Chapter 5

We sawthe moment everything went to shit.

So did Sanctuary.

“He’s been made; we’re moving this up,” Cain advised in our ear. “If it’s clear, you need to go now, before they connect August to Annie.” Luca and I exchanged glances—I doubted August would give anything away, if he was even alive, but we had to go now.

I settled my breathing and pulled my focus to the front. We were moments away from making our entry, the tension between us taut and Cain’s voice crackling in our earpieces, a subtle reminder of the ticking clock.

“You’ve got five minutes with the fence, max, crews could be on edge,” Cain confirmed, an edge of urgency in his tone. “Northeast corner is your entry point. Eyes on the guards.”

I could feel my heartbeat in my throat.

The situation had escalated quickly, and it was just Luca and me.

As we approached the location to get in, every sense was heightened. We had to be ghosts, shadows flitting on the edge of perception. I caught Luca’s eye, giving a slight nod towards the building where Annie was being held. He returned the nod, his expression grim, but determined. We split up, always aware of each other’s position.

“In three,” Cain counted down, and I tightened my grip on my weapon.

“Two.”

Luca’s breath was controlled, and we exchanged brief glances.

“One,” and that was our signal.

Like ghosts, we surged forward, moving quickly and silently towards the breach point. The guards were shifting, lulled into complacency by the monotony of their rounds. We used that to our advantage, slipping through the shadows.

The compound loomed before us, an imposing structure of concrete and steel inside the open spaces with flimsy outbuildings. This was where Annie was, and Cain had cut power to the alarms and to a small part of the fence, but only long enough to get us in. We breached the perimeter, the faint hum of electricity in the surrounding fencing whispering of danger.

The hand signals we used were subtle, but clear. A closed fist to signal stop; two fingers pointing to my eyes, then to a window, to indicate I’ll keep watch; a hand slicing across the throat for no go.

I scanned for any sign we’d been spotted. Luca was a step ahead, and he held up a fist, stopping me in my tracks, indicating one guard and vanishing around the corner. I heard a scuffle, and then, he was back, his fingers in an O. We separated, me to the wall around the yard where the back entrance was, Luca to the side, boosting himself over the wall and vanishing.

Cain’s voice was a constant in our ears, guiding us. “Four-fifty.”

I ducked under a window, pressed against the cold wall. The muffled sounds of the waking compound filtered through the glass, a reminder of the lives inside unaware of our presence.

“Four-thirty,” Cain urged, the seconds falling away like sand through an hourglass.

Our target was close now, the rooms where they held the child. I could picture her in there, unaware that her world was about to change again.

“Four.” Cain’s voice was steady, but the underlying tension was palpable, a static-filled voice that kept us focused as we reached the door, and with a skill borne of countless practice, with Cain backing us up on the tech side, we breached. The room beyond was just as we’d studied—two doors led from it, and in one of those was Annie. I wished we’d been able to get a better idea of which was which, but we took a door each.

“Three-thirty.”

I held up three fingers. Two. One.

We each went into a door, heading straight for the bed. I’d gotten the one with the young woman, Clara, which meant Luca had Annie. I backed away to the door, saw Luca tucking the small child into his arms, a strap across her as we’d planned, as she woke and whimpered. He placed a hand over her mouth, shushed her, and with one heated look, I told him to leave, that I’d be right behind him. We needed to take the nanny, too.

He gestured for me to leave, but I shook my head.

He knew me.

I was going after the nanny, and hell, I would try to retrieve August.

Frustration made him stop, but then, he spun and, holding the wriggling girl still, he left.

“Three, get out,” Cain urged in our ears. I spun to follow Luca but my foot snagged, pain radiating out from my thigh, yanking at a knife there, and spinning to face whatever had caused me to half fall into the doorjamb. Clara. Eyes wide, lips pulled back in a snarl, a gun in her hand. She lunged at me, startling ferocity in her actions. She was no trained fighter, but desperation lent her strength. She could be an innocent, and I dodged, trying to avoid harm, to both her and me. “We’re not going to hurt you,” I tried to explain, but the words were lost in the scuffle.

“You’re not taking my daughter! She’s mine!”

“Stay back,” I ordered.

“He got her for me!” she screamed.

I tried to cover her mouth, but she was a wildcat, all flailing limbs and raw panic. She clawed at my face, her screams piercing the early morning quiet. I caught her wrists, pinning them with one hand while my other went to her neck, applying enough pressure to send her into unconsciousness without causing lasting harm. “I’m sorry,” I murmured, even as her body went limp. I’d come back for her because the damage was done. The noise had broken the heavy hush, and I could hear the compound stirring to life. I watched Luca vanish over the wall as boots hit gravel, and I heard shouting.

Cain was in my ear, his voice tense. “You’ve been made, Ryder. Move!”

“August,” I snapped.

“No. That’s a no, Ryder.”

Fuck that. I was finding August. Then, we were getting the nanny out. I headed outside, keeping to the wall, hiding in the dark, trying to find a way into the main building, watching as three men burst out of the door, heading left for the wall.

Run, Luca. Run.

Alone now, I pushed through the door that was swinging shut, gun high, moving deeper into the hostile territory. At least Luca had gotten away with Annie.

