Haven Bound

47. Austin

47

Austin

Despite cutting the drive practically in half by completely ignoring the posted speed limits and nearly causing a few accidents, getting to the cabin takes far too long. To my surprise, Zack insisted on coming along for this one. I can’t recall a single time when he’s ever willingly stepped out of his office for a mission, but then again, we’ve never dealt with a situation like this before. We have never had to rescue a victim that we have personal connections to.

The familiar cabin comes into view and for a brief moment, I’m assaulted by visions of Jason’s dad strung up like a pig for slaughter in the abandoned warehouse where I ended his life. It almost feels like an entirely different lifetime ago. Like a fever dream I once had.

My entire life within the Phoenix Legion sort of feels that way. I’m good at this job and if I had never come back home, I could’ve spent the rest of my life cleansing the world of human scum. But being with Chelsea makes me want to be good at other things, like taking care of her, showing her how much I love her, and someday, maybe raising a family together. However, for those dreams to even be a possibility, I first need to make sure that Jason Reed will never be able to get his hands on Chelsea or anyone else .

“We’ve got this,” Zack murmurs from beside me. I don’t know if the words are more for him or me. If the nerves and tension radiating off of his body are any indication, I’d say he was likely talking to himself. He’s no stranger to wearing bulletproof vests and being strapped down with weapons thanks to his background, but I know that it has been years since he’s stepped out of the comfort and safety of his office and into the line of fire.

“What’s the plan?” Hailey asks, leaning forward from her spot in the backseat. It would’ve been pointless to ask her to stay behind, and quite frankly, I’m curious to see how my sister will handle herself. She’s had all of the same training as I’ve had but has never taken any assignments. The closest she gets to being directly involved with the Legion is treating stab and bullet wounds when shit gets a little messy.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I recall everything that I remember from the last time I was here. “There are three points of entry. The front door, sliding back door, and a side door off of the kitchen. We can’t be sure where he’ll have Chelsea or what his current mental state is, so we need to approach this with as much caution as we can. If anything happens to her because we—”

Hailey holds up a hand to stop me. “I will follow your lead here, Ace, but if there’s anyone who can handle someone like Jason, it’s Chelsea. I know this is likely the last thing you want to hear, but she dated him for a long time. She knows his triggers. As much as she’s trusting us, trusting you , to save her, we also have to trust that she knows how to stay safe. Ethan and I… we haven’t left her completely defenseless. She can handle herself with a gun if it comes to that. ”

As much as I’ve been begging her lately to carry some kind of weapon, even a pocket knife, I hate the idea of Chelsea having to wield any kind of weapon to protect herself. Still, it brings me a modicum of comfort to know that if it comes to that, she will be okay.

We end up spending a few more minutes formulating a plan. Jason is likely expecting me, but he won’t be anticipating Hailey or Zack. The large front window will make entering through the front door a bit of a challenge, though not impossible. Hailey, being the shortest of the three of us, will be taking that entry point. Her smaller stature will allow her to move around quietly and make her harder to detect. Nothing about the cabin has been maintained over the years. It sits surrounded by tall trees and overgrown foliage, providing the perfect coverage for us to be able to move around undetected.

We each slip in an earbud that will allow us to communicate amongst ourselves, and then we step out of the car and head for our chosen entry points. My heart feels like it’s preparing to break through my chest, but it’s not fear that’s pumping through my system. It’s adrenaline, and it’s providing me with the clarity that I need to get in there and save my girl.

Assuming that Jason has Chelsea in the main living space, the door that leads into the kitchen is the second closest entry to her. Hailey’s got the closest point with the front door, but she’s also acting as a sort of distraction. We’re hoping that his attention will shift to her and give us a chance to get in and grab Chelsea. As much as I’d love nothing more than to kick down the front door and shoot the fucker in the head before he even has a chance to blink, I can’t risk Chelsea being caught in the crossfire .

The side entry door is locked but easy enough to pick. I open it slowly, trying to avoid any potential creaking from the old cabin door. Jason’s manic voice reaches me, rage burning in my throat when I hear the words he’s spewing at Chelsea. Glock in hand, I peer around the corner into the living room to find him standing over her, his gun pressed to her chest. His brows are pulled together and sweat is beading along his temple as he yells.

“Of all the times I couldn’t get you to shut up. Turns out all I had to do was make good on my threats, hm?” The words leaving his mouth and the anger lacing his voice have me gritting my teeth as I lift my arm, keeping my hand steady as I close an eye and aim the gun in his direction.

“I’m in,” Zack’s voice fills my ear, his breaths nearly inaudible over the line. The entrance at the back of the house enters into the primary bedroom down the hall from the kitchen but his footsteps are silent, no sound of movement coming from anywhere aside from the scene playing out in front of me.

“At the front,” Hails murmurs. I glance behind Jason to the large window beside the front door just in time to catch a glimpse of my sister’s brown hair as she steps up to the door. “Am I busting this bitch down or what?” She may be on the shorter side, but I don’t dare underestimate her strength. I don’t doubt that she could kick down the door without trouble.

“Hold,” I grunt. Jason has yet to lift his gaze away from Chelsea, but his body is leaning back slightly as though he’s preparing to back away from her. I can see her body shudder as her chin dips to her chest, her head hanging. He takes a few steps backward and drops his arm to his side, providing me with the moment I was waiting for .

I’m right here, Sunflower.

“I thought I fucking told you to stay away from her,” I growl, stepping around the corner and aiming my Glock directly between his eyes. Chelsea’s head lifts and whips in my direction, her wide green eyes finding mine. Her bottom lip quivers, a few tears gliding down her cheeks. I can only hope that she can feel my love for her as my eyes flick back to Jason.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt true malice until now. Every single life I’ve ever held at the end of my gun has simply been an assignment. Nothing more than a job that needed to be finished in the same way that a mechanic must fix a car. Every day that I’ve spent taking a life up until this point has merely been another day at work.

Zack and Hailey make themselves known as the words leave my mouth, guns aimed directly at Jason. His eyes widen and dart around the room, the tremble of his hand hinting at the nerves likely coursing through him. We’ve got him surrounded.