Chapter Fourteen
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Eli watched Delaney the moment her phone buzzed. Her posture shifted, tight and alert, and her grip on the phone turned rigid. Whatever she was hearing, it wasn’t good. He took a step closer, scanning her face for a clue. Her eyes sharpened with focus, and a muscle ticked in her jaw.
Something was wrong.
Without a word, she turned and motioned for him to follow. He didn’t hesitate. She cut across the bullpen, her stride quick and precise, then paused at one of the deputies posted near Olivia.
“Stay with her,” Delaney said. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”
The deputy nodded, and Delaney kept moving. Eli stayed right behind her, tension curling low in his gut.
They stepped outside into the thick heat. As soon as the door clicked shut, Delaney turned and held up her phone.
“It’s Ava,” she let him know. “I’ve got her on the line.”
Hell. What had happened now?
She tilted the phone so Eli could listen too. He leaned in, heart already kicking faster.
“Ava?” she prompted. “It’s Delaney. I’m here with Eli. We’re listening.”
Ava’s voice came through the speaker, shaky and raw. “I—I don’t know how long I can stay on. I think they saw me leave. I ran, but I don’t know if they’re tracking me.”
“Where are you?” Delaney asked.
“It’s an old barn about a half mile from the institute. Red siding. Metal roof. There’s a broken windmill out front and a cattle chute nearby. Hay in the loft. It smells like oil and rust. Please, hurry.”
Eli met Delaney’s eyes and gave a sharp nod. “I know that place.”
Eli fired off a quick text to Noah as he and Delaney reached the SUV. Ava escaped. Sending location. We’re en route.
Delaney climbed into the passenger seat, still holding the phone to her ear. “Ava, we’re close. You’re going to be fine. Just stay hidden and stay on the line with me.”
Eli started the engine and pulled out, tires grabbing at the pavement. He shot a glance at her as she listened intently.
“Why did you run?” Delaney asked gently. “What happened?”
Ava’s voice came through, tight with fear. “Because Olivia was right. It’s not a treatment center. It’s a lie. They experimented on Jason. My boyfriend. I didn’t believe it at first, but I saw it with my own eyes. Now he’s gone. They said he was transferred but no one will tell me where.”
Eli felt the tension radiate off Delaney, the grip she had on the phone going white-knuckled. His own jaw clenched as he accelerated down the highway, gravel spitting under the tires as they left town behind.
“We’re going to find you,” Delaney promised. “Just hold on.”
Eli’s phone buzzed again with a reply from Noah. Arranging backup. ETA?
Eli tapped out a quick response with one hand while keeping the other steady on the wheel. Ten minutes.
That meant backup probably wouldn’t reach them for another twenty, maybe more. The Crossfire Ops facility sat on the opposite side of the county.
They would be on their own. And without Delaney being a hundred percent. Hell. But less than a hundred percent was still better than nothing, and Eli felt in his gut that every second mattered. They had to get to Ava.
He glanced over at Delaney. She was still locked in with Ava, her voice calm but firm.
“We’re almost there,” she said to the girl. “Are you still safe? Can you see anything outside?”
“No one’s come in yet,” Ava answered. “But I heard voices earlier. I think someone’s looking for me.”
Delaney caught Eli’s eye. “We’re not waiting,” she insisted.
He nodded once. “Wasn’t planning to.”
The minutes and miles crawled by like something was dragging time backward. Eli’s grip on the wheel tightened as the trees thickened around the narrow road. They were close now. Too close for the dead silence on the other end of the line.
Then he heard it. A sharp gasp through Delaney’s phone.
“They’re here,” Ava whispered.
The call cut out.
Delaney cursed under her breath and immediately tried to redial. Eli shook his head. “No. Ringing might give away her location.”
Delaney lowered the phone. Her jaw was clenched, eyes sharp and focused.
Eli pushed the SUV harder, tires grinding into gravel and dirt. They crested a rise and spotted the red-sided barn up ahead. He yanked the wheel and pulled off the road just short of the clearing, killing the engine.
They jumped out.
“Vest,” he reminded her.
Delaney nodded and grabbed hers from the back seat. He threw on his own and opened the rear compartment, pulling out a tactical belt and his backup Glock. Delaney loaded hers, too, and she didn’t wince or show any signs of pain.
Eli shoved a smoke bomb into his cargo pocket.
Neither of them spoke as they locked eyes.
Then they slipped into the trees, moving fast and low toward the barn. The scent of hay, oil, and sunbaked rust hit him as they crept forward. Somewhere in there, a girl was hiding.
The scent of rust and trampled hay thickened the closer they got. Eli crouched low, scanning the rise above the barn. The broken windmill creaked faintly in the breeze. It was too quiet. No birds. No voices. Just the buzz of adrenaline in his veins and the weight of the Glock in his hand.
Delaney was just ahead of him, eyes narrowed and sweeping. She motioned toward the ridge. Eli followed her line of sight and spotted it—movement. A figure, barely visible through the tree cover, shifting position.
Sniper.
He tapped Delaney’s shoulder and whispered, “One on the ridge.”
