21. Aiden
Aiden
“I’m gonna fucking kill you!” Silas snarls, spitting a mouthful of dirt onto the ground as I roll off of him. “Slowly and painfully.”
I’m already on my feet, my heart a frantic drum against my ribs. “Well, at least you didn’t kill all of us by opening that door.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” On a grunt, he pushes off the ground, soil staining his expensive suit.
Then, he spots the damage, a tear in his trousers.
His gaze sharpens, a low snarl building in his throat. “Forget the dry cleaning. You’re replacing this suit, along with my shoes.”
“I’m sure I’ll owe you a few more things before we’re done.” A new wardrobe is the least of my problems. “But a thank you would be nice, seeing as I just saved your fucking life.”
Brushing the dirt off his suit, he narrows his eyes. “Explain and maybe I’ll say it, but don’t hold your breath.”
Behind us, Zander is barely holding it together. It’s not funny, but the fucker would test the patience of a saint. He knows how close we came to death.
Doesn’t matter. Silas only says thank you to one person, and only when he’s got no other choice.
I jerk my chin toward the door he nearly opened. “See that wire along the top?”
He steps closer, squinting. “No.”
When he steps closer, I grab the back of his jacket to stop him and pay for it. He spins fast and clocks me hard on the jaw, snaps my head back and sends me reeling backward.
“That’s what you get for touching me.”
Bent at the waist, I grunt out my frustration. “Fine. Get closer. Maybe you’ll step on one.”
He backtracks until he’s behind me now. “You serious?”
I rub my jaw, working it from side to side. Nothing’s broken—except my pride. He got one in. It won’t happen again.
Still bent over, I study the ground in front of the door and shrug. “Maybe.”
I’m not about to tell him no. From what I can see, that’s not a possibility. The dirt hasn’t been disturbed. No wire running down the frame. Nothing tucked underneath.
Zander edges closer, eyeing the doorway while I gather myself. “I’m not stepping in there until I know what the hell we’re up against. You think they left or just got far enough away to watch us blow up?”
The dust still hangs in the distance. “They’re not coming back or watching. I doubt they even know we’re here.”
My focus shifts back to the door. “I’m more concerned about why they’d booby-trap a door on a building they were just inside. That’s insane, unless you don’t care you’re okay with dying when it blows.”
I glance at Silas. “Is this Rurik prick that crazy?”
Silas’s eyes move between us like it takes a second to register I’m talking to him. “You’re asking me?”
“You know him better than we do.” I straighten and go stand next to Zander. “So, is he?”
“Hell if I know.” Silas folds his arms, stepping closer. “So, which one of you is going inside?”
“No one’s going that way. That much is certain.” I point to the door. “You stay here.”
I turn to face him and say it again. “Stay. That means don’t move. Zander’s heading that way. I’ll go this way.” I point in opposite directions. “First one who finds a safe way inside takes it. Once we know what we’re facing, we’ll let you in.”
I don’t break eye contact. “But you don’t move until then. Got it?”
Reaching into his pocket, Silas plucks out a pack of ciggies and nods. “I’ll just smoke this while I wait.”
Rolling my eyes, we split in opposite directions. I scan everything as I move, not taking a step unless I know it’s clear. We make it all the way around to the other side, far from Silas’s eyes and ears.
“What the fuck, man?” Zander keeps his voice low once he’s close enough.
My phone buzzes in my pocket again. This time I pull it out. Rurik’s calling again, so I pick it up.
“What?”
“You’re late.”
“Traffic was a bitch,” I tell him, taking a step back to check out the old barn. “I’ll be there soon.”
“That’s too bad. I had to leave. I’m a busy man. My time is valuable, and I don’t appreciate it being wasted. So, I left you a gift instead. Hope you like it.”
“I love gifts. Tell me more.”
“A gift is only a gift if there is an element of surprise. Better hurry, the clock is ticking.”
He hangs up, and I don’t waste a second explaining my actions to Zander. I head for the door Rurik exited earlier.
Knowing we’re on a time crunch, I check it over. No wires. No triggers. It’s clear, so I rip it open and step inside.
A chilling rage washes over me as I take in the scene. When I get my hands on Rurik, he will suffer a slow death, one I’ll enjoy more than I should.
“Fuck,” Zander breathes out behind me.
Fuck is right.
The barn is packed with explosives. Wires run from the dynamite to larger barrels. I have no idea what’s inside them. I don’t care. When this thing goes, it’s taking everything with it.
Including the three people tied to the support beams. Gagged. Handcuffed. Razor wire wrapped around them.
Sick bastard.
There’s a body on the floor. I don’t have time to check it.
My attention stays on the three bodies still breathing, eyes locked on me, fear written all over their faces. They know it. We’re running out of time.
Jen.
Merial.
And Freya. Silas’s daughter.
Fuck me.
I head for her first. She’s only fourteen. No way am I letting her die, even if her dad’s a prick.
The handcuffs will be the easiest challenge to get through. Picking this lock will take me seconds.
It’s the damn razor wire around her neck that’s the problem. One wrong move could sever a major vein. She bleeds out before I can’t stop it.
I calm my breathing. Careful. Controlled. No sudden movements.
And I need her to stay just as calm. Something that won’t be easy, especially for a young girl who’s scared out of her mind.
