about the day ahead.
Daisy and I have fallen into a rhythm these last few days that feels right.
She’ll be in the kitchen right now, probably making coffee, maybe humming softly to herself while she waits for me.
I smile at the thought as I pull on jeans and a thermal shirt.
The cabin is quiet except for the faint crackle of the fire I built earlier.
I walk into the main room and stop cold.
The kitchen’s empty. The coffee maker sits untouched.
No mug on the counter. No sign of her at all.
My stomach tightens. She’s probably in the bathroom or maybe she went back to bed, I tell myself.
But the bedroom door stands open and the bed is made, the quilt pulled neat the way she always leaves it. My pulse kicks up a notch.
“Daisy?” I call out. My voice echoes back at me, flat and empty.
I move through the cabin fast. Bathroom empty.
The hook by the door where I keep the spare truck keys is bare.
The black truck. The one I showed her yesterday in the garage.
My heart slams against my ribs now. I spot the note on the counter, propped against the salt shaker like she wanted to make sure I would see it.
My name is written on the front in her neat handwriting.
I read the words once, then again, slower, as if that will change what they say.
I’m sorry. I love you. This is the only way to keep you safe. Please do not follow me. Tell the others I am grateful for everything. I will never forget any of you.
My hands start to shake. The paper crumples between my fingers.
She left. She took the truck and left. Dominic must have gotten to her somehow.
Or her father. Or both. The thought of her out there alone, scared, driving straight into danger makes something savage rise in my chest. I love her.
I haven’t said the words out loud yet, but I feel them in every beat of my heart.
She walked into my life bleeding and terrified and she became everything. I can’t lose her. Not like this.
I yank on my boots, grab my coat and gun, and dial Silas before I even reach the door.
He answers on the first ring. “Eli?”
“She’s gone,” I say, voice raw. “She left a note. Took the black truck. I think her father or Dominic got to her. I’m heading to the lodge now.”
“Get here. I’ll wake everyone.”
I run the short distance, boots pounding the snow.
My breath fogs in harsh clouds. The cold bites at my face but I barely feel it.
All I feel is the hollow panic clawing at my gut.
She thinks she is protecting us. That’s exactly the kind of thing she would do.
Brave and selfless and so damn stubborn it makes me want to roar.
The lodge door flies open before I reach it.
Silas, Rafe, Gavin, and Boyd are already inside, pulling on coats and checking weapons.
The rest of the men file in behind them, faces grim.
Harper stands in the doorway to the kitchen with Poppi on her hip, eyes wide with worry.
Hannah and the other women hover close, silent but alert.
I slap the note down on the table. “She left this. Said it was the only way to keep us safe. She took the black truck from the garage.”
Silas reads it fast and passes it to Rafe. “We need to move. Boyd, check the garage and confirm the truck is gone. Gavin, pull every camera feed from the gate and the lower road. Harlan, get on the radio with my deputies. Tell them we have a possible abduction and we need every available unit.”
The room explodes into motion. Men grab gear.
Radios crackle. I stand at the center of it, fists clenched, fighting the urge to run straight down the mountain after her.
I love her. The realization hits me again, sharper this time.
I love the way she smiles when she thinks I’m not looking.
I love how she asks questions about my workshop like she really cares.
I love how she fits against me at night like she was made to be there. I can’t lose her. I won’t.
Boyd comes back in at a jog. “The black truck is gone. Fresh tracks in the snow heading south toward the old logging road.”
Gavin already has his laptop open. “Pulling footage now. Gate camera caught her leaving twenty minutes ago. She was alone. Driving fast.”
We crowd around the screen. The black and white video shows the truck rolling through the open gate. Daisy’s face is visible for a split second behind the wheel. Even in the grainy image I can see the tears on her cheeks. My chest tightens until it hurts to breathe.
“She’s heading straight into them,” I say. My voice sounds wrecked. “We have to go after her. Now.”
Silas nods. “We are. But we do it smart. Rafe, you and Chase take the east road. Boyd and Wyatt, west. Eli, you ride with me. We’ll cut her off before she reaches the highway. Harlan, Thorne, stay here and guard the women and kids. Gavin, keep feeding us live updates from the cameras.”
My phone buzzes. I yank it out. Unknown number. I answer on speaker so everyone can hear.
A man’s voice comes through, calm and cold. “Eli Mason?”
“Who is this?”
“Dominic Garcia. I have your girl. She’s safe for now. But that can change. Tell your men to stand down. If I see a single truck from that mountain coming after us, I’ll put a bullet in her head and send you the video.”
