All Chapters of COLLATERAL DESIRE : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

"Disconnect us! Now!" I screamed, the wind tearing the words right out of my mouth.The violent snap of nylon jerked my spine hard as the tandem parachute caught a brutal mountain updraft. The tree line rushed up to swallow us whole. Needles of pine and ice smashed across my face in a blinding blur. Heavy branches splintered against Ethan’s back before the harness straps ripped free, plunging us straight down through the canopy to slam into the frozen earth.The impact knocked every drop of air from my lungs. Before I could draw breath, a deafening explosion shattered the night. Fire roared across the ridge as the crashed helicopter detonated against the upper peak, throwing a terrifying red glow across the sky. The blast wave rattled my teeth. Cold snow whipped around us in a whiteout storm, burying us instantly in sub-zero darkness."Ava!" Ethan’s voice was a rough, grunted roar beneath me. He had taken the full force of the crash, using his massive frame to cushion my fall against

"Get down!" Ethan roared, his heavy arm slamming around my waist.The floor didn't just shake it screamed. A deafening, metallic screech tore through the sanctuary's lower courtyard as the heavy blast doors buckled. Thick, choked gray stone dust rained onto our heads, filling my mouth with the dry, bitter taste of powdered mortar. The air vibrated so violently my teeth throbbed in my skull. My ears rang with a high, piercing whistle that nearly drowned out the sound that followed the sharp, rhythmic thud of tactical combat boots hitting the marble floor outside."Leo’s men," I gasped, choking as acrid black smoke rolled through the lower corridor.Overhead, emergency lights flashed in harsh, crimson pulses. Every wall screen flickered violently, red text cutting through the darkness with a single, repeating message: PERIMETER BREACHED. DEFENSES OFFLINE."They're moving faster than expected," Ethan growled. He didn't look at me; his dark eyes were locked on the bend in the hall, his ha

"Hold on!" Ethan barked into my ear, his voice barely audible over the deafening roar of the surging current.The vertical drop ripped the breath straight out of my lungs. Freezing, wild water slammed into us, a blind, terrifying plunge down the slick subterranean flume at fatal speeds. The pitch-black darkness swallowed us whole, masking the sharp stone walls that tore past us in the rush.My hands slipped on Ethan’s wet tactical jacket, the force of the alpine current violently pulling my grip apart."Don't let go!" he growled, his grip tightening around my torso like an iron vise.He pulled me flush against his chest, locking my frame beneath his own. I buried my face into the curve of his neck, feeling the sudden, violent jolt in his spine as his back slammed hard against a jagged turn in the pipe. He took the full, brutal impact of the rocky wall, shielding my body with his own as the dark tunnel threw us sideways.A sharp gasp tore from my throat as icy spray crashed over my hea

"Ethan, let go of me," I said, tugging my arm against his iron grip as the rotor blades beat deafeningly above us. "We’re going to get caught before we even clear the helipad!"He didn't answer. He pulled me flush against his side, his large hand clamping onto my waist like a vice. Cold rain slammed into my face, pinning my dark hair to my cheeks. Fifty stories below us, red and blue police strobes flashed through the downpour, blinding and relentless. News vans lined the barricades around Croft Tower, their heavy searchlights cutting through the storm. Leo had turned the entire block into a war zone."Keep moving," Ethan growled in my ear, his dark suit jacket already slick with rain. He practically dragged me across the private pad toward the utility access door."He’s watching the cameras, Ethan!" I yelled over the wind. "The second we step inside, his security team will see us!""He’s watching the main entries," Ethan said, pushing open the heavy steel door and shoving me into the

"Drop the detonator!" Ethan snarled, his voice a lethal promise that rattled the glass in the high-rise windows.Leo didn't listen. His eyes burned with red madness, his bloody hand trembling as his fingers reached for the tiny silver button on the detonator lying on the mahogany table. "If I go down, everyone in this room dies with me!""Ethan, watch out!" I screamed, lunging forward off my feet.Before Leo could press the trigger, Ethan moved. His hand vanished into his tactical jacket, and a flash of dark steel sliced through the red light.Thwack!Leo screamed a horrible, high-pitched shriek of agony that echoed off the high ceilings. Ethan drove his heavy combat blade straight through Leo's wrist, pinning his hand to the solid mahogany wood. The steel bit deep into the grain, freezing the mechanical fuse before it could complete its final stroke."Get off me!" Leo choked out, his body convulsing against the table as blood pooled across the polished finish."Don't move," Ethan gro