Chapter 38 – Jaxon
The car screeched to a halt in the shadow of the warehouse, the tires kicking up gravel as Declan cut the engine. I was out before the car had fully stopped, my pulse pounding in my ears as I scanned the area. The GPS was still pinging, steady and clear, but it didn’t make the knot in my chest loosen.
“She’s in there,” I said, my voice low but firm as I pointed toward the building. “She has to be.”
Bennett stepped up beside me, his eyes sweeping over the warehouse with the practiced calm of a man who’d done this a hundred times before. “Industrial layout,” he muttered. “Probably a few entry points. We’ll want eyes on each.”
Declan nodded, pulling his phone out to coordinate. “I’ve got men on standby, but we’re keeping this quiet until we’re in and out. No noise.”
“Sean’s in there too,” I seethed, “So’s Calloway. If we don’t move fast, they’ll relocate her — or worse.”
“Fast doesn’t mean reckless,” Bennett replied, his tone clipped as he checked his weapon. “Keep your head, Brooks.”
My fists clenched at my sides, the urge to charge in overwhelming. But he was right. Maddie needed me sharp, not reckless. I took a deep breath, forcing the anger and fear into something colder, more focused. For her.
Declan handed me a comms earpiece. “You take point,” he said. “She’s your priority. I’ll stay here to keep watch. Bennett can sweep the perimeter and cover your back.”
I didn’t argue. There was no time for that. Every second we spent standing here was a second Maddie didn’t have.
I slipped the earpiece in, its faint buzz barely registering over the pounding of my heart. My hand instinctively brushed over my pocket, feeling the cold metal of the chain nestled inside.
My Scout had left me a sign, a breadcrumb in the dark, and I wasn’t about to let her down now. Not again.
I should’ve taken her concerns more seriously from the start, should’ve put my pride aside and seen the situation for what it really was. Instead, I’d let my own denial, my own inability to reconcile Sean’s betrayal, cloud my judgment.
We moved quickly and quietly, skirting around the side of the building. The faint sound of voices reached my ears — low and sharp, echoing from somewhere inside. My heart pounded as I tried to make out the words, but they were muffled, too distant to be clear.
Declan instructed for Bennett to take the east side, while he circled toward the back. I kept my focus on the main entrance, my every sense tuned to the slightest movement.
If Sean was in there, if he’d laid so much as a finger on her-
I forced the thought aside as we slipped through the door into a dimly lit hallway. The air was stale, cold, and carried a faint metallic tang. My grip tightened on my weapon as I moved cautiously, my eyes scanning every corner.
The first room was small and barren, reeking of mildew and neglect. My chest tightened when I spotted the loose zip ties near the wall, their plastic edges frayed as though she’d struggled against them.
Then I saw it — just above the spot where the ties lay discarded, scratched faintly into the rusted metal wall. My breath caught as my eyes locked on the jagged lines, uneven but deliberate. I moved closer, crouching to get a better look, the adrenaline surging through my veins making every detail sharper.
The words stared back at me, raw and defiant: Scout’s Honor.
My fingers brushed over the rough surface, the ridges biting against my skin like a physical reminder of her determination.
She’d been here. She’d fought, struggled, freed herself.
She hadn’t just stopped there — she’d taken the time, through whatever fear or pain she was feeling, to leave a message, etched into the wall like a promise: she wasn’t giving up.
For a moment, everything else faded — the voices in the comms, the heavy tension in the air. All I could think about was Madeline. The image of her sitting here, blindfolded and restrained, her hands scraping against the rusted metal as she carved out those words with whatever she’d managed to find.
My Scout.
Stubborn as hell.
Smart as a tack.
“Brooks, status?” Declan’s voice crackled through the comm, grounding me back in the present.
I clenched my jaw, my voice low and tight as I answered. “She’s inside. She left a message.”
“What kind of message?” Bennett’s voice, calm but pointed, cut through the air.
I stared at the words again, the weight of them settling in my chest. “ Scout’s Honor, ” I said, the words almost catching in my throat. “She’s still fighting.”
A beat of silence passed before Declan’s voice came back, sharper now. “Then let’s make sure she doesn’t fight alone. Move.”
I stood, my fingers brushing the tags in my pocket as I turned toward the far end of the room. The scratches on the wall burned in my mind, a constant reminder of who Maddie was.
Fierce. Resilient. Mine.
The distant sound of voices grew louder as I crept deeper into the warehouse, every sense on high alert. My grip on my weapon tightened, the cold steel grounding me as adrenaline surged through my veins.
Declan’s voice came through the comm again, low and steady. “Perimeter’s clear. Bennett’s moving into position.”
“Copy,” I muttered, barely above a whisper, my focus locked on the corridor ahead. The faint glow of light spilled from a partially open door at the end, shadows shifting inside. My heart slammed against my ribs as I moved closer, my breaths shallow and controlled.
The voices were sharper now, one of them unmistakably Sean’s. That smug, condescending tone I’d once trusted now made my blood boil. Another voice joined his — Calloway, no doubt. I couldn’t make out all the words, but the tension was palpable, their argument a mix of anger and frustration.