The corridors were a labyrinth, lit by soft light, but I headed down them with purpose, guided by instinct and training. Each corner turned, every door checked, was a step closer to finding August. I avoided the guards whenever possible, sticking to the shadows, a ghost shifting unseen through their ranks.

When avoidance wasn’t an option, I resorted to swift, silent takedowns. Three crew members I encountered were subdued, rendered unconscious with precise strikes before being secured with zip ties.

My heart pounded, adrenaline pumping as I searched for any sign of where August might be. Every room I cleared, every empty room I checked, ratcheted up the tension. Time was of the essence, and with every passing minute, the risk of discovery grew.

Despite the odds, I couldn’t allow doubt to creep in. If August was alive, then we needed to get him out of here. No man left behind.

At last, I opened the right door, finding August strung up in a dim, bare room, his wrists bound above his head, his body bearing the marks of brutal treatment. Blood seeped from multiple wounds, staining his clothes. Despite his obvious pain and exhaustion, he was snarling, struggling against the ropes with a fierce determination.

I rushed to his side, drawing my knife to cut him down. The ropes were thick, but my blade was sharp, and soon they fell away, releasing him. As August’s weight shifted, I caught him, holding him upright. His legs were unsteady, weakened from the ordeal and the loss of blood.

“Easy, August,” I said, steadying him. “I’ve got you.”

He leaned against me, his breathing ragged, then he straightened, and with the unmistakable fire of a soldier not yet defeated, he rallied. Even in this state, he was ready to go as he shook his hands.

“Annie?”

“Safe.”

“Why did you?—”

“I’m Sanctuary.”

As he processed the information, I could see a flicker of recognition, then a nod. Despite the pain, there was determination in his eyes. But we weren’t safe yet; we still needed to get out of there. He stumbled for a moment, then took a breath.

“I need to talk to the nanny,” I whispered and gestured the way to go. He frowned but followed. I wanted to ask her what she meant by how he’d got Annie for her, about why she thought Annie was her daughter. This was insane. Maybe this had been a kidnap to order?

We found Clara sprawled in the dirt. A bullet in her head, the gun at her side.

“Not me,” August confirmed, as if I’d asked.

“Suicide? Friendly fire?”

“Do I look like I fucking care?” August snapped.

I shook myself out of the shock of seeing the woman with half her head missing. “This way,” I ordered.

He followed me as we retraced my steps. We came upon two guards, and I went into a fighting stance, but August was there, too, tackling the nearest one, relieving him of his gun and placing two bullets in his head, then two more in the one I was trying to subdue. Blood splattered on me, but I didn’t have time to worry as we made it out into the night air.

I sprinted for the wall, he kept up with me, the muscles in my legs burning with the sudden exertion, my arms pumping for added momentum. Reaching the wall, I didn’t hesitate. With adrenaline fueling my movements, I clambered up, my fingers finding holds others might miss, my boots kicking for purchase on the rough surface.

“Keeping the electric off for egress,” Cain advised. “We’re fucked at covert anyway.”

At the top, I swung my legs over and held out a hand, helping August climb as he left a trail of blood on the gray blocks, what was left of his shirt ripping on barbed wire when he couldn’t heave himself enough. Then, we dropped to the other side, rolling to absorb the impact. I was up in an instant, the promise of freedom a heartbeat away, but I’d landed right in the middle of a group of men. That was when the cold, unmistakable click of a gun’s hammer being pulled back froze me in my tracks.

“Hands where I can see them.” A cold voice broke the silence. “And will someone just do what Amos asked and get that fucking kid,” the man snarled, leveling a gun at my head. His expression was steely, unflinching. The crew around him headed out, all apart from him and one other.

“I’ve got them,” August muttered next to me, “run.” In that split second, the air crackled with tension, a silent standoff, and then, he pushed me to the ground, spun on his feet and with a crack that shattered the dawn’s fragile peace, he took down the nearest crew member, got his gun, and shot him between the eyes.

Fuck.

The man dropped, and I felt the hard knot of shock twist in my gut as August double-tapped to take the other crew guy down as well.

“Which way did they take her?” August asked, already turning to leave.

I took a moment to get my bearings, then gestured west. There was no time to think, to question. only to run.

The compound erupted into a cacophony of shouts and gunfire, bullets thumping into the ground around us.

Cain’s voice came through one last time, a curse that summed up the situation.

“Fuck,” he spat out in my ear.

And I knew that we were out of time.

August and I ran, our feet pounding on the ground, our breaths sharp in the cool morning air. The space between the chaos of the compound and the promise of the forest blurred past us. We were close to cover—just a few more strides, a few more seconds to catch the guys going after Luca—and we flanked them.

Agonizing pain ripped into my back, stealing my breath, my legs buckling beneath me. The ground rushed up to meet me, but I never felt the impact.

August’s face swam into view above me, his expression tight with concern. I could see his mouth moving, calling something, but the sound was distant, muffled by the ringing in my ears. His hands were on me, dragging me towards the shelter of nearby bushes.

The world dimmed at the edges, the vibrant colors of dawn fading to monochrome. I wanted to tell him to run, to leave me, to find Luca. But my lips wouldn’t form the words, my voice lost in the void rapidly claiming me.

August gripped me and pulled me into the cover of shadows, and his smoky gray eyes were the last thing I saw before everything went dark.