"Two confirmed. But there's at least two more, probably three." He scans the trees. "They're going to search the cabin to be sure we both left and when they do, they’ll come after us."
"Then we don't give them time." I check my magazine. Ten rounds left. "We circle back, hit them while they're distracted."
"That's aggressive."
"That's smart." I meet his eyes. "You're the one who said they came to your home. Let's show them what a mistake that was."
His expression turns fierce. Then he nods. "East side. We'll have the high ground and better sightlines."
We move through the forest. All those years of training. All those operations. The body remembers even when the mind wants to forget. Rhys navigates these woods like he owns them, and I follow his lead.
The cabin comes back into view. Two operators are inside now, searching. A third stands outside providing security.
Rhys signals. Take the outside one first. I nod.
We fire simultaneously. The guard drops. The two inside react instantly, but they're contained in the cabin. Boxed in. We have position and training and motivation.
They try to return fire but we have every advantage. They go down.
Then it's quiet. Just our breathing and the wind through the trees and the ringing in my ears from gunfire in close quarters.
"Clear?" I ask.
Rhys moves forward cautiously, checks each body. "Clear. Five we know are down."
"Motion sensors showed more contacts than that."
"At least one if not more, got away. Probably heading back to report." He pulls out the satellite phone, keys in Zeke's number. "Zeke, we had contact. Five operators down around or in my cabin. At least one got away. Position is compromised."
Which means they know where we are. They know we survived. And they'll send more.
"We can't stay," I say.
"No. We pack what we need and leave in fifteen minutes." He moves back to the cabin, stepping over bodies without looking at them. "Rally point is two hours from here. We can make it before they send reinforcements."
We move quickly. Grab essentials. Weapons. Ammunition. The files on Emma's investigation. The satellite phone. Everything else gets left behind.
I take one last look at the cabin. The place where we spent last night. Where everything between us changed from survival to something more.
"Ready?" he asks.
"Ready."
We head to his truck, still hidden under the tarp in the tree line. The snow has weighed it down but the vehicle is intact. Rhys clears it quickly, throws our gear in the back.
The engine turns over on the first try. He backs out carefully, navigating through trees until we reach the old logging road that connects to the main route.
"Looking good for getting to the rally point," he says. "Then we finalize the assault plan."
"And tonight, we end this."
"Tonight, we get those women out and start taking apart the network that killed Emma."
I look at him. This man who lost everything and kept fighting. Who opened his home to me, his heart to me, his past to me. Who just fought beside me like we've been partners for years.
He reaches across the console, takes my hand. Squeezes once.
Behind us, the cabin disappears around a bend. The bodies. The firefight. The life I thought I wanted when I came to Alaska.
