Chapter 27 Mila
Mila
Location: Backroads — Outside City Limits
The road narrows.
Trees closing in.
Dark swallowing everything beyond my headlights.
Perfect.
They’re still behind me.
Closer now.
More aggressive.
No more pretending this is anything but a kill chase.
I glance in the mirror.
Two vehicles.
Tight formation.
Disciplined.
Not amateurs.
“Alright,” I murmur.
“Let’s see how good you really are.”
I take a sharp turn onto a dirt road.
Loose gravel kicks up behind me.
Visibility drops.
Control gets harder.
Exactly what I want.
The car behind me follows without hesitation.
Then the second.
Good.
I reach down.
Flip another switch.
Hidden.
Custom.
Half a mile ahead—
The road dips.
Curves hard.
Then narrows into a choke point between rock and trees.
I slow just enough.
Let them think I’m losing control.
Let them close the distance.
My pulse stays steady.
Always steady.
Three…
Two…
One—
I yank the wheel and slide sideways off the road—
The car disappearing behind the tree line just before the choke point.
Brakes.
Kill lights.
Engine low.
I grab my weapon.
Slip out of the car.
Move fast.
Silent.
And wait.
Seconds later—
They hit the choke point.
Fast.
Too fast.
The first vehicle tries to adjust—
Too late.
The spike strip snaps up from the ground.
Tires blow.
Metal screams.
The SUV fishtails violently—
crashes into the second vehicle.
Impact.
Glass shattering.
Engines roaring.
Chaos.
I step out of the shadows.
Gun raised.
Controlled.
Precise.
“You should’ve turned around,” I say quietly.
One of them stumbles out of the wreckage.
Weapon already coming up.
I fire first.
He drops.
Another one moves—
I pivot.
Two shots.
Clean.
Efficient.
Silence falls.
Heavy.
Broken only by the ticking of overheated engines.
I scan the area.
Slow.
Careful.
Too easy.
My grip tightens.
“Something’s wrong…”
And then—
Headlights flare behind me.
My body reacts before my mind does.
I turn—
Too late.
A third vehicle.
Hidden.
Waiting.
“Yeah,” a voice calls out from the darkness.
Cold.
Familiar.
Ford.
“I was hoping you’d do exactly that.”
My jaw tightens.
Gun lifting.
Already calculating.
Distance.
Angles.
Exit points.
“You always were predictable,” he continues.
I smile.
Just a little.
“Funny,” I say.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
But this?
This just got worse.
Because now—
I’m not leading the hunt anymore.
I’m standing in the middle of it.
Jase
Location: Highway — En Route
Time: 02:48
The pain is getting worse.
I can feel it.
Every breath sharper.
Every movement heavier.
I don’t care.
“She changed direction,” Ronan says from the back seat.
Eyes locked on the tablet.
“She went off-grid for a minute—then reappeared.”
That’s not random.
That’s Mila.
“She’s setting something up,” I say.
Ronan, in the back, nods once.
“Agreed.”
Ethan leans forward.
“There was a signal spike.”
My focus sharpens.
“What kind of spike?”
A pause.
Then—
“Impact,” Ethan says.
My chest tightens.
Hard.
“She engaged,” Jonah adds.
Of course she did.
“She wouldn’t wait,” I mutter.
“No,” Lance says.
“She wouldn’t.”
Cal steps on the gas.
My eyes tracks the map instantly.
Locking onto the coordinates.
Burning them in.
And then—
The signal flickers again.
My gut twists.
“What is that?” I demand.
Ethan’s expression darkens.
“That’s not her.”
The vehicle goes dead silent.
“What do you mean not her?” I snap.
He looks at me.
Grim.
“That’s a second team.”
Ford.
I feel it.
Before anyone says it.
Before it’s confirmed.
I feel it.
My hand tightens into a fist.
“Get me there faster.”
Cal glances at me.
Then presses harder on the gas.
The engine roars.
And for the first time since waking up—
Fear hits.
Not for me.
For her.
Because Mila can handle a hunt.
She can handle a fight.
She can even handle being outnumbered.
But Ford?
Ford doesn’t play fair.
And if he has her cornered—
My voice drops.
Cold.
Deadly.
“He’s not taking her.”
No one argues.
Because they all know.
If Ford tries—
He’s not walking away.