I couldn’t.
I ran like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
CHAPTER 69
HARLAN - UNTIL SHE IS SAFE
If I thought the drive to the Dawnbreakers clubhouse was tense, I wouldn't be able to describe the feeling now as we rushed back blind to Ava and Gray.
Twenty minutes.
That’s how long it had been since the alarms sounded.
Since Kane told us the approaching vehicles were ten minutes out from the cabin.
The cabin where Ava and Gray were meant to be safe.
Twenty minutes since we lost comms with Gray.
Since the pit in my stomach turned to something worse, something I couldn’t outrun.
I slammed my palm against the wheel, pushing the SUV harder up the dirt road, gravel spitting behind us like shrapnel. Jack held on to the “oh shit” handle while Remi braced herself between the seats, her eyes flicking to her phone, then to me, then back again.
“C’mon, c’mon, pick up...” I barked, one hand tight on the wheel as the other jammed at my phone’s screen. Finally, Kane’s voice broke through. “Harlan...”
“Tell me you’ve got eyes.”
A beat. Then static. Then...
“I’ve got satellite. Zoomed in on the cabin perimeter. You’re not going to like it.”
My chest constricted. “How bad?”
“There are at least 12… maybe fifteen men. Moving on two fronts. No uniforms. The pattern looks familiar. They are trained. I guess that this is Erin’s last move. Your comms blackout wasn’t a glitch. It was a coordinated strike. Premeditated.”
Jack cursed under his breath.
Remi leaned forward. “Where’s Gray?”
“No visual,” Kane answered. “He might’ve gone dark on purpose. Could be sweeping the surroundings. Could be down. I don’t know. But the cabin…” Another pause. “Harlan...”
My chest constricted, "Fucking say it, Kane."
It was quiet for a minute, and then he said it, "The cabin is on fire."
I didn’t hear the rest. My pulse drowned out the sound. The cabin. Ava.
She was in there.
“Fuck,” I whispered. “She’s in there.”
Remi’s voice cut through like a blade. “What weapons do you have?”
I kept my eyes on the road, trying to focus. Trying to keep us on the road so we could get back to... to what I wasn't sure. “Check the back.”
Jack twisted, looking between us. “You’re not serious. What are you planning to do with all that?”