“Freya, don’t move. I know you want to, but don’t.”
I pull out my Leatherman and flip it open, angling the wire cutter so she can see it. “I need to cut this wire off of you, but I need to do it carefully. Trust me. Blink. Breathe. Don’t move.”
Keeping my eyes on her. “I promise I’m getting this off, okay? Blink twice when you’re ready.”
She blinks, and I slip the wire cutter under the coil, making the first careful snip. Blood trickles down her neck from where the wire has nicked her skin, but it’s minor. Nothing life-threatening.
I need to get this off, fast and clean, before it becomes a real problem.
It’s a good thing Silas isn’t with us. He’d make this so much worse.
And right on cue, I hear him. Stomping in like a toddler, not even trying to be quiet.
“Where the fuck did you guys go?”
I hold Freya’s gaze, willing her to stay perfectly still as I call out without looking away. “Silas, I told you not to move.”
“Like I’d—” He breaks off mid-thought. “What the actual fuck?”
Freya whimpers behind the duct tape, her body tightening before she squeezes her eyes shut. The wire shifts, biting deeper into her neck.
“Freya!” Silas surges forward, all control gone, and Zander is forced to halt his task, stepping in to block him. “Let me go! That’s my daughter!”
“I know.” Zander holds him back the best he can. “Look. He’s almost got it off her neck. But if she moves or you do something stupid, it won’t matter. The wire on her arms and legs will slice her up too. The best thing you can do is to stay put. Let us handle this.”
With a heavy thud, Silas sinks to his knees. I’ve never seen him so terrified in his life. Good. It’s refreshing to know he has a soft spot for his daughter.
His voice drops, cold and lethal. “He’s a fucking dead man. I’ll hunt him down and kill him. Every last one of them will die. No mercy.”
“You’re not helping,” I grit out, my jaw tight with frustration. “You wanna help? Talk to your daughter. Keep her calm while I unravel this fucking mess.”
I keep working on the wire. “Or better yet, get up and check the place. Tell us what you see that we can’t.”
When I hear him getting up, I remind him. “Careful. The place is littered with explosives. See if you can find a timer. I don’t think there’s one. That door you almost opened is the trigger. He was counting on someone panicking after we cut them free. Running for the nearest exit… boom.”
I can’t believe he’s listening. Not a word from him.
For the next five minutes, the only sounds are my steady breaths, Freya copying them, and Silas’s footsteps as he moves through the barn searching.
“Nothing I can see,” Silas reports back. “Sick fuck.”
That doesn’t sit right. He could’ve missed something. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for. Not like me or Zander. But there’s no way we can stop what we’re doing.
These women are barely holding on. If we don’t get them out soon, one of them is likely to collapse. And when that happens the razor wire will do what it’s designed to do.
Slice through them like butter.
Not on my watch.
It takes me a solid fifteen minutes to cut the razor wire off Freya. By the end, a network of shallow cuts crisscrosses her skin, but nothing deep enough to warrant stitches.
Good thing I always carry my Leatherman. It wasn’t easy. I had to be careful. Without it, this would’ve been a nightmare.
By the time I’m done, Zander almost has Merial freed. Now it’s up to me to free Jen.
The second Freya’s loose, she runs to her father, collapsing into his arms and using him to stay upright. Silas scoops his daughter into his arms, clinging onto her, holding her like he’ll never let go.
There are tears in his eyes, burning with hate for the man responsible.
“Take her outside,” I tell him, slicing through the first wire at Jen’s throat. “Just in case.”
He doesn’t argue, and I don’t blame him.
“Blink once for yes, twice for no. Got it?”
Jen blinks once.
“Is there a timer?”
She doesn’t blink at all.
“So, you don’t know?”
She blinks once.
“Then I guess I better move my arse, just in case.” Which isn’t as fast as I’d like.
As soon as Zander frees Merial, she does exactly what I feared—heads straight for the nearest door. The one rigged with explosives.
Zander catches her just before she opens it.
We lock eyes, a silent understanding passing between us, before letting out a long, shared sigh of relief.
“She’s fast,” he mutters, wrapping his arms around Merial to hold her in place. “Look, honey. You go that way, we all die. So, we’re going this way. I’ll walk you out. Keep you safe.”
Ten minutes later, I’m cutting the last wire from Jen. Not done yet. I still have to pick the handcuffs and get us the fuck out of here.
I rip the duct tape covering her mouth so she can speak. That’s when there’s a sharp pop. An acrid smell of sulfur almost immediately fills the air.
“Is that what I think it is?” Jen asks, her eyes widening.
Fuck.
As soon as one hand is free, I don’t bother with the other. I lift her, throwing her over my shoulder, and run.
We burst outside to find the others sitting on the ground. Slumped. Silent.
Their postures and downcast expressions speak volumes about the stressful day we’ve all had.
“Get up!” I yell as I keep moving, running straight into the tall grass. “It’s gonna blow!”
Three steps into the field, the earth erupts beneath us. The explosion tears through the air, sending a downpour of debris raining around us.
The force and heat slams me into the ground. I twist, and instinctively use my body to shield Jen.
I feel it. The impact hits hard. Pain flashes at the back of my head.
Then darkness.