CHAPTER 16: FIND HER

POV: JAXON

The blood was still wet beneath my fingers. For one second, I couldn’t breathe and then something inside me snapped.

“LOCK DOWN THE COMPOUND!”

My voice tore through the hallway, echoing off the bare walls.Every man within hearing distance stopped.

“Nobody leaves!. Nobody comes in!.” I roared, steeping out into the corridor. “Search every building, every vehicle, every room. I want the grounds checked twice!.”

Rafe appeared at the end of the corridor, gun still in his hand, his eyes scanning the chaos. “What happened?” I pointed toward the bedroom.

“She’s gone.” His expression changed immediately.

“Anastasia?”

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. Rafe stepped inside, saw the blood and swore under his breath.

“Find her,” I growled, stepping into his space.

“We will…”

“No.” I cut him off, my voice dropping in a dangerous whisper. “We don’t have time for ‘we will.’ Find her.”

Rafe nodded once. He turned and started issuing orders. Within seconds, the compound was moving. Doors slammed open. Men ran through corridors. Vehicles were checked. Storage rooms were searched. Every exit was sealed. 

I stood in Anastasia’s room, staring at the blood. My mind kept replaying the moment I left her in the garage. Stay here. I told her to stay there. I promised to keep her safe and someone had taken her anyway.

“Jaxon!” Rafe’s voice came through the earpiece.

“Talk.”

“We checked the eastern perimeter, no sign of her.”

My chest tightened.

“Check the vehicles again”

“Already done.”

“Then check for the third time.”

“Jaxon, listen to me,” Rafe insisted, the sound of heavy movement in the background. “We found something. Basement corridor.”

I was running before he even gave me the direction. I hit the basement stairs, taking them three at a time, and found Rafe crouched beside a section of the old concrete foundation. He pointed to the dust on the floor fresh drag marks cutting through years of grime. Behind a rusted electrical panel, he threw an old metal lever. A section of the wall groaned and swung inward, releasing a draft of cold, damp air from a hidden service tunnel stretching into the dark. I stared into it.

“Where does it lead?”

“Under the western side of the compound.”

“How did nobody know about this?”

Rafe gave me a grim look. “The compound was built decades ago. Some of the old passages aren’t in our current plans.”

I drew my weapon.

“Stay here.”

Rafe caught my arm.

“You’re not going alone.”

“I am.”

“Jaxon—”

“If she’s down there, I’m bringing her back.” I shove pass him into the gloom. The air smelled of damp earth and rust. My boots struck the concrete as I moved deeper into the darkness. Then I saw a smear of blood on the wall. Not much. But enough.

“Anastasia.”

I followed the trail. It disappeared around a corner. Then I heard something. A faint sound. I stopped then moved closer..I pushed open an old wooden door.

“Anastasia?”

Nothing.

I raised my weapon and entered. The storage room was barely lit, filled with broken furniture, old crates and rusted equipment. Then something moved behind a stack of boxes. I lowered my gun.

“Anastasia?”

A figure slowly appeared. Her face was pale, her hair was disheveled. There was a small cut near her temple but she was alive. My knees nearly gave out.

“Jaxon.” She whispered. 

I crossed the room in seconds.

“What happened?”

She opened her mouth, but I didn’t wait. I pulled her into my arms. I didn’t think nor hesitate. I didn’t calculate the risk, didn’t care about the quiet boundaries we’d kept between us. 

One second she was standing in front of me, and the next I had both arms around her, holding her against my chest as if letting go would make her disappear again. She went completely still.. For several seconds, neither of us moved. I could feel her breathing against me, fast, and shaky. 

My eyes closed. I was so relieved. Then I realized what I was doing. I loosened my arms and stepped back. My hands fell to my sides.

“Are you hurt?” Looking at her for other injuries.

She looked at me for a moment before touching the cut near her hairline.

“Only this.”

I examined her carefully.

“Did he hurt you?”

“He tried.” She shook her head, her voice trembling slightly. My jaw tightened.

“Who?”

“I don’t know. He came into my room during the attack. I heard the shots and thought the hallway was clear, but he pushed his way in.” She looked down at her hands, where scraped knuckles showed red against her pale skin. “He grabbed me, but I hit him with the lamp. When he stumbled, I ran. I remembered what you mentioned about the old service routes and found the panel.”

 I stared at her.

“You found this passage?”

“I didn’t know where it led. I just knew I had to get away from him.”

For the first time since finding the blood, I could breathe. She had escaped him herself but there was still one thing I needed to know.

“Did he say anything?” I asked stepping closer

Anastasia looked at me. Her eyes widened. .

“Yes.”

My body went rigid.

“What?”

“He called me by my name and he said Clara should have known better than to think she could hide me forever.”

That wasn’t unusual. Whoever had taken her knew who she was. What she said made every muscle in my body tighten.

“My stomach dropped.

“Anastasia.”

She looked at me.

“There’s more.” Her eyes held mine.

“I saw his face, Jaxon.” The room went silent.

“Who was he?”

She hesitated. Then she whispered,

“I know him. It was someone from the compound.” Her face went pale. My blood ran cold. She had recognized the man who had tried to take her.

And if she was right, the traitor wasn’t just somewhere inside the Black Vipers. He was someone she had already met. Someone I had trusted enough to let near her.