Chapter 19 Mila
Mila
Location: Forest — Under Active Fire
Time: Immediate
The first bullet hits the tree above my head.
Splinters rain down.
Sharp. Fast. Too close.
“Move!” Jase snaps.
I don’t think.
I don’t hesitate.
I move.
We break in opposite directions for half a second—instinct, survival—
Then his hand catches mine again.
Not letting go.
Not this time.
Gunfire tears through the clearing behind us.
Controlled bursts.
Not random.
Not warning shots.
They’re herding us.
“They’re pushing us east,” I say, breath tight.
“I see it.”
Another round hits the ground near my feet—dirt kicks up—too precise—
“They don’t want us dead,” I whisper.
“No,” Jase says grimly.
“They want you contained.”
Jase
Yeah.
That’s not happening.
I pull her down behind a cluster of rocks just as another sweep of fire cuts through the trees.
Too clean.
Too coordinated.
“They’ve got eyes in the air and on the ground,” I say.
“Two teams,” Mila adds. “At least.”
I glance at her.
She’s not panicking.
Not even close.
She’s tracking.
Analyzing.
Adapting.
Dangerous.
Hell… she’s built for this.
“You’ve done this before,” I say.
Not a question.
Her jaw tightens.
“…not like this.”
That tells me everything I need to know.
Mila
The helicopter circles above us.
Not firing now.
Watching.
Waiting.
They think they have us boxed.
They think this is over.
They’re wrong.
“They’re guiding us into a choke point,” I say quickly.
Jase nods once.
“Then we don’t go where they want.”
“Agreed.”
A beat.
Then—
“We go through them.”
I look at him.
Really look at him.
Bleeding.
Exhausted.
Still standing like nothing in this world could take him down.
“You’re insane,” I mutter.
“Yeah,” he says.
Then softer—
“Stay close.”
Jase
We move fast.
Low.
Cutting hard left instead of east.
Breaking their pattern.
Gunfire adjusts instantly.
Too slow.
They didn’t expect that.
Good.
I spot movement through the trees—
Two operators advancing.
Tight formation.
Professional.
Not amateurs.
“Contact,” I say.
“I see them.”
“On three.”
She doesn’t argue.
Doesn’t question.
Just—
“Ready.”
Yeah.
That shouldn’t feel as good as it does.
Mila
One.
Two—
Three.
We break cover together.
Everything narrows.
Focus.
Breath.
Trigger.
I fire first.
Clean shot.
Center mass.
One down.
Jase takes the second before the man even hits the ground.
Efficient.
Lethal.
Terrifying.
We don’t stop moving.
We can’t.
“They’ll adjust,” I say.
“They already are.”
The helicopter shifts overhead—
Lower.
Closer.
Too close.
Jase
Yeah.
They’re getting desperate.
That’s when people make mistakes.
I grab Mila’s arm—pull her into a narrow ravine just as a burst of fire tears through where we were standing.
Too close.
Way too close.
She stumbles—
I catch her.
Pull her against me—
And for half a second—
Everything stops.
Her breath hits my chest.
Fast.
Uneven.
Alive.
“You good?” I ask low.
She nods.
But she doesn’t pull away.
Not right away.
“…you’re bleeding more,” she says.
“I’ve had worse.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“Wasn’t trying to be.”
Her hand presses briefly against my side—checking the wound—
Too aware.
Too close.
Too much.
Then—
Another explosion echoes in the distance.
Reinforcements.
Mila
“They’re tightening the net,” I say.
Jase nods.
Already thinking.
Always thinking.
Then—
He looks at me.
And something shifts.
Not strategy.
Not tactics.
Something deeper.
“They called you an asset,” he says quietly.
I go still.
“Yeah.”
“That means they don’t just want you.”
I swallow.
“They need me.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
His jaw tightens.
“Then we don’t let them take you.”
Something in my chest twists.
Hard.
Because he didn’t say the team.
He didn’t say the mission.
He said—
we.
Jase
I don’t say it out loud.
But I’ve already made the call.
Mission parameters?
Gone.
Chain of command?
Irrelevant.
This isn’t about extraction anymore.
This is about her.
Protecting her.
Keeping her breathing.
Keeping her free.
“You trust me?” I ask.
She looks at me like that’s not even a question.
“…yeah.”
That lands harder than it should.
“Good,” I say.
Then I glance up toward the ridge—
New movement.
More incoming.
“They’re about to find us.”
She nods once.
Steady.
Ready.
“Then let’s make sure they regret it.”