Chapter 75 Carter
Carter
The SUV flew down the mountain road, its headlights carving narrow beams through the fog. The forest pressed in on either side, black and endless, but my focus stayed locked on the mission ahead. We had to end these people thinking they could kill Harper.
River sat up front with Cyclone, murmuring over comms as he confirmed routes. Gideon was next to me in the back, laptop balanced on his knees, screens flickering with the yard’s schematics. The hum of electronics mixed with the engine’s growl, a steady rhythm I’d known my whole life.
But my hand still tingled from where Harper had held it last.
I closed my eyes for a second, just long enough to hear her voice in my head. You’d better come back to me. The fire under her fear, the strength in her gaze—it lit a fuse inside me I couldn’t ignore.
“ETA fifteen minutes,” Cyclone muttered, pulling me back.
I nodded, checked the rifle laid across my lap. Safety off. Round chambered. Ready.
River glanced over his shoulder. “We go quiet until we can’t. Gideon kills the lights. Cyclone keeps our ride hot. Carter, you breach.”
“Copy.” My voice was flat, steady.
But inside, I was a storm.
Because this wasn’t just about taking another piece off the board. This was about making sure Harper never had to wake up wondering if someone was coming for her. About making sure her nightmares stopped at the cabin walls, where she could finally breathe without fear.
I opened my eyes and watched the road unravel ahead of us.
This mission wasn’t just mine. It was hers, too. And I was going to end it—for both of us.
The SUV crested the ridge, and in the distance, the hulking shapes of warehouses rose out of the fog like sleeping giants.
I flexed my grip on the rifle.
“Time to wake them up,” I muttered.