Chapter 35 Jase
Jase
Location: Safehouse — Exterior Perimeter
The first sign isn’t loud.
It’s wrong.
Ronan’s voice cuts through the comms, low and controlled. “Movement. Two vehicles, no lights. North ridge.”
Everything in me goes still.
Then sharp.
“How far out?” I ask.
“Closing fast.”
Inside, chairs scrape. Boots hit the floor. The team moves without needing orders.
Mila’s already stepping back into the war room when I turn. Our eyes lock for half a second.
She feels it too.
“They found us,” she says.
“Yeah.”
No panic. No hesitation.
Just truth.
Ethan spins the laptop around, fingers flying. “I’m losing outer feeds. Someone’s jamming us.”
Of course they are.
“Time?” Cal asks.
“Minutes,” Ronan replies over comms. “Maybe less.”
That’s all we need.
I grab my weapon. “Gear up. We’re moving.”
Jason looks up from comms. “They’re not broadcasting. No ID. This is a clean hit.”
“Hayes,” Jonah mutters.
“Or Ford,” Lance adds. “I’m sure they released him now that we know who he was working for.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “They’re here.”
Mila steps beside me, already checking her weapon like she never stopped. “Then we don’t let them box us in.”
I glance at her.
There it is again.
That edge.
That fighter instinct.
“Back exit,” I say. “We push through before they lock us down.”
Ronan’s voice comes again. “Correction. Three vehicles now.”
Cal exhales. “Yeah… they’re not here to talk.”
“No,” I agree. “They’re here to erase.”
Gunfire erupts outside.
Sharp. Sudden. Close.
They didn’t wait.
“Contact!” Ronan snaps.
That’s it.
“Move!”
Mila
Location: Safehouse — Interior Hallway
Time: 10:28
The first bullet punches through the front window as we move.
Glass explodes across the room.
I don’t flinch.
Just adjust.
Always adjust.
“Left side breach!” Lance shouts.
Boots thunder through the building.
Multiple entry points.
Coordinated.
Professional.
These aren’t amateurs.
These are trained.
“Split teams!” Jase calls.
“Negative,” I cut in.
He looks at me.
Fast.
Sharp.
“They want us divided,” I say. “We stay together, we push out hard.”
A beat.
Then—
he nods.
“Stay tight.”
The hallway erupts with movement.
Two men come through the side door—
I fire before they clear the threshold.
Both drop.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
We move fast.
Room to room.
Clearing.
Advancing.
Gunfire echoes from outside.
Ronan’s still holding the perimeter.
Barely.
“Rear exit compromised!” Jason calls.
“They’re flanking!”
Of course they are.
I pivot, grabbing Jase’s arm. “This way.”
He doesn’t argue.
Doesn’t question.
Just moves with me.
Kitchen.
Back corridor.
Service door.
Another team crashes through from the side—
I shove Jase back just as a round tears through the wall where he was standing.
“Focus,” I snap.
He gives me a look.
Half irritated.
Half something else.
Then he fires.
And the threat disappears.
“Clear!” Cal shouts from behind us.
“Move!” Jase orders.
We burst through the back door—
Jase
Location: Safehouse — Rear Exit / Tree Line
Time: 10:31
—and straight into chaos.
Ronan is already engaged, dropping one of them as we come out.
“About time,” he mutters.
“Miss us?” I fire back.
Bullets rip through the trees.
Too many.
Too fast.
“They’re everywhere,” Jonah says.
No kidding.
“Fall back to the ridge!” I order.
“Keep moving!”
We push into the trees, using the terrain, breaking line of sight.
But they’re not backing off.
They’re tightening.
Closing in.
“They’re herding us,” Lance says.
“Yeah,” Mila answers beside me.
“Into something worse.”
That’s when I see it.
Up ahead.
More movement.
More shadows.
“They’ve got a second line,” I say.
A trap.
We’re boxed in.
For half a second—
everything stills.
Then Mila steps forward.
Eyes sharp.
Focused.
“Then we break it.”
I glance at her.
There’s fire in her expression.
Controlled.
Calculated.
“You got a plan?” I ask.
She almost smiles.
“Always.”
And just like that—
we stop running.