CHAPTER 7

Chapter 7: Into the Unknown

Ethan’s arms were like iron roped around me, strength and purpose in the way he hefted me through the darkened corridors. I drew shallow, ragged breaths as the heaviness of my newborn twins weighed on my chest. Every muscle in my body howled in pain, but I couldn’t stop now. Not when we were so close to freedom.

Mark moved past us, his gun still drawn, every step methodical. Shivers clawed at the belief I could survive as pursuit echoed in the distance of data October, 2023. Bryan’s enforcers weren’t far behind. And felt their presence like a hurricane on the port side, ceaseless, unyielding.

“Almost there,” Ethan whispered, his tone low but comforting. “Just hold on.”

I nodded, forcing down the coppery taste of exhaustion. My body was nearing collapse, but my mind sharpened, with each footstep, every exit ricocheting in my head. If we failed here, my babies wouldn’t be safe. And I had fought too hard to have the kids be pawns in a war that I never wanted to be part of.

A sudden vibration in Mark’s pocket stopped us all in our tracks. He ripped out his phone, peeking at the screen. His face darkened. “The Rivera enforcers just arrived at the hospital,” he muttered. “It’s a war zone up there. If we don’t move quickly, we’re going to be stuck.”

My heart clenched. “Can they find us here?”

Mark hesitated, then cursed. “Do you know about these tunnels, Bryan’s enforcers? We’ve had a leg up, but not for long.”

Ethan’s grip on me tightened. “We need to move faster.”

I clenched my jaw and forced myself to concentrate. “How far to the extraction point?”

Mark checked his watch. “Two minutes if we push it.”

Another distant noise. Footsteps. Heavy, fast. My blood turned to ice. They were close. Too close.

“Go,” I whispered. “Now.”

A second was all it took for Ethan. His grip on me was strong but gentle as he broke into a run and Mark took the lead, leading us through the tunnels. The air grew thick, abating with blood and rust and my own terror. My babies let out small wimps, they picked up on my distress. I gently shushed them, and mumbled promises I wasn't sure if I could deliver.

A growl broke the silence behind us, then the unmistakable click of a gun was being cocked at us.

“Stop!” A low voice echoed, authoritative and ice-chill.

Ethan skidded to a stop, breathing hard, and Mark had already spun around to aim his weapon. I stretched my body and looked up; my sight blurred with tiredness and panic.

Bryan was at the mouth of the tunnel, eyes frenzied, his enforcers flanking him like shadows. His gun was up, but his eyes were on mine. ‘And he’s off,’ he said, something unreadable flashing in his golden irises — anger, desperation, regret?

“Jessica,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Don’t do this.”

I wrapped my arms more tightly around the twins. “You don’t get to say my name no more.”

His jaw clenched. “They’re my children.”

“No,” I said, my voice steel. “They’re mine.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You’re bleeding out. You won’t get out of here without help.”

Ethan stepped back slowly, repositioning his hold on me. “She has help.”

Bryan’s gaze turned on him, anger darkening his face. “Stay out of this, Carter.”

“No.” Ethan’s voice was even. “You forfeited the right to command the moment you camped out on the lawn.”

Bryan’s hands balled up into fists. For a moment I caught a glimpse of it — the war battling with itself inside him. The wolf who once loved me fighting the Alpha who released me. But I didn’t care. Any remorse he felt was too little, too late.

There was a distant explosion that shook the tunnels. The Rivera enforcers were coming closer. Bryan’s hesitation cost him.

Mark fired first.

The bullet grazed Bryan, but it sent his enforcers running. Ethan pivoted, running with me in his arms, my babies weeping against my chest. I didn’t look back.

"Faster!" Mark barked. "We're out of time!" His voice bounced off the tunnel walls with the sound of our pounding footsteps.

Light ahead. The tunnel exit. It felt impossibly distant, yet drawing nearer with each desperate step.

“Almost there,” Ethan wheezed next to me. "Just keep moving."

We charged through the opening as another explosive rumble reverberated through the earth behind us. The heat of the blast pushed against our backs, and debris rained down. The night air was sharp, the wind stinging my face. My vision was fading, my strength was waning, but I still clung on to my babies. Tremors pulsed through their small bodies but and they were uncharacteristically quiet, as if they felt the weight of our dilemma.

A black SUV was waiting, the doors already ajar. Inside, Rivera enforcers prepared, weapons aimed at the shadows behind us. I was washed over by the smell of my mother. All these years later, though, that familiar scent of lavender and vanilla still quelled my racing heart.

"Move!" Mark shouted.

Ethan pushed me inside first, followed me in. His normally immaculate suit was caked with dust and ripped at the shoulder. Mark just made it, slamming the door in the bullets’ face as they bounced off the metal. In the small room, the sound resonated even louder. The driver slammed it, and soon the SUV was lurching forward, tires screeching as we tore from the chaos.

"Everyone okay?" “Are you guys all OK?” Ethan said, checking us for injuries.

I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "The twins are fine."

I leaned my forehead against the cool window as I breathed in short, shallow bursts. We drove through the city with the lights a blur. My mother’s voice crackled from the car’s radio, steady and commanding as ever.

"Status?"

Mark responded, inspecting his weapon. "We have them. But it's not over. Bryan's men were waiting. They knew about the tunnel."

“We have a mole,” said Ethan grimly.

“Lock down the compound,” my mother said. “I want every single entrance monitored. Nobody gets in or out without clearance.’”

I closed my eyes and let the exhaustion... Bryan wasn't finished. I could sense it in my bones, in the air that still charged itself with tension. This wasn't the end. He would come for us again, and next time he would come better prepared.”

“Rest,” Ethan said quietly to me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "We'll be home soon."

But with my children close to my chest, their small hearts pumping under my palm, I knew one thing for sure.

I wasn't

finished either. Bryan had gotten personal and I would make him pay for threatening my family.