Chapter 26
MIA
The lake is ice-cold, stealing my breath as I break the surface, gasping. Where are they?
“Emma! Ella!” My voice is hoarse, panic clawing up my throat. The water is vast, black, endless.
Then—a splash. A choked sob.
I whip toward the sound. Emma’s head bobs a few feet away, arms flailing wildly.
But Ella… Ella is sinking.
I dive. My hands slash through the dark, grasping at nothing. Then—fabric. Hair. I yank her up, breaking the surface as she coughs, gasping for air.
I have them.
I crush them against me, kicking hard to stay afloat. “I’ve got you, babies. Hold on.”
Emma sobs into my shoulder. Ella clings to me, shaking, coughing.
Then, Jason’s voice shreds through the night.
“Mia! You think the water can save you?”
I twist, trying to spot him. His voice echoes off the trees, impossible to place.
Emma whimpers. Ella’s fingers dig into my skin.
We have to move.
The current pulls at us, dragging us away from shore. I scan the waterline, searching for anything. We’ll never make it to the other side of the lake.
I drag the girls through the water, every muscle screaming, lungs burning. The shore is close. Just a little further.
Emma clings to my neck, legs tight around my waist. Ella’s grip is a vise on my arm, her body shaking violently against mine. The moment my feet find the rocky bottom, I haul them up, pushing forward until we collapse against the damp earth.
We can’t stay here.
The cliff looms above us, the same one we jumped from. If we can’t see Jason, there’s a good chance he can’t see us, either. I press the girls into the shadows beneath a cluster of boulders, bodies still dripping, breathing ragged.
A shot rips through the trees. Birds explode into the sky.
Emma muffles a scream against my shoulder.
“That was a warning!” Jason calls, his voice slithering through the dark. “Next one won’t be.”
Ella’s tiny fingers twist into my shirt, her breath hot against my ear. “Mommy?” she whispers.
I cup the back of her head, pressing a kiss there. “Shh, baby,” I murmur. “Stay small. Stay quiet.”
My heart pounds in my throat as I listen. Jason is close. Too close.
I haul the girls deeper into the ravine, legs shaking from cold and exhaustion. The terrain works in our favor, with its thick underbrush, jagged rocks, and the tangled remains of fallen trees. It’s damp, the smell of wet earth and moss filling my lungs.
The girls are spent, their small bodies trembling in my arms.
I scan for cover. There. A massive tree lies uprooted, its gnarled roots forming a hollow beneath the trunk. It’s not much, but it will have to do.
I crawl in first, making sure the space is deep enough, then gently guide the girls inside.
Emma clings to my sleeve. “Mommy, I don’t—”
I cup her cheek. “I know, baby. I know.”
Ella’s lip quivers, her little hands fisting in my shirt.
We can’t run. Not together.
I wrap my arms around them both, pressing kisses into their wet hair. This is killing me. But I have to be strong.
“We’re playing a game,” I whisper. “Like Secret Agent Asher taught you. Hide and seek.”
Ella sniffs. “But you always find us.”
I force a smile, brushing her hair from her face. “And I always will.” I grip her tiny hands. “But right now, you have to be the best hiders, okay? The best in the whole world.”
Emma wipes her nose, trying so hard to be brave. “Like secret agents?”
I nod. “Just like that.”
I tuck them in tighter, pressing them against the thick roots, covering them with leaves and dirt just like Asher showed them in practice drills.
“Stay quiet,” I murmur. My voice shakes, but I keep going. “No matter what happens.”
Ella’s face crumples, and Emma bites her lip so hard, it turns white.
I can’t cry. Not now.
I move carefully at first, making sure the girls are fully concealed beneath the tangle of roots and leaves. Their wide, terrified eyes are the last thing I see before I turn away, swallowing the panic clawing at my throat.
Now, I need to lead him away.
Make it obvious. Make him chase you.
I start with the ground, stepping deliberately in the wet soil, pressing my heels down hard to deepen my footprints.
I break small branches as I pass, bending them at sharp angles, leaving clear disturbances in the underbrush.
Little details he’ll notice. The kind of things that will make him think I’m panicked, running blind.
A few yards away, I grab a fallen branch and drag it through the mud behind me, making a long, desperate-looking skid mark in the earth. A sign of struggle, of slipping, of weakness. Jason will eat that up.
