Page 26 of Bound By Thorns
Upon arriving at the safe house, the sight of the medical team ready with a gurney reassured me somewhat. They quickly ushered an unconscious Kaylan inside. The safe house, nestled deep in the woods, looked like it could be home to a large family, but inside, it was decked out with military precision and equipment. Kaylan was taken to a clinic room set up in the back as Sebastian approached me with a bottle of water.
Taking the bottle, I realized just how thirsty I was as the cool water quenched my parched throat.
“She’ll be fine. Her vitals are weak but stable,” Sebastian updated me after a moment.
“Don’t care,” I lied, trying to mask my concern with indifference. “But I could use a shower. Got a room?”
He frowned slightly at my response but gestured to one of his team who led me to a small room. It was plain, furnished with rustic wooden pieces and a single full-sized bed. I grabbed one of the two rolled-up towels from a shelf and made my way to the shower, eager to wash away the grime and stress of the past days.
When I got out, clean clothes awaited me and I sighed in relief. I couldn’t, for the life of me, stand the sight of white fucking boxers. I grabbed the black attire, slipping into a black t-shirt and army green cargo pants, and headed out.
The persistent beep of an alarm caught my attention. I followed the sound to find a flurry of medical activity near the room where Kaylan was being treated. My expression might have been blank, but inside, fear gripped me. I couldn’t bear the thought of her dying—not after everything, not after she’d saved us.
A doctor managed to stabilize her, and the immediate crisis passed, but my relief was short-lived. Sebastian stood by the door, his face etched with worry. He looked over at me as I approached.
“We’re not sure what’s wrong yet. She needs further testing, so we’ll be transferring her to New York Metropolitan Hospital,” he explained. “You can come with us or head to Florida to join your squad.”
The choice was difficult. I felt a pull to stay by Kaylan’s side, but the urgency to reconnect with my team was overwhelming. I chose to go to Florida, and Sebastian began making the arrangements.
The next morning, I found myself on a plane to Fort Lauderdale, my mind a tumult of thoughts about the squad’s ongoing operation at the port.
The moment my plane touched down, all lines to Sebastian went dead. Crazon had the whole city locked down—no calls, no internet, nothing. They had briefed me on where my squad might be, so armed with only a handgun and extra mags, I made my way to reunite with them. I had this gnawing feeling they needed to see me in the flesh, not just hear through the grapevine that I was alive.
ELEVEN
?Brother by Kodaline?
Logan
It took me just ten minutes to drive from the airport to Port Everglades. I rented a car, blending into the local scene. When I arrived at the port, the area was bustling with activity; large cruise ships dominated the docks. I donned a white t-shirt, a blue checkered shirt, and jeans over my bulletproof vest, looking every bit the casual American with a baseball cap.
The ocean breeze tugged at my shirt as I sipped a non-alcoholic beer, keeping up appearances while I scoped out the area. A large ship caught my eye, laden with shipping containers and strangely quiet despite having docked at 11 AM according to Sebastian’s last update. Something was off. My squad had to be on board.
Approaching the ship, I noticed three guards by the entrance, seemingly unarmed and visibly agitated, as if they’d been thrown off by recent events.
I sauntered over, feigning ignorance, and one guard subtly reached for his handgun, not yet threatening. Seizing the moment, I disarmed him, and using his own weapon, knocked him out cold. His comrades, alerted by the commotion, began to draw their weapons, but I was quicker. My shots, muted by the silencer, took them down before they could react.
Tossing the borrowed gun into the ocean, I made my way into the bowels of the ship.
As soon as I arrived inside the ship, the plan Sebastian had outlined became clear. The objective was to incapacitate the vessel, neutralize all resistance, and secure the area until backup could extract the shipment to a secure location outside the city. I figured the backup had already arrived but was lying low, waiting for Zarek’s signal to move in.
The need to see my squad was overwhelming—Zarek, Leora, Dylan, Amelia, Kabir. Were they all right?
The ship’s interior was a grim testament to the skirmish that had taken place. Fallen mercenaries littered the corridors, and distant sounds of struggle still echoed through the steel structure. My heart raced as I moved stealthily towards the stern, where the cargo was held. The massive crane loomed overhead.
Suddenly, a figure cloaked in black darted across the deck below the crane. My own attire must have mistaken me for one of the mercenaries because, without warning, a shot rang out towards me.
Instinct took over. I rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the bullet, and retreated back into the relative safety of the ship’s interior.
The stern was connected to the port with a ramp, and in the distance, the sounds of cars approaching grew louder. Suddenly, gunfire erupted. I saw three figures in black gear engaged in a standoff with a dozen mercenaries who must have been hiding in the hull of the ship. It was my squad.
I circled around through the deck, making my way toward the sound of the firefight. Now, the mercenaries were sandwiched between my squad and me. With the element of surprise on my side, I fired from the back, taking down four mercenaries before I had to duck once my location was revealed.
My squad had spotted me, but I doubted they recognized me in the chaos. To them, I was probably just another helpful citizen. My baseball cap hung low as I kept circling, slowly returning fire, until I was almost thirty feet away from my squad. They were taking cover behind a container.
What they hadn’t realized was that a jeep had approached from the port and was now directly behind them. Now my squad was sandwiched between the mercenaries on the ship and those in the jeep.
Two of my squad members—Leora and Dylan—spotted the approaching jeep and took cover, but Zarek continued firing at the mercenaries on the ship. Between his gunfire and mine, we managed to hold them at bay until only one was left.
