The next hour is a blur of trucks roaring down back roads, radios crackling with updates, and my heart hammering so hard I feel it in my teeth. I ride with Silas, rifle across my lap, eyes scanning every shadow. I keep seeing her face in that gate camera footage. The tears. The determination. She left because she loves me. She thought she was protecting us. The thought makes me want to tear the world apart.
We cut across old fire roads and logging trails, trying to intercept the sedan before it reaches the main highway. Silas drives like a man possessed. I grip the door handle and pray we’re not too late.
Gavin’s voice comes over the radio. “Sedan just passed the county line. They’re heading toward the old industrial park outside town. I have a drone up. We have eyes on them.”
“Copy,” Silas says. “We’re ten minutes out.”
I stare out the windshield, jaw locked so tight it aches. I love her. I love the way she looks at me like I’m her safe place. I love howshe fits in my arms like she was always meant to be there. I love her bravery and her kindness and the way she makes me want to be better. I can’t lose her. Not now. Not when I finally found the one person who makes the quiet parts of my life feel full.
The industrial park comes into view. Abandoned warehouses and rusted fences. The black sedan sits parked beside a large metal building. Two men stand guard outside. Dominic is nowhere in sight yet, but I know he’s inside with her.
Silas kills the engine a quarter mile away. The rest of the team pulls up behind us in a silent line. We move on foot through the snow, rifles ready, boots quiet on the frozen ground. My heart pounds steady now. Focused. This is what I trained for. This is what I’ll do for her.
We reach the fence. Boyd cuts the chain. We slip through one by one. I take point, every sense on high alert. I love her. The words repeat in my head like a heartbeat. I love her and I’m bringing her home.
We breach the side door of the warehouse. The fight is fast and brutal. Gunfire cracks. Men go down. I move through the chaos with one goal only: find Daisy. I clear rooms, check corners, heart in my throat.
Then I see her.
She’s tied to a chair in the center of the main room, gag in her mouth, eyes wide with fear and relief when she spots me. Dominic stands behind her, gun pressed to her temple.
“Drop it, medic,” he says calmly. “Or she dies right now.”
I lower my rifle but keep it ready. My voice is steady even though my hands want to shake. “Let her go. You don’t have to do this.”
Dominic smiles. “She belongs to me. Her father made a deal. She’smine.”
“She belongs to me,” I say. “And I’m taking her home.”
The rest happens in seconds. Rafe takes the shot from the catwalk above. Dominic drops. I sprint forward, cut the ties on Daisy’s wrists, pull the gag free. She collapses into my arms, sobbing.
“I have you,” I whisper against her hair. “I have you, baby girl. You’re safe. I love you. I love you so much.”
She clings to me, crying harder. “I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting you.”
I hold her tighter. “You never have to protect me by leaving me. We do this together. Always.”
The team secures the building. Deputies arrive minutes later with sirens wailing. Statements are taken. Dominic’s men are cuffed and hauled away. Through it all I keep Daisy wrapped in my arms, refusing to let her go even for a second.
When the last ambulance pulls away I lift her into the truck and drive us back up the mountain. She stays curled against my side the whole way, head on my shoulder, hand gripping mine like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.
We pull up to the cabin as the sun sets behind the peaks. I carry her inside, lock the door, and sit on the couch with her in my lap. She cries again, quieter this time, and I hold her through it, stroking her back and whispering that she is safe, that I love her, that nothing will ever take her from me again.
Later, when she has calmed and the fire is crackling, she looks up at me with red-rimmed eyes. “I love you, Eli. I was so scared I would never get to tell you.”
I kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “I love you too, Daisy. More than I ever thought I could love anyone. You’re staying. We’re building a life here. Together. No more running.”
She nods and rests her head on my chest again. I hold her close and let the truth settle deep in my bones.
She’s home.
And I’m never letting her go.
FIFTEEN
DAISY
The past month has been the happiest of my life.