I crouched just outside the door, peering through the crack. The room was larger than I’d expected, dimly lit by a single overhead bulb that cast long shadows across the walls. Sean stood near the centre, gesturing wildly, his injured shoulder wrapped in a makeshift sling. Calloway was seated at a table, calm but clearly irritated, a glass of something amber in his hand.
Then I saw her.
She was in the corner, her arms tied to a pipe running along the wall. Her head was tilted forward, her hair falling over her face, but she was alive .
The relief that flooded through me was sharp and almost unbearable. She looked exhausted, her shoulders slumped, but there was a stubbornness in the way she held herself, even restrained.
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to stay calm. Rushing in now would get us both killed. I had to be smart about this.
“Sean,” Calloway said, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. “You’ve lost control of this situation. The girl is more trouble than she’s worth.”
Sean barked out a laugh, though it sounded forced. “I’ve got it under control.”
Calloway’s gaze shifted to Maddie, and my blood ran cold at the disdain in his expression. “She’s a liability. We should end this.”
My grip on my weapon tightened, my vision narrowing as every muscle in my body screamed to act. But I held back, waiting for the right moment.
“Calloway,” Sean said, his tone slipping into something closer to desperation. “She’s leverage.”
Calloway didn’t look convinced. His gaze drifted lazily to Maddie, chained in the corner, and his lips curled into a slow, cruel smile. “We could still pawn her to someone who knows how to make good use of her. Theres still time.”
My blood turned to ice, and every part of me tensed, fury bubbling under the surface. The way Calloway said it, so casual, so calculated, sent a chill through me.
Sean hesitated, glancing at Maddie before quickly looking away. “You’d risk moving her now? That’s a good way to get caught.”
Calloway’s smile didn’t falter. “It’s not about moving her — it’s about knowing the right people. I know plenty of buyers who’d pay a fortune for someone like her. Young… Pretty enough to turn heads… She’d fetch a good price.”
My vision narrowed, every word fuelling the fire in my chest. Maddie wasn’t leverage, wasn’t a liability, and she sure as fuck wasn’t something to sell off like property. These bastards were going to pay for even thinking it.
Calloway straightened his jacket with deliberate care, his voice cold. “You’ve got an hour. Decide. Either we take care of her, or I’ll start a bid for her and she’s no longer my fucking problem.”
The words hit like a sledgehammer, sharp and brutal, and I had to grip the doorframe to keep from charging in right then and there. My blood boiled, my fists clenched around the weapon in my hand.
Maddie wasn’t just some bargaining chip or commodity to these fuckers — they thought they could trade her, decide her fate like she wasn’t a person, like she wasn’t mine.
Sean didn’t respond immediately. His expression twisted, caught between frustration and indecision. “You’re jumping the gun,” he muttered, his voice lower now, almost defensive.
Calloway scoffed, clearly unimpressed.He gestured toward Maddie, chained in the corner like a caged animal. “She’s a problem, Weston. Problems don’t solve themselves. She’s no use to us alive.”
Sean hesitated, his jaw working as he glanced toward Madeline. My Scout. Even in her position, she had lifted her chin, her gaze locked on them with a fire that refused to dim. She wasn’t pleading, wasn’t breaking — she was defying them without saying a word.
With that, he was gone, the sound of his footsteps fading into the shadows. Sean cursed under his breath, turning back toward Maddie. His frustration was clear, but his next move was anyone’s guess. He muttered something I couldn’t catch as he leaned against the table, glaring at the ground like it might hold the answer.
I took a breath, forcing myself to focus. One hour. That’s all I had to get to her before they did something irreversible.
This wasn’t just about saving her anymore. This was about ending this, making damn sure that neither Sean nor Calloway ever had the chance to hurt her — or anyone else — again.
My mind was racing, fury and panic mixing into a volatile cocktail that threatened to boil over. I forced myself to stay rooted, to focus. Sean was still there, pacing near Madeline, muttering to himself like a caged animal trying to figure out its next move.
I leaned back from the doorframe just enough to press a finger to my earpiece. “Dec,” I whispered, my voice tight. “Tell me you got all of that.”
There was a pause, then Declan’s voice came through, calm and calculated. “Every word.”
A rush of relief cut through the anger, though it didn’t ease the fire burning in my chest. “Good,” I muttered. “Because when this is over, I’m making damn sure that conversation comes back to bite both of them in the ass.”
“We’ve got more than enough now,” Declan replied. “But let’s focus on getting her out first. Evidence doesn’t mean shit if we lose her.”
I swallowed hard as I glanced back through the crack in the door. Maddie was still in the corner, her head tilted forward, her braid brushing her shoulder as she moved slightly, testing her chains. Even restrained, she was trying, fighting, refusing to give in.
“She’s strong,” Declan added, his voice softer now, almost as if he could read my thoughts. “But she needs you to keep your head, Jaxon. You go in hot, you risk her and yourself.”
“I know,” I said, though the words felt like gravel in my throat. Keeping my head was easier said than done when the woman I loved was being discussed like property to be sold. “How’s Bennett?”
“In position,” Declan replied. “We’ve got the perimeter covered. You’re clear to move when ready.”
I took a deep breath, forcing the anger and panic into something colder, more precise. Maddie needed me to be sharp. She needed me to be everything I’d trained to be.
“Let’s do this,” I said, my voice low and steady. “I’m bringing her home.”