Redwood had taken enough from us. Enough from her.
Tonight, I was taking it all back.
131
Harper
The world narrowed to shadows and footsteps.
Every branch that cracked underfoot made my heart lurch, every sweep of the floodlights froze my breath in my throat. The compound loomed closer with every step, its fences and towers cutting against the night sky like jagged teeth.
Carter moved just ahead of me, steady and silent, his body angled so I was always inside his shadow. I matched his pace as best I could, my bag bouncing softly against my hip, my pulse pounding in my ears.
River signaled a halt with a quick hand. We crouched low behind a ridge of rock while Gideon tapped furiously at his tablet. The glow lit his face, beads of sweat tracing down his temple despite the cold.
“Comms blackout in three… two…” His whisper ended with a soft click. The hum of the floodlights didn’t change, but something in the air shifted, like the compound had gone suddenly deaf.
River gave a sharp nod. “Move.”
My legs shook as we descended the last slope, sliding intothe cover of brush just short of the outer fence. The guards above paced lazy arcs, rifles slung, unaware that their net had holes wide enough for us to slip through.
Carter reached back, his hand brushing mine. Just a second, just a touch, but it steadied me.
Together.
I mouthed the word, even if he couldn’t see it.
Cyclone cut the fence with swift precision, the metal wires curling back without a sound. One by one, the men slipped through. When it was my turn, my breath caught, my chest tightening. But Carter was there, his hand guiding me through the gap, his eyes locking with mine until I nodded.
Then we were inside.
The air smelled of oil and iron, heavy with the weight of everything Redwood had built here.
And for the first time, instead of imagining myself as prey, I imagined them falling.
132
Carter
The compound swallowed us whole.
We slipped from shadow to shadow, every step a countdown. The fences and lights were behind us now, but that didn’t mean safety—it meant we were in the wolf’s den. And wolves bite hardest when cornered.
I raised a fist, signaling a halt. The team froze instantly. Two guards rounded the far corner, their rifles loose, their conversation careless. They didn’t know their comms were dead. Didn’t know we were already inside.
River motioned left. Cyclone shifted right. Silent, clean. Two muffled shots later, both bodies dropped into the dark. Gideon dragged them into cover, his movements fast but controlled.
“Path clear,” River whispered.
I scanned ahead. The main building loomed, a block of steel and concrete, its windows blacked out, its doors reinforced. But I knew what was inside—servers, weapons, intel, the rot that fed Redwood’s power. Cut that out, and the whole network bled dry.
Harper crouched close, her bag tight against her side, hereyes wide but steady. She shouldn’t have been here, and yet—I couldn’t imagine this fight without her. She wasn’t slowing us down. She wasn’t breaking. She was proving, step by step, that she belonged at my side.
I leaned close, my voice low, meant for her alone. “Once we breach, it’ll get loud. Stay with me. Don’t let go.”
Her nod was quick, sure, her whisper fierce. “Always.”
That single word dug deeper than any bullet ever could.