The shot from earlier still rings in my ears. I don’t have much time.
I rip my soaked jacket off and toss it onto a low-hanging branch, letting it dangle there like I was caught by it and struggled free. Then, I kick over a few loose stones, sending them tumbling down a slope, loud enough to echo through the ravine.
Come on, come on. Take the bait.
I quicken my pace, snapping twigs underfoot, keeping my direction erratic, zigzagging just enough to make it look unintentional. Just enough to make him believe he’s hunting me.
Then, for the final touch, I run straight into a clearing—a stupid move. A real runner would stick to cover, but I need to look desperate. Lost. Vulnerable.
I slow, just enough to let him see me.
The crunch of boots behind me makes my heart seize. A chilling voice follows.
“There you are, sweetheart.”
Jason’s grip on my arm is bruising as he wrenches me toward him, his breath hot against my ear. My lungs burn from the chase, but I refuse to let him hear my fear. I keep my head high, my shoulders squared, just like Damon taught me. Just like Asher drilled into me.
“You always make things so difficult, Mia.” His voice is smooth, almost amused, but his fingers dig harder into my flesh. “You know, we could’ve done this the easy way. You and me. A family. The way it was supposed to be.”
I jerk my arm, trying to break free, but Jason is stronger, his grip like iron. My pulse hammers.
Not now. Don’t panic. Think. Stall.
Jason sighs dramatically. “This doesn’t have to be messy, Mia. You give in now, and everyone stays safe. We go back to how things were. I take care of you, of the girls. No more running. No more men pretending they can protect you.”
A cold laugh bubbles out before I can stop it. “Protect me? You mean like how you protected those informants in Kandahar?”
The slap comes fast. My head snaps to the side, stars bursting in my vision. The metallic tang of blood blooms in my mouth.
Jason’s men shout from deeper in the woods. I’m not getting out of here. I just hope they don’t find the girls.
Jason’s head snaps toward me, eyes wild. “Where are the girls?”
I say nothing. I can’t. My heart pounds so loudly, I swear he can hear it.
“You want to make this hard?” His voice lowers, turns sharp. “Fine. I’ll leave them here for the bears. Or worse.”
Terror claws up my throat, and for the first time, my resolve wavers. “You wouldn’t,” I whisper, hating how fragile I sound.
Jason smirks, relishing my fear. “Try me.”
My body shakes as tears blur my vision. I want to believe he's bluffing, but I know Jason. His cruelty is measured, calculated. If he thinks it will break me, he'll do it. And I can’t let that happen.
A gunshot cracks through the trees.
Then another.
Jason’s head snaps up, his whole body going rigid. A second later, return fire erupts, cutting through the forest like a thunderstorm.
Someone is firing at Jason’s men.
The boys are here.
My breath stutters. Hope surges through my chest, nearly choking me.
Jason curses under his breath, jerking me up by my arm. His expression is pure rage now, lips curling in frustration. He didn’t expect them to get here so soon. He thought he had more time.
He yanks me close, his fingers digging painfully into my flesh. “Looks like your knights are here to play hero,” he sneers. “Let’s see how well they fight when I have you as a shield.”
He starts dragging me back toward the cabin. No. I can’t let him take me inside.
Panic flares in my chest, but I shove it down. Think, Mia. Think. I dig my heels into the dirt, twisting against his grip, but Jason is bigger, stronger. He shoves me forward, forcing me toward the clearing.
Gunfire intensifies. Shouts ring through the woods. My name… one of them is calling my name.
“You fucking bitch,” he hisses.
I laugh, breathless and shaking. Hope blooms inside me
“Did you really think they wouldn’t come?” I whisper, my voice trembling with something that feels a lot like victory.
Jason spits. “I knew they would come. Too bad they’re not getting out of here alive. And you’re going to be my perfect bait.”
Jason’s fingers tighten around my arm as he yells to his men. “Fall back! Get to the truck!”
I swallow down a sob. This is my chance.
I twist, kicking hard at Jason’s knee. He stumbles, cursing. I bolt.
Gunfire erupts around us. The trees blur as I run, lungs burning.
Then a familiar voice, rough and desperate.
“Mia!”
Damon!