Chapter Forty-two Kade
The facility doors. Steel. Reinforced. Locked.
Standing between me and her.
Jake moves forward. Charges set. Quick. Efficient.
Thirty seconds.
Not fast enough.
We step back. The Raven’s hand goes up.
Three fingers.
Two.
One.
The explosion. Deafening. The doors blow inward. Smoke. Debris. Chaos.
We move. Fast. Coordinated. Through the smoke. Through the opening. Inside.
The lobby. Four guards. Scrambling. Reaching for weapons. Too slow. Every second they breathe is another second she’s trapped somewhere in this building.
I fire hitting center mass on the first guard. Then the second guard.
The Raven takes the third. Clean. Precise.
Jake gets the fourth. Headshot. We don’t stop. Keep moving. Hallway. Left.
Two more guards. Running toward us. Shouting. I drop them both. Quick succession. They fall. Don’t get up.
“Kade."
The Raven’s voice. In my ear. Calm. Steady.
“Leave some for the rest of us."
I almost smile. Almost.
“No promises."
The predator is loose. Hunting. Desperate. Every second without her—
Every moment not knowing—
It’s agony. We clear the first floor. Systematic. Room by room. Office. Empty.
Storage. Empty.
Break room. Three operatives. They see us. Freeze. Hands go up. Surrendering.
The Raven zip-ties them. Quick. Efficient. We move on. Stairwell. Up. Second floor. More guards. Five. Six.
They’re ready this time. Weapons drawn. Firing. Bullets hit the wall. The door frame. Close. Too close. I return fire. Drop two.
The Raven gets another. Jake takes the rest. We push forward. Hallway. Doors on both sides. I start clearing.
First room. Empty. Second. Empty.
Third. Two operatives. Armed. They fire. I duck. Roll. Come up shooting. Both down. Fourth room. Empty.
Fifth. Empty.
Where is she? Where the fuck is she? Every empty room twists the knife deeper. The predator inside me is pacing. Clawing. Losing patience. Find her. Now.
Sixth room. Empty.
Seventh. A guard. Alone. He sees me. Tries to run. I shoot him in the back. He falls. Doesn’t move.
Eighth room. Empty.
Ninth. Empty.
End of the hallway.
One door left. Different. Reinforced. Steel. Dead guards outside. Fresh blood.
This is it. Has to be. I move to it. Fast.
Jake’s already there. Working the lock. Override device.
Thirty seconds.
Twenty.
Ten.
The lock clicks. Green light. I grab the handle. Pull. The door swings open. And—
Blood. So much blood. The smell hits me. Copper. Iron. Death. Enzo. On the floor. Throat cut. Multiple stab wounds in torso area. Eyes open. Empty. Dead.
And—
Amethyst.
Everything stops. The hallway. The mission. The gun in my hand. The blood. The bodies. All of it.
All I see and hear is her.
Just her.
Sitting against eh opposite wall. Covered in blood. Face. Hands. Chest. All of it. Her shirt torn. Makeshift bandage around her finger. Knife in her hand. Still gripping it. Her ribs—
She’s holding them. Breathing hard. Shallow. Pained. But alive.
She’s alive.
Mine.
Breathing.
Alive.
I sling the rifle. Over my shoulder. Across my back. I move towards her. Slow. Careful. Like approaching something wounded. Something precious. Something I almost lost.
Don’t want to startle her. Don’t want to—
Her eyes find mine. And she smiles. Small. Tired. But real. Relief crashes through me. Overwhelming. Absolute. I reach her. Kneel. My hand goes to her shoulder. Gentle. Careful.
“Amethyst."
My voice barely works. Too much relief. Too much rage. Too much everything.
“Hey."
One word. Soft. Exhausted. But hers.
“Are you hurt?"
Stupid question. Of course she’s hurt. But I need to know. Need to assess.
“Ribs," she says. Breathes. Winces. “Broken. From before."
From Enzo. From the torture. My gaze drifts to the body. The predator inside me wakes all over again.. Wants him alive. Just long enough to kill him myself.
Too late.
She already finished him.
