Chapter 20 #2
“You guys are going to go about twenty yards that way.” She points to the North-East, diverting from the conversation that we’ll inevitably have later.
“I’m going this way.” Then she gestures to the North-West. “Once Carter signals you, it’s about thirty yards from the tree line to the house. So, you’ll have to be quick.”
“Don’t worry about us, Dani,” Zeke interjects.
“You just shoot that mother fucker and then get back to the car, alright?” He ruffles her hair and lightly pushes her shoulder, gesturing in the right direction before I have a chance to argue.
“She’ll be alright, D.” He pushes me onward as well, but I manage to catch her face in time to see her wink at me.
I nod back at her and give her a sincere grin as pride and worry battle in my chest.
Carter gets back into the SUV, and Zeke and Alex flank my sides, practically shielding me from the woods as we move.
It makes my nerves spike. The last time I was in a place like this, it was for them.
I was in so much pain, and I could barely stand upright from the drugs.
It’s different now. I’m healed and in control.
I need to grasp that reality and hold onto it.
We stand just inside the tree line, waiting for the go-ahead from Carter. The outside is decently lit, and the light inside Elizabeth’s room is on as well, giving me a target to focus on.
“Remember, we’re going in stealthily. We won’t have long before they realize something is up, and we have to get her out of here. There’s no telling what she’s already witnessed. Let’s not traumatize her any more.” I bounce on the balls of my feet, centering this anxiety.
“Get the girl, get back to the plane, and get home. Easy.” Zeke shrugs, despite his already-clammy forehead, and Alex nods, seemingly agreeing—although, the opening and closing of his fists tells me he’s just as nervous about this as we are.
My eyes lock onto the target window, and I focus on the pounding of my heart.
Each wallop marks us one second closer to starting, and then the thumping stops the moment my earpiece crackles to life.
“Go. Go, now,” Carter relays, and we push off, sprinting onto the property in a race.
It’s easy enough to navigate, and the yard around the home is well maintained, making our path clear.
My stomach drops when I see one of the security officers round the corner of the large building, but in an instant, he’s thrown to the side and into the wall, falling down and out of sight.
“Got him. Headed back to the SUV,” Dani’s voice comes through the coms. A small relief washes over me, boosting my momentum.
We reach the wall in what both feels like a matter of seconds and hours, and we don’t waste a moment to move forward, knowing we have less than ten minutes until indoor security walks in to check on Elizabeth.
Alex hands me the grapple, and I hold it in the air for a moment to test its weight.
My hand swings back and forth, getting a good feeling for the motion before I throw it up.
The instant I let go, fear bursts behind my eyes.
All I can do is hope and pray that it doesn’t make too much noise when it hits the roof.
It clinks a little louder than I expected it to, and we all freeze, waiting for something to happen.
There’s no noise, no alarm, and nothing to indicate that we’ve been had, but it doesn’t ease my growing paranoia.
“Are we good?” I whisper to Carter.
“You’re good. Go,” he confirms, and the moment I pull the rope taut, I start to climb.
My muscles burn after the third tug, reminding me how far behind I still am.
We’ve been working out non-stop, but I’m still not at one hundred percent.
I’ve come a long way, though. There’s no way I would’ve been able to do this two weeks ago, and my progression is standing right in front of me.
Empowerment builds within me for every inch I rise, like I’m literally clawing my way to the end goal.
When my fingertips reach the windowsill, I almost shout in excitement but quickly stop myself, remembering the job.
I throw the window up and tumble inside, only to be met with a butter knife the moment I straighten up.
A woman, probably mid to late sixties, is clutching onto the little girl with her other hand.
Her hair is gray and laced into a single braid that stretches down to her hip.
She has angry eyes that are permanently creased with exhaustion, and even though she’s clearly not related to Elizabeth in any genetic way, she’s protecting her from anything she sees as a threat. Including me.
“My name is Damien.” I hold my hands up and step to the side so Zeke can fall inside next to me. “We’re friends of Victoria’s. She sent me to bring Elizabeth to her. We know they’re threatening to—”
She jabs the knife in my direction and I flinch, stepping back against the wall.
Her eyes squint as she looks me up and down disbelievingly.
While I should watch this older threat more closely, my gaze drifts down to Elizabeth.
She’s terrified, clutching onto her stuffed bunny as if it’ll save her.
Tears stream down her little face, and when our eyes connect, she jerks her gaze away like just the sight of me would cause her pain.
“They took our communication away,” the woman speaks harshly. “I’ve not been able to speak to her in a month. How do I know you’re telling the truth? The last I had heard from her, she was still with those horrid people.”
“Well, even if we weren’t, a fucking butter knife isn’t going to stop us, lady,” Zeke replies angrily. I take a deep breath, trying to get my shit together before I snap at him.
“You must be Nonnie,” I try again. Her eyes relax when I speak her nickname, clearly recognizing it.
“Listen, we don’t have much time…and to be rather blunt, either we take her or they do.
” Her eyes harden again, clearly hating the idea.
“And I think we both know what’s in store for her if they do. ”
She continues to stare daggers at me, clearly thinking over what I’m saying.
The sound of footsteps can be heard from down the hall, and that momentarily draws all of our attention.
They don’t sound close, but it’s proof that we’re running out of time.
It won’t be long before security comes into the room to check on her, and then, not only will I have to kill someone in front of a child, but it would also alert the entire security team of our presence.
Nonnie drops the silverware and lowers to one knee, raking her hand over Elizabeth’s head.
