Chapter 15 Mila
Mila
Location: Rock Crevice — Concealed Ridge Shelter
Time: Continuous
The second the gunfire hits—
We run.
No discussion.
No plan.
Just instinct.
Jase grabs my hand—tight, unyielding—and pulls me down the slope toward a jagged break in the rock face I hadn’t even noticed.
“Here,” he snaps.
We slip inside—
And suddenly—
Everything changes.
It’s small.
Too small.
The kind of space designed by nature to trap, not protect.
Rock walls press in on both sides.
Barely enough room to stand.
Barely enough room to breathe.
Definitely not enough room for two people—
And yet—
Here we are.
Jase
I press back against the stone, pulling her in with me.
Not gently.
Not optional.
Necessary.
Outside—
Boots hit gravel.
Voices.
Close.
Too close.
“They came this way.”
“Spread out.”
Yeah.
They’re not guessing anymore.
I shift Mila in front of me, one arm braced beside her head against the rock, the other keeping her close—shielded, hidden, contained.
Her back presses against my chest.
Heat.
Solid.
Real.
Too real.
“Don’t move,” I whisper in her ear.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Good.
Because if she does—
They’ll see her.
And that’s not happening.
Not today.
Not ever.
Mila
I can feel him.
Everywhere.
Behind me.
Solid.
Protective.
Dangerous.
My pulse is not behaving.
At all.
His breath brushes my ear.
Warm.
Controlled.
Too controlled.
“Stay still,” he murmurs again.
“I am,” I whisper.
Barely.
Footsteps crunch just outside the crevice.
So close I can hear the shift of weight.
The click of a weapon.
“They couldn’t have gone far.”
My heart slams hard against my ribs.
If they hear that—
We’re done.
Jase’s hand tightens at my waist.
Not just holding me still.
Grounding me.
Keeping me here.
With him.
Jase
They’re right outside.
One wrong move—
One sound—
And this turns into a kill box.
I lower my head slightly.
Closer to her ear.
“Breathe,” I whisper.
She lets out a slow, controlled breath.
Good.
She listens.
Even when she doesn’t want to.
A shadow passes over the entrance.
Stops.
Waits.
Everything in me goes still.
Calculated.
Ready.
If they come in—
I end it fast.
No hesitation.
No mistakes.
The shadow lingers.
Too long.
Then—
Moves on.
Bootsteps fade.
Voices shift further down the ridge.
Not gone.
But not here.
Not yet.
Mila
We don’t move.
Not right away.
Because we can’t.
Because if we do—
We break whatever this is.
And I don’t know if I want to.
His hand is still at my waist.
Firm.
Steady.
His chest still pressed to my back.
His breath still warm against my skin.
“This is—” I start quietly.
“A bad idea?” he finishes.
I almost smile.
“…you’re getting predictable.”
“Not really.”
I turn.
Slow.
Careful.
There’s barely space—
But somehow—
We manage.
Now I’m facing him.
And that?
That’s worse.
Jase
Yeah.
This is worse.
Much worse.
She’s right there.
Close enough that I don’t have to reach.
Close enough that I can see every shift in her expression.
Every breath.
Every—
Yeah.
This is a problem.
“We should wait,” I say.
“For what?” she asks.
“Until they’re further out.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
I know.
Of course I know.
Mila
He knows.
I know he knows.
And yet—
Neither of us moves.
“You said we stay together,” I say softly.
“I did.”
“This counts.”
His eyes darken.
Just slightly.
Enough.
“It does,” he agrees.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
My hand lifts—
Not planned.
Not calculated.
Just—
There.
Resting lightly against his chest.
Careful.
Avoiding the injury.
Always aware.
“You should be resting,” I say.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not.”
“I’ve had worse.”
I give him a look.
He almost smiles.
Again.
“This is how you deflect,” I say.
“And this is how you push.”
“Someone has to.”
“Yeah.”
A beat.
Then—
His hand comes up.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Like before.
But this time—
There’s no hesitation.
His fingers brush my jaw.
Tilt my chin just slightly.
Not forcing.
Asking.
Always asking.
“This is still a bad idea,” I whisper.
“Yeah,” he says.
Not stopping.
Not pulling away.
“Then why—”
“Because I don’t want to stop.”
That—
That hits.
Hard.
Jase
I shouldn’t have said that.
But I did.
And I don’t take it back.
Her breath catches.
Just slightly.
Enough.
“You don’t even like me,” she says quietly.
I almost laugh.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “That’s definitely what this is.”
Her lips part.
Just a little.
And that’s it.
That’s all it takes.
I kiss her.
Slow.
Controlled.
But deeper than before.
Not just tension.
Not just adrenaline.
Choice.
Again.
And she—
Doesn’t stop me.
Mila
This is a mistake.
A terrible, complicated, dangerous—
I don’t care.
I kiss him back.
Careful.
Aware.
But not holding back.
Not this time.
His hand tightens slightly at my waist.
Pulling me closer—
And for a second—
I forget everything else.
Until—
A voice echoes faintly outside.
“…check the lower ridge!”
Reality crashes back in.
Hard.
I pull back.
Breathing uneven.
Thinking impossible.
“We need to move,” I whisper.
“Yeah,” he agrees.
But he doesn’t step away right away.
Neither do I.
“I remember something,” I say suddenly.
His focus snaps back instantly.
“What?”
I hesitate.
Because this—
This is it.
“The file tied to Helix…” I say slowly.
“Yeah?”
“There was a handler listed.”
His expression sharpens.
“Name.”
I swallow.
Because I know this one.
I know this one.
“…Director Ford.”
Jase
Everything in me goes cold.
Because that name?
That’s not buried.
That’s not forgotten.
That’s—
Active.
“Ford’s oversight division,” I say slowly.
“Exactly.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
No.
No, it’s not.
And that’s the problem.
Because Ford—
Has access.
To everything.
“They’re not just inside,” I say.
Mila meets my eyes.
Steady.
Certain.
“They’re in control.”
Gunfire erupts again in the distance.
Closer.
Closing in.
And now—
We’re not just running from hunters.
We’re running from someone who already knows
every move we’re going to make.