Rage explodes through me so hot I see red. “You touch her and I will hunt you down myself. I will burn every place you own until there’s nothing left.”
Dominic laughs softly. “Big words for a medic. She made her choice. She came to us to save you. Let her. Stay on your mountain and she might live. Come after her and she dies. Your call.”
The line goes dead.
The room is silent for half a second. Then I slam my fist on the table. “We’re going. I don’t care what he said. I’m getting her back.”
Silas grips my shoulder hard. “We’re all going. But we do it right. No suicide runs. We use the back roads. We stay off the cameras. We get her and we bring her home.”
Gavin’s laptop chimes. “New footage. She pulled off at the old logging road pullout. A sedan was waiting. Two men grabbed her. She fought. They used something on her, a cloth over her face. She’s in the sedan now heading south toward the highway.”
I’m already moving toward the door. “Let’s go.”
The next hour is a blur of trucks roaring down back roads, radios crackling with updates, and my heart hammering so hard I feel it in my teeth.
I ride with Silas, rifle across my lap, eyes scanning every shadow.
I keep seeing her face in that gate camera footage.
The tears. The determination. She left because she loves me.
She thought she was protecting us. The thought makes me want to tear the world apart.
We cut across old fire roads and logging trails, trying to intercept the sedan before it reaches the main highway. Silas drives like a man possessed. I grip the door handle and pray we’re not too late.
Gavin’s voice comes over the radio. “Sedan just passed the county line. They’re heading toward the old industrial park outside town. I have a drone up. We have eyes on them.”
“Copy,” Silas says. “We’re ten minutes out.”
I stare out the windshield, jaw locked so tight it aches.
I love her. I love the way she looks at me like I’m her safe place.
I love how she fits in my arms like she was always meant to be there.
I love her bravery and her kindness and the way she makes me want to be better.
I can’t lose her. Not now. Not when I finally found the one person who makes the quiet parts of my life feel full.
The industrial park comes into view. Abandoned warehouses and rusted fences. The black sedan sits parked beside a large metal building. Two men stand guard outside. Dominic is nowhere in sight yet, but I know he’s inside with her.
Silas kills the engine a quarter mile away. The rest of the team pulls up behind us in a silent line. We move on foot through the snow, rifles ready, boots quiet on the frozen ground. My heart pounds steady now. Focused. This is what I trained for. This is what I’ll do for her.
We reach the fence. Boyd cuts the chain. We slip through one by one. I take point, every sense on high alert. I love her. The words repeat in my head like a heartbeat. I love her and I’m bringing her home.
We breach the side door of the warehouse. The fight is fast and brutal. Gunfire cracks. Men go down. I move through the chaos with one goal only: find Daisy. I clear rooms, check corners, heart in my throat.
Then I see her.
She’s tied to a chair in the center of the main room, gag in her mouth, eyes wide with fear and relief when she spots me. Dominic stands behind her, gun pressed to her temple.
“Drop it, medic,” he says calmly. “Or she dies right now.”
I lower my rifle but keep it ready. My voice is steady even though my hands want to shake. “Let her go. You don’t have to do this.”
Dominic smiles. “She belongs to me. Her father made a deal. She’s mine.”
“She belongs to me,” I say. “And I’m taking her home.”
The rest happens in seconds. Rafe takes the shot from the catwalk above. Dominic drops. I sprint forward, cut the ties on Daisy’s wrists, pull the gag free. She collapses into my arms, sobbing.
“I have you,” I whisper against her hair. “I have you, baby girl. You’re safe. I love you. I love you so much.”
She clings to me, crying harder. “I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting you.”
I hold her tighter. “You never have to protect me by leaving me. We do this together. Always.”
The team secures the building. Deputies arrive minutes later with sirens wailing. Statements are taken. Dominic’s men are cuffed and hauled away. Through it all I keep Daisy wrapped in my arms, refusing to let her go even for a second.
When the last ambulance pulls away I lift her into the truck and drive us back up the mountain. She stays curled against my side the whole way, head on my shoulder, hand gripping mine like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.
We pull up to the cabin as the sun sets behind the peaks.
I carry her inside, lock the door, and sit on the couch with her in my lap.
She cries again, quieter this time, and I hold her through it, stroking her back and whispering that she is safe, that I love her, that nothing will ever take her from me again.
Later, when she has calmed and the fire is crackling, she looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “I love you, Eli. I was so scared I would never get to tell you.”
I kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “I love you too, Daisy. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. You’re staying. We’re building a life here. Together. No more running.”
She nods and rests her head on my chest again. I hold her close and let the truth settle deep in my bones.
She’s home.
And I’m never letting her go.