“Move in! We can’t lose him!” Damien yells and raises his foot to kick the door open. The moment his boot makes contact and the door slings open, a cadence of gunfire erupts.
“Kade, look through the other go-cams. We need to know what happened,” Zeke commands, and I see Kade nod his head without question as he types on his laptop.
My breath hitches and my fingers start to get tingly like they normally do when I get too anxious. Shockingly, Zeke reaches over and grips my hand—obviously seeing them shake andfeeling just as nervous about the situation. I know it’s hard for him not to be there. He, Alex, Carter, and Damien are very close, no matter how much they get on each other’s nerves, and they always protect one another while they’re on these missions. So, I’m sure his heartrate is beating as strongly as mine right now.
Shots are fired in quick succession, and while the main floor of this warehouse is dimly lit, the bursts of extreme light from the gunfire illuminate the space multiple times a second. It’s like I’m trying to pick someone out of a crowd during a strobe-lightshow, and I can’t make anything out. Shouts, in I’m not sure what language, ricochet off the warehouse walls, and either there are a lot of voices, or my panic is taking each echo to heart.
“Popov is on the move! He’s running out the back—second floor!” Ezra screams into the mic, and when Damien lowers his gun, my stomach sinks.
“Don’t let him escape!” Damien immediately starts to sprint through the warehouse in a straight line, not bothering to look around or assess the space like he normally would. He’s running like a madman, jumping over boxes and crates, and occasionally moving around them so quickly that I think he’s diving to the floor.
I quickly, yet shakily stand, needing my racing pulse to reach my entire body. Sitting only makes the harsh beats in my chest even more pronounced, and I feel like I can’t breathe. My chest is tight, and it’s like there’s a bubble in my throat. Zeke’s grip on me tightens, and my other hand instinctively moves to my belly. A thousand thoughts run through my mind, but one stands above them all.
He could die, and he would never get the chance to meet our baby.
Our child would be stuck with only me, and the thought is terrifying.
He's being too reckless.
Ice shoots through my veins so harshly that I flinch and shake my arms. My hand falls from Zeke’s, and I instinctively hug myself. The tremors ricochet from one limb to the next, and the next thing I know, Zeke stands up with me. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and pulls me close to calm me down, which is kind of surprising, but I find myself leaning into him anyway. A part of me wants to look up at him and make him promise that this won’t end in a tragedy, but my eyes are glued to the screen that’s much too large now.
When Damien’s almost at the back of the warehouse, with the door in view, he suddenly grunts. Pieces of wood fly through the camera and then quickly out of view, like they were slung in front of him by a force that I can’t see. The footage moves so frantically that I can’t really tell what’s happening anymore, and I gasp. It rolls and shakes like a tumbleweed, and I frantically try to makesomethingout. Zeke’s grip tightens, and suddenly, I feel like there’s bugs under my skin.
It’s a few seconds that I hold my breath, but it feels like an eternity. My vision starts to darken in the corners, and I swear my eyesight throbs with the beat of my heart, but as the camera keeps moving and Damien’s growl comes through, I let the breath out. I plant my free hand on the top of the table to keep myself steady, thankful that my husband didn’t just get himself killed.
“What are you doing? Get the fuck off me!” Damien yells as he jumps back to his feet and sprints towards the back door again, like the past few seconds weren’t a glimpse into an alternate universe—one where he dies.
“You almost got your damn head blown off! You’re welcome!” Satori yells, and sprints alongside him towards the back door.
Within a few seconds, they burst through the door and Damien immediately lifts his gun again. A loud screeching plays through the audio, and it’s immediately followed by moregunfire. When Damien finally lowers his gun, I barely see a black, two-door car speed away and disappear towards the exit of the industrial park. My stomach drops.
Damien screams, and the sound holds so much rage and despair that the audio crackles. The camera then shifts quickly, and Satori comes into view, but only for a moment before Damien’s fist flies into his cheekbone.
“Why couldn’t you just let me go! I would’ve had him!” Damien screams.
“You would’ve been dead and he would’ve escaped anyway!” Satori yells back and stands up, ready to fight back. He rears his fist back and throws it towards Damien. The way the camera jolts tells me he actually made contact, and I can’t help but let out a small yelp. I’m not sure I’ve ever actually seen someone be able to hit him. Especially not with such force, and not from someone who’s supposed to be our ally.
It’s not long before Damien recovers, though, and goes to lunge at Satori. But from the lack of the video’s movements, it seems someone is holding him back.
“Knock it off, D! We’re done here!” Alex’s voice rages through, and the movement continues to slow down. I can see Ezra holding Satori back in the feed, and if Damien’s face matches his in any way, their looks alone could kill each other. It’s clear that neither of them has any intentions on stopping the brawl, and they’re both ‘kill or be killed’ type of men. I reach over to Carter’s laptop and press down on the audio key, knowing that he’ll be able to hear me.
“Enough!” I yell, and Damien’s camera stops moving instantly. The camera moves up and down steadily, and from the heavy breathing that’s coming through the coms, I can tell he’s barely holding back. Satori stands still as well, then forces his arms forward strongly enough to get out of Ezra’s hold. I notice Satori’s stare, I’m assuming at Damien, and it’s clearthey’re back to whatever silent war they’ve conjured up between themselves.
Whatever progress they’ve made over the past week may have just went down the drain.
Carter gently grasps my wrist and moves my hand off the laptop so he can use the button. His eyes meet mine as I look at him, and the disappointment that lingers there almost makes me choke up.
“Alex, report while everyone gets back in the HEMTs,” Carter says quietly as he lets go of my arm. I fall back into the chair, feeling a thousand pounds on my shoulders, and I watch Damien’s camera as he storms away from the group. Even with his harsh movements, I can tell he’s still breathing hard, and I already know the kind of pain he’s in. He’s not only disappointed in the mission, but himself, and it breaks my heart.
“Ash? Are you good?” Zeke asks in a softer tone than I’ve ever heard from him, and damnit, if that doesn’t make it worse. My brother, that literally tried to kill himself a week ago, is checking onme.God, I’m so damn weak.I just shake my head lightly, feeling the weight in the room increase tenfold.
We didn’t get him.
Our one way to end this whole thing just drove away, and the taste of failure lingers in the air around us. I know it’s not because of one person or one action, but the outcome is hard to accept. Yes, if Damien was able to keep going, hemighthave gotten to him in time, but there’s no way to know that for sure. I’d much rather have Damien alive than to have gotten Popov, but he won’t see it that way. He’s clearly taking this hard already, and the thoughts haven’t had time to fester in the open wound. The bad memories start to resurface in my mind, and as Damien angrily gets into the front of the HEMT alone, I look away.
He almost got himself killed trying to avenge me.
Again.
