Chapter 37

T he explosion is instantaneous, the force of it ripping through the night like a thunderclap. Hunter reacts in a split second, his arm tightening around my waist and yanking me back with a strength that's almost violent. I barely register the movement before I'm slammed into his chest, his body shielding mine as the world erupts around us—or at least, that's how it feels.

He did it a-fucking-gain , my brain hisses. If we survive this, I'm going to fucking kill Hunter!

I expect to be thrown through the air, to feel the blast rip through my body like it did in my nightmares—in my reality.

I expect to hear the screams, the chaos, the fire licking at my skin.

I expect pain.

But none of that happens. Everything remains eerily still, almost frozen in time.

For a moment, it's as if the world holds its breath.

Then, another explosion rocks the ground beneath us, and Bobby's voice breaks through the stillness, sharp and panicked.

"It's the gas main! Run !"

And we do. Without hesitation, without thought, we turn and bolt, our movements in sync as if we've practiced this a hundred times. The training kicks in for everyone, and surprisingly, it does for me too. Or maybe it's adrenaline, the need to survive, to escape, but everything around me disappears and all I know is the path in front of me, the bodies around me and Hunter.

I can feel his hand gripping mine tightly as we sprint away from the house, the heat of the explosion searing my back. The air is thick with smoke, choking and acrid, but I push through it, my legs burning with the effort. Every muscle in my body screams for me to stop, to rest, but I can't. I won't.

We reach the tree line a quarter of a mile behind their home, the cover of heavy branches offering a semblance of safety, and we dive into the shadows, the sound of the explosion still ringing in my ears. I collapse against a tree, gasping for breath, my heart hammering in my chest. Hunter is right beside me, his hand still clinging to mine, his breath coming in harsh, uneven gasps.

Suddenly, his hands are sliding across my body, patting, searching, frantic. "Are you okay? Baby, tell me you're fucking okay!"

"I'm alright," I choke out, searching his face. He's sweating, his body trembling, but in the dark, he looks whole. "Did you get hurt? Are your stitches okay?"

He exhales raggedly and nods, pulling me into his arms tightly. "We're okay," he breathes, repeating the words again and again. "I was so fucking scared, Elle. Jesus Chirst, I thought I was going to lose you."

"I'm here," I rasp, hugging him just as tightly. "We're okay."

He doesn't let go until the others gather around us, their faces drawn and tense, but there's a collective sense of relief that we made it out. We're alive, but just barely.

"Everyone here?" Daniel calls quietly. I can hear his own breath rasping, but he stands tall, doing a headcount. He yanks Evelyn into his arms and holds her tightly, murmuring words of reassurance. "Everyone okay?"

A chorus of voices fill the quiet air and my shoulders drop.

I press a hand to my chest, feeling the rapid thud of my heart against my ribs, and try to process what just happened.

The house. Our only lead—our home —gone in an instant. My mind races, the fear clawing at me, making it hard to breathe. What if the guys were inside? What if—

"No," I whisper, shaking my head as I force the thought away. "They weren't in there. They couldn't have been."

Hunter's grip on my hand tightens, and I turn to look at him, my eyes wide with panic.

"What if they were inside?" I choke out, the words barely audible through my panic. "Oh my God! We have to go back!"

"They weren't," he says through gasping breaths as he holds me steady. "Oliver cleared the house. He'd have known if they were inside."

"But what if—"

"Ella," he cuts me off, turning to face me fully. His eyes are intense, filled with a mixture of shock and fear that mirrors my own. He shakes me gently, getting my attention. "They were not inside that house. Do you understand me? No one was inside. They're still out there somewhere, alive, waiting for us like the good boys they are. Got me?"

I nod, swallowing hard as I try to push the panic down. He's right. I need to stay focused, to stay in control. But it's so damn hard when every fiber of my being is screaming that something is wrong, that we're running out of time.

Ghost steps forward, his presence a dark shadow in the night. He's still wearing that mask, his eyes the only thing visible, but there's a tension in his posture that I can feel from where I'm standing.

"This wasn't random," he says, his voice low and dangerous. "They knew we were coming."

The realization sends a fresh wave of fear crashing over me. He's right. The explosion wasn't a coincidence—it was a trap. And we walked right into it.

On the tail of that is a second realization.

Everything is gone.

Our home, the place the guys built. Our sanctuary. Everything we own.

Holy shit.

"Fuck," Hunter mutters, running a hand through his hair. "They're one step ahead of us. Again."

"But how?" I ask, my voice trembling with the weight of the question. "How did they know?"

No one answers, the silence heavy with the implication. Someone had to have tipped them off, but who? My mind races, trying to piece it together, but my mind is too foggy right now.

Sirens start up in the distance and my heart sinks. This is real. This actually happened.

We lost everything.

Bobby's voice breaks through the silence, his tone grim. "We need to get back to the van. Now."

There's no argument, no hesitation. We move as one, retreating back to the van in the same tight formation we came in with. The adrenaline is still pumping through my veins, the fear gnawing at the edges of my mind, but I force myself to stay focused, to keep moving.

When we reach the van, I glance back at the house—or what's left of it. The fire is raging now, the flames licking at the night sky, casting an eerie glow over the scene.

A stab of intense pain makes my knees weak.

My home.

Our home.

The first place I've ever felt safe, loved. The place my guys put all their time, money, and resources into. They had it built to their exact plans down to the view.

And now it's gone.

Because of me.

The ride back to the compound is a silent blur. I hold onto my swirling emotions with a death grip. Only Hunter's shaking arms wrapped around me keep me from breaking. And when we pull up into the garage and shuffle our way into the debriefing room, to wait for the other teams, I let myself fall into the numbness clawing at my soul.

I don't know how much time passes, but when Madeline busts through the door, I'm a shadow of myself.

"Did you get it?" I rasp, shoving to my feet. "Did Oliver help you hack their computers? Did you find them?" Hope flickers in my chest as I close the distance between us and grab her arms. "Please tell me you found them, Madeline. Please."

I'm begging, my voice cracking. At this point, I'd settle for almost any outcome that leads me to them. I don't care what or how, I'm desperate.

But somehow, she finds the single word that still holds the power to break me completely.

"No," she murmurs, shaking her head. "We got nothing."

My mouth falls open and my knees grow weak. Strong arms band around me, keeping me standing as my chest cracks in two. "The third team?"

"No one got anything," Robert says, pulling my attention from a shell-shocked Madeline. I meet his eyes just as he swipes something black from his cheek. "The explosion that happened at your home?" I nod sharply and his throat bobs. "Rush and the Den were rigged the same way."

Reaching out, he squeezes my shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Isabella. Everything is gone."

"What the fuck?" Hunter breathes. "How? How did this happen?"

I hear them talking, arguing, though I don't think they're mad at eachother—just mad . But I can't make the words out.

All I hear is the thump, thump, thump of my heart shattering.