They burst from the barn. The air was hotter now, laced with gunpowder and dust. Eli scanned the tree line. No sign of Delaney.
His gut twisted.
He couldn’t yell for her. Couldn't risk drawingmore fire. But he hated every step he took without seeing her.
Then, just as he turned to shield Ava with his body, a voice reached him through the fading smoke.
“Eli.”
His head snapped toward the sound.
Delaney emerged through the last of the haze, her weapon raised, her steps steady. There was blood on her sleeve, but her eyes were clear.
Relief punched through his chest. “You okay?”
Before she could answer, movement exploded to Eli’s right. An attacker lunged from behind a tree, rifle raised.
Eli spun, trying to bring his weapon up. A gunshot cracked, and the man dropped with one clean shot.
Delaney didn’t flinch. “Run.”
Eli grabbed Ava’s arm again and ran.
They ran hard, the trees blurring past, the crackle of brush beneath their boots drowned out by the blood pounding in Eli’s ears.
Ava stumbled, but Eli caught her arm and kept her moving. Delaney was right behind them, breathing hard, her injured arm clutched close to her side.
They broke through the last stretch of trees and spotted the SUV just ahead, parked at an angle off the gravel road.
“Go,” Eli barked.
He yanked the back door open, and Ava dovein first, scrambling across the seat. Delaney slid in after her, and Eli twisted, firing a quick burst behind them just in case anyone had followed.
Then he threw himself inside, slammed the door, and locked it.
Silence dropped like a stone. No more gunfire. No footsteps. Just their breathing, sharp and fast in the cabin.
They were safe.
For now.
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Chapter Fifteen
----- ? ----
The antiseptic smell of the hospital brought Delaney back to a hundred other memories she wished she could forget.
But the one in front of her was all that mattered now.
Ava sat upright in the hospital bed, her eyes hollow with worry. Her hand trembled against the blanket, the IV taped to the back of it swaying slightly with the movement. The girl was obviously still shaken to the core, but she was alive. They all were, and with all the gunshots that’d been fired at them, that was somewhat of a miracle.
Ava was the only one sporting a relieved expression. Vivian sat in the chair beside Ava’s bed. Olivia leaned against the far wall, arms crossed tight over her chest. They were safe, too, and should stay that way since there was a guard posted outside the door.
“They said if I didn’t do what they told me, they’d kill Jason,” Ava said, shifting her gaze between Eli and Delaney, who were at the foot of her bed. Ava’s voice cracked, her mouth kept trembling, something it’d been doing since she’d started telling them about her ordeal at the institute.
“They left notes in my room. Telling me what to say. What to tell you,” Ava explained. “What not to tell you.” Her tear-filled eyes drifted to her sister. “They told me I had to say you tried to kill me. If I didn’t, they’d kill Jason.”
