Chapter Twenty-two Kade
The facility comes into view. Three-story. Concrete. Industrial. Guards at the perimeter. Four. Maybe five. The Raven’s team moves around me. Silent. Efficient. Professional.
I barely register them.
Bodies drop. I don’t wait. I’m through the gate.
Moving. The front entrance explodes inward.
Breaching charge. Smoke. Chaos. Guards scrambling.
I shoot the first one. Center mass. He drops.
Second one. Head shot. Third. Fourth. Blood spray.
Bodies hitting the floor. I don’t stop. Don’t slow.
The predator is in control. Cold. Focused. Hunting.
I’m in a long hallway with bright fluorescent lights. Three guards running toward me. Weapons raised. I shoot.
One.
Two.
Three.
They fall. I step over them. Keep moving.
Blood on my hands. My face. My clothes.
Don’t care. Only one thing matters. Her. Getting to her.
A door bursts open. Two more guards. I fire. Both drop.
Reload. Keep moving. The Raven’s team is behind me. Clearing rooms. Securing the facility. I don’t look back. Don’t need to. I’m moving forward. Only forward.
I’m in a stairwell but I don’t see anybody in here. I’m heading up to the second level. More guards. Six. Maybe seven. They see me. Open fire. Bullets hit the wall. The railing. I drop. Roll. Come up shooting.
One down.
Two.
Three.
Return fire. I feel it. Bullet grazing my shoulder. Burning. Don’t care. Keep shooting.
Four.
Five.
Six.
The last one runs. I chase. He throws an elbow. It glances off my cheek. I don’t feel it. My hand closes around the back of his neck.
Twist. Snap. He drops.
I keep moving.
I’m through a door on the second level. Open floor. Workstations there’s screens. But it’s empty.
Either everyone has been evacuated or their hiding.
I see movement on the left side. I turn and shoot. A body drops. More movement on the right side.
I fire.
Fuck.
I miss.
He shoots back. Bullet hits my vest making contact. Knocks the fucking wind out of me but I steady myself, take aim and fire.
Head shot.
He’s down.
I’m moving again. Breathing hard.
Blood everywhere.
Mine. Theirs. Don’t know. Don’t care.
Keep moving.
I’m back in the stairway. Heading toward the third level. This looks like a bunch of rooms. No body is up here. I start opening doors, but their all empty.
Where the fuck is she?
I run back down the stairs and run into Jake.
“She’s not in this building. There has to be another building.” I shout over all the gunfire.
We are running out of the building and that’s when I see it. There is another building back behind this one. A storage facility of some sorts.
“There!” I shout as I start running towards the building.
There’s a guard at the door firing. One shot and he’s down. I’m running down a narrow hallway. It’s dimly light. Gunfire ahead. Screaming.
I run. Turn the corner. Three guards. Firing at the Raven’s team. I come up behind them. Shoot.
One.
Two.
Three.
They drop. The Raven’s team nods. Keeps moving. I follow. Deeper. Toward the back. Toward her. I can feel it. She’s close.
I see movement up ahead. Someone is running. Running. Knife in his hand. Coming out of a room. The door is gone. Splintered. Broken. I recognize him. The face. The picture. Enzo. He sees me and his eyes are wide. He’s Panicking. He runs. Opposite direction. I let him. For now.
Because the room. The doorway. I move toward it. Fast. Heart pounding. And then I’m there. At the threshold. I look inside. And I freeze.
Amethyst.
Tied to a chair.
Blood.
So much blood.
Her blood.
Her face. Swollen. Bruised. Her clothes. Soaked. Red. Cuts everywhere. She’s looking at me. Eyes wide. Alive.
I go to her.
BANG!
The gunshot is deafening. Pain. Immediate. Searing. My chest. I fall backward. Hard. Hit the floor. Can’t breathe. Can’t—
“KADE!" Her voice. Screaming. Desperate.
Pain registers. Sharp. Burning. Spreading. Hands grab my arm. Pulling. Dragging me. Away from the doorway. Gunfire. Everywhere. Loud. Chaotic. I try to focus. Try to see. A face. Leaning over me. Smiling.
Marcus.
Recognition hits. That fucker shot me. He straightens. Turns. Runs. Into the room.
Where she is.
No. No.
I try to move.
Can’t.
Body won’t respond.
Then I see Jake running past me. Into the room. After Marcus. More gunfire. Shouting. I can’t see. Can’t—
Blackness. Creeping in. Edges of my vision. Closing. Breathing. Harder. Each breath. Shallow. Painful.
“Kade. Kade!" Her voice.
Closer. Right above me. I reach up. Hand shaking. She’s there. Over me. Face bloody. Bruised. Swollen. Terrible. Beautiful. Alive.
I’m going to kill the motherfucker.
Her hands. On my chest. Pressing. Slick. Wet. Blood. So much blood. I try to focus. Try to see her. Really see her. But the blackness. It’s taking over. Pulling me under. Her face. Blurring. Fading.
But she’s alive.
That’s all that matters.
Nothing else.
Not the blood.
Not the pain.
Not the bullet in my chest.
She’s alive.
The darkness closes in. Heavier. Thicker. I can’t fight it. Can’t— Her voice. Soft. Breaking.
“I love you.”
Three words.
The last thing I hear.
Then the darkness takes me.