She nodded once, then veered left, keeping to the cover of a thicket. Eli moved right. His pulse pounded in his ears, but every step was measured. Controlled.
Gunfire cracked. Dirt exploded near Delaney’s feet.
And then Eli heard.
A scream. Ava’s no doubt, and it’d come from the barn.
“Move!” he barked, diving behind a rusted cattle chute just as another shot came their way.
She dropped behind a low pile of timber. “We have to get to her now,” Delaney insisted.
“Agreed,” he couldn’t say fast enough. But those shooters were an obstacle. Eli counted three more muzzle flashes. “Two on the ridge. One closer. Near the water tank.”
Another bullet pinged off the chute. He ducked lower. So did Delaney, though it slammed into the dirt next to her.
Eli’s jaw locked as he stared at the barn. “They’re not letting us leave with her.”
Delaney’s voice was steady. “Not unless we punch a hole big enough to drag her through.”
She looked at the barn, then back at him. “You go in. I’ll draw their fire.”
“No.” He met her eyes. “We stay together.”
She didn’t flinch. “We get her out. That’s the mission. This is the only way.”
He hated it. Every part of him rejected the idea of letting her run into the open, drawing fire away from him. But they were out of time, and she was right. This was their only shot.
He watched her snap the rubber band on her wrist. He’d seen her do it before, watched it help her shove down the memories that threatened to paralyze her. She was grounding herself. Reaching for focus.
“On your mark,” she said, already crouching.
Eli nodded. “Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
They moved.
Gunfire shattered the quiet. Dirt kicked up near Delaney’s boots as she sprinted across the open space. Eli’s breath caught as she drew the shooters’ aim, her body a blur against the dust and sunlight.
He broke for the barn, sticking close to the wall and circling toward the side entrance. Rifle up. Sights locked. Every step counted.
And just as he reached the doorway, he heard it.
Another scream.
Ava.
Hell, she sounded terrified. Maybe hurt. Eli had to wonder if she’d been hit by a stray shot or if one of these assholes had her.
Eli pulled the smoke bomb from his cargo pocket and yanked the pin. He tossed it high and hard toward the edge of the ridge, letting it hiss and bloom into a thick, rolling cloud. It wouldn’t hold long, but it didn’t need to. Just long enough to cover Delaney and give him a shot at the barn.
He sprinted low and fast through the smoke, lungs burning. When he reached the side door, he flattened against the wall and shoved it open.
Inside, it was dark and thick with the scent of old hay, rust, and oil. Shafts of light cut through the slats in the wood walls, striping the air in pale gold.
His eyes were still adjusting when he heard Ava’s voice. “Watch out!”
Movement flared in his peripheral. One of the guards had her by the arm, dragging her from the loft’s ladder. The man turned, lifting his weapon toward Eli.
Eli fired first.
The round struck center mass, knocking the man back. He dropped, groaning but still breathing.
Eli rushed forward and grabbed Ava’s arm. “You okay?”
“I think so,” she panted.
“Good. Stay behind me.”
Gunfire cracked outside. Short bursts. Controlled. That was Delaney. Holding position. Drawing fire.
Eli’s heart hammered, not from the adrenaline but from knowing she was out there alone, buying him time.
“We’re getting out of here,” he told Ava, scanning for threats. “Stick close.”
Eli pushed Ava ahead of him, guiding her toward the thinning smoke. The haze still curled through the trees, but the cover was breaking fast.
“Stay low,” he said. “Move.”
They burst from the barn. The air was hotter now, laced with gunpowder and dust. Eli scanned the tree line. No sign of Delaney.
His gut twisted.
He couldn’t yell for her. Couldn't risk drawing more fire. But he hated every step he took without seeing her.
Then, just as he turned to shield Ava with his body, a voice reached him through the fading smoke.
“Eli.”
His head snapped toward the sound.
Delaney emerged through the last of the haze, her weapon raised, her steps steady. There was blood on her sleeve, but her eyes were clear.
Relief punched through his chest. “You okay?”
Before she could answer, movement exploded to Eli’s right. An attacker lunged from behind a tree, rifle raised.
Eli spun, trying to bring his weapon up. A gunshot cracked, and the man dropped with one clean shot.
Delaney didn’t flinch. “Run.”
Eli grabbed Ava’s arm again and ran.
They ran hard, the trees blurring past, the crackle of brush beneath their boots drowned out by the blood pounding in Eli’s ears.
Ava stumbled, but Eli caught her arm and kept her moving. Delaney was right behind them, breathing hard, her injured arm clutched close to her side.
They broke through the last stretch of trees and spotted the SUV just ahead, parked at an angle off the gravel road.
“Go,” Eli barked.
He yanked the back door open, and Ava dove in first, scrambling across the seat. Delaney slid in after her, and Eli twisted, firing a quick burst behind them just in case anyone had followed.
Then he threw himself inside, slammed the door, and locked it.
Silence dropped like a stone. No more gunfire. No footsteps. Just their breathing, sharp and fast in the cabin.
They were safe.
For now.
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