“You have to go with them.” She looks Elizabeth in the eyes when she speaks, but I doubt she sees her.
The little girl’s eyes fill with even more tears, and she shakes her head so erratically that her hair flings from side to side.
Her tiny arms attempt to wrap around Nonnie’s neck, but she holds her away with a firm grip.
“You must, Elizabeth. They will take you to Mommy, okay?”
When she shakes her head again, clearly terrified, Nonnie picks her up without hesitation and hands her to me—shoving the girl’s stuffed bunny between our bodies.
Elizabeth is hesitant, but she wraps her tiny arms around my neck, and as I wrap an arm around her, Nonnie helps me position the harness.
She’s moving so intently that her focus locks onto the straps and buckles them so fiercely that they might catch fire.
There’s determination on Nonnie’s face, but there’s also acceptance, like something is coming to an end.
For a moment, I think it’s that she only believes she’ll never see Elizabeth again, but I quickly realize that I’m wrong.
It hits me like a hammer to the heart. I’ve seen that look once before, on Five’s face just before I shot him.
She doesn’t plan to escape. This is the end for her.
Without Elizabeth, there will be no need to keep her around, and she knows too much. She’s seen it all…
After we tighten the last strap, she grabs Zeke by one of the belts on his vest and stares into his eyes. There’s a warning there, one that I’m sure she’ll fulfil even in death.
“You take care of my girls,” Nonnie seethes, then looks at me, like if we don’t, she’d haunt us all.
I stare back at her, taking in the love and determination in her eyes, and it makes my knees weak.
I don’t know what they’ve been through, but her love for both Victoria and Elizabeth is clear and unwavering.
Even as Elizabeth continues to sob into my shoulder, her stare remains on me like she can read my soul just from this one look.
This isn’t fair. How many people have to suffer before this tyranny ends? How many lives does Avery have to destroy before he’s stopped?
“Come with us,” I demand, tightening my grip on Elizabeth to comfort her. “We can make room. We’ll make it work—”
She cuts me off, placing her hand on my forearm and looking up at me. Despair coats her dark eyes, and with a soft squeeze of my arm, she makes her final decision.
“I will only slow you down.” Her words are absolute, yet gut-wrenching. While acceptance flutters behind her eyes, the fear barely makes its way through. “You must go.”
Just then, an alarm blares throughout the house, sending ice into my spine.
“Shit! We gotta go!” Zeke yells, pulling me back towards the window.
I reluctantly follow, knowing we no longer have a choice.
Zeke hooks himself onto the rope and starts his downward rappel.
I’m a little more careful, sure not to twist Elizabeth in a painful way or hit her head on the window.
Footsteps quickly approach the door, and just before we start our own decent, I catch Nonnie’s eyes one last time.
She looks almost grateful. It fucking breaks me.
I hold Elizabeth close to me, keeping her head tucked as we repel down the wall. About halfway down, a loud crack rings out from the open window—almost like wood split in two. Unfamiliar voices catch my attention, snapping my head back up towards the window.
“Where’s the girl?” a man asks, clearly angered.
I hold my breath, frozen in place. My gaze is locked, not wanting to hear what’s inevitably going to happen, but needing to anyway.
A flash of light and a loud bang booms from inside, tearing my heart apart.
Elizabeth continues to cry, and as much as I want to climb back up and make every single one of them pay, I don’t.
We fall down the rest of the rope as quickly as I can without hurting her, hitting the ground with a small thud.
The moment Zeke and Alex unlatch me from the tactical rope, we bolt.
Screams and yells make their way past the blaring alarm, sinking into my ears as we sprint away.
My grip on Elizabeth doesn’t falter. Even as my heart dares to jump out of my chest, I try to keep her as steady as possible.
She’s so damn small, so fragile. Her tiny nails dig into the back of my neck as she holds on for dear life, and I use it as fuel, somehow making it to the tree line in a matter of seconds.
We dive into the car, and thankfully, Alex doesn’t waste a second to hop in and floor it.
The force pushes us back against the seat, with Danielle in the third row, flailing about.
We rock back and forth from the rough terrain, but I keep Elizabeth close, shielding her from the movement as best as I possibly can.
When we reach the concrete road, I finally take a deep breath in.
We did it. She’s okay and she’s safe. It’s both one of the best and worst feelings in my life.
I unlatch Elizabeth from the harness so Dani can check for injuries, but she crawls away the moment she’s loose. She frantically moves over to Zeke, cowering into his side as she looks up at me with swollen red eyes. She’s scared of me…
Zeke raises his arms, like he doesn’t know what to do with her, but she only sinks further into his side.
Her little hands clutch her bunny, and I take that heartbreaking sight as my cue to scoot as far away as I can.
She won’t be okay until we get her back to Victoria, and I know that, but I’m normally so good with kids…
I try not to take it personally, but her seeking Zeke’s comfort over mine hurts. Zeke doesn’t even like kids.
Dani reaches her hand out to her and speaks softly, earning her trust rather quickly.
Elizabeth doesn’t speak, but takes Dani’s hand after only a little persuasion.
My heart sinks. Kids, much like dogs, can sense good people…
and she’s afraid of me…only me… That thought stirs up so many others, mixing in with the other feelings of guilt and failure.
I could’ve saved Nonnie… If we just had a little more time.
That’s why she’s afraid of me. I’m not a hero in her eyes…
Will my daughter be afraid of me, too? Will I fail her as well?
I lay my head back against the seat and close my eyes, taking every blow to heart. We just need to get her back to Victoria… Three more steps. The airport, landing, and home. That’s it…