Chapter 55 Jase
Jase
“MOVE!”
I don’t wait for confirmation.
I grab Mila’s hand and pull her with me as bullets rip through the space behind us, shattering glass, tearing into steel.
Daniel is already moving—fast, precise—covering our flank as we push toward the exit corridor.
“Left!” he shouts.
We pivot hard.
The hallway is no longer empty.
Armed operators flood in from both directions.
Too many.
“Contact front!” I bark.
Mila doesn’t hesitate.
She steps into me—back to my chest—her weapon already up as we fire in sync.
Controlled bursts.
Drop two.
Three.
Another.
“Keep moving!” I growl.
We advance as one unit—tight, lethal, unbreakable.
But they keep coming.
“They’re trying to box us in!” Mila shouts.
“No kidding!”
Gunfire echoes behind us now too.
We’re surrounded.
Perfect.
Just how I like it.
Daniel slides to a stop at a junction, slamming his hand against a panel.
“Alternate route!”
A door hisses open to our right.
“Through here!”
We don’t question it.
We move.
Fast.
Inside—
Narrower corridor.
Industrial.
Emergency lighting flickers overhead.
“This leads where?” Mila demands.
“Out,” Daniel says.
“Define out,” I snap.
He glances back, just once.
“Not in here.”
Good enough.
An explosion rocks the building behind us.
The blast wave punches through the corridor, heat and pressure chasing us forward.
“They’re sealing the facility!” Jonah shouts over comms. “You need to get clear NOW!”
“Working on it!” I fire back.
We hit a stairwell.
Daniel shoves the door open.
“Up!”
We take the stairs two at a time.
Three flights.
Four.
Gunfire below us.
Closer.
Always closer.
“They’re right behind us!” Mila calls.
I turn mid-step, firing down the stairwell.
Two go down.
Not enough.
Never enough.
We burst through the top door—
And freeze.
Because we’re not outside.
We’re on the roof.
And we’re not alone.
A squad is already there.
Waiting.
Weapons up.
Trained on us.
“Drop it!” one of them shouts.
Yeah.
That’s not happening.
Mila shifts slightly in front of me.
I feel it.
That instinct.
That need to protect.
Same as mine.
Always the same.
“Jase…” she murmurs.
“I know.”
No good angle.
No cover.
No time.
Then—
A familiar sound cuts through the chaos.
Low.
Powerful.
Rotors.
My head snaps up.
And I grin.
Because I know that sound.
A helicopter crests the edge of the building—
Fast.
Aggressive.
Controlled chaos.
The side door slides open—
And there they are.
Delta Five.
Ethan at the door.
Ronan behind him.
Weapons already firing.
“GET DOWN!” Ethan roars.
We drop.
Gunfire rains from above, tearing through the squad in seconds.
Clean.
Efficient.
Dominant.
The kind of force you don’t fight.
You survive.
Ethan leans out further.
“Move your asses!”
Didn’t need to tell me twice.
I grab Mila again—pull her toward the edge as the chopper dips low.
Daniel is right behind us.
One by one—
We jump.
Hands grab us.
Haul us in.
The moment Mila clears the edge, I’m right after her.
The helicopter surges upward instantly.
No hesitation.
No second chances.
Below us—
The facility erupts.
A chain of explosions ripping through the structure.
Fire.
Smoke.
Destruction.
Gone.
Just like that.
I collapse back against the interior wall, chest heaving.
Mila is beside me.
Alive.
Safe.
For now.
Our hands are still locked together.
Neither of us lets go.
Ethan steps toward us, eyes sharp.
“Tell me you got it.”
Mila lifts the drive.
“Got everything.”
Ronan exhales slowly.
“Then this just got a whole lot bigger.”
Yeah.
We already knew that.
I look at Mila.
Really look at her.
Alive.
Still here.
Still mine.
“Not over,” I murmur.
She meets my gaze.
Fire in her eyes.
“Not even close.”