“Anything else?"
She shakes her head.
“Finger. Cut. But—"
She looks at Enzo’s body.
“I’m okay."
I follow her gaze. To Enzo. To the throat. To his torso. She did that. While I was fighting my way through. She was here. Waiting. Hunting.
She killed him herself. Pride. Sharp and immediate hit me.
They took her. Hurt her. Tortured her. And when they left her alone—
She became the most dangerous thing in the room.
Of course she did.
That’s my girl. My hand moves from her shoulder to cup her cheek carefully. Afraid to hurt her or cause her more pain. I just need to touch her. I still can’t quite believe she’s here.
“You did it."
She nods.
“He came back. Left me untied. Left the knife."
Her voice is steady. Calm. Matter-of-fact.
“He made mistakes."
“He was desperate."
“Yes."
I lean forward. Press my forehead to hers. Careful. Gentle. Just—
Need to touch her. Need to know she’s real. She’s here. She’s breathing. She’s alive. She’s mine.
“I’m sorry," I say.
“For what?"
“For every second they had you."
Silence.
“For not getting her sooner."
Her hand comes up. Touches my chest. Over the wound. Still healing.
“You came."
“Always."
The Raven’s voice. In my ear.
“Kade. Status?"
I pull back. Look at Amethyst.
“She’s alive. Enzo’s dead."
Pause. Brief.
“Copy. We’re securing the building. Two minutes."
I look at the knife. Still in Amethyst’s hand.
“You can let go now."
Her grip tightens first. Instinct. Survival.
Then she looks down. Seems surprised. Like she forgot she was holding it.
Her fingers release. Slow. The knife clatters.
Hits the concrete. I take her hands. Both of them.
Check them. The left, bandaged. Blood soaked through.
The right, covered in blood. Not hers. Enzo’s.
“Can you stand?"
She nods.
“I think so."
I help her up. Slow. Careful. She winces. Gasps.
Her ribs. My arm goes around her. Supporting. Steadying. She leans into me. Just slightly. Enough.
Jake appears in the doorway. His eyes go to Enzo. Then the knife. Then Amethyst. Understanding flashes there for a second. Gone just as fast.
“Clear?"
“Clear," I confirm.
He nods. Steps back. Gives us space. I look at Amethyst. At her face. At the blood. At the exhaustion. At the pain. But also—
At the strength. The resolve. The absolute certainty. She survived. She fought. She won. Nobody saved her. She saved herself.
“Let’s go home."
She nods.
“Yes."
We move toward the door. Slow. Careful. Each step measured. Her breathing is labored. Pained. But she doesn’t stop. Doesn’t complain. Just keeps moving. We step over Enzo’s body. She doesn’t look down. Doesn’t acknowledge him. He’s nothing now. Just—
Gone.
The hallway. The Raven is there. Waiting. She sees Amethyst. Sees the blood. The state of her. Something flickers in her eyes. Concern. Relief. Pride.
“You did good."
A pause.
“He won’t be hurting anyone again.”
Amethyst nods.
“Thank you."
“Can you walk?"
“Yes."
“Then let’s move. This place will be crawling soon."
We head for the stairs. Down. First floor. The lobby. The blown doors. Outside. Sunlight. Fresh air. Freedom.
The SUV is waiting. Jake’s already there. Engine running. I help Amethyst into the back seat. Careful. Gentle. She settles. Winces. But she’s in.
I climb in beside her. Close the door. The Raven takes the passenger seat. Jake drives. We pull away. From the facility. From Enzo. From all of it.
Amethyst’s head drops. To my shoulder. Heavy. Exhausted. My arm wraps around her. Pulling her against me. Close. Where I can feel her breathing. Where I know she’s still here.
It’s over," she whispers.
“Yes."
“He’s dead."
“Yes."
“We’re safe."
I close my eyes. Just for a second.
I press my lips to her hair.
“Yes. Nobody will ever touch you again."
And for the first time in weeks—
Maybe months—
I believe it.
Enzo is dead. The hunt is over. The threat is gone. And she’s here. In my arms. Alive. Mine. Together. Always.