CHAPTER 34
The journey back to the mainland was a nightmare,
as the boat battled twenty-foot waves that threatened to tear it apart.
Liam took over the controls,
his muscles straining as he fought the wheel,
guiding us through the chaotic watery abyss.
I stood beside him,
holding onto the dashboard,
my eyes fixed on the distant shoreline that slowly appeared.
Every minute felt like an eternity,
a torturous delay while my daughter was in mortal danger.
As soon as the boat hit the shallow waters near a hidden beach,
Liam didn't even bother to park it properly.
He rammed the vessel straight into the sand,
and we jumped into the waist-deep water,
wading ashore with our weapons held high.
We ran to our hidden secondary vehicle,
a powerful black SUV equipped with armor plating,
and tore down the highway toward the mountain safehouse.
The rain slammed against the windshield,
the wipers unable to keep up with the deluge,
but Liam drove like a man possessed.
He drifted around sharp mountain curves,
ignoring the danger of mudslides and steep cliffs,
focused entirely on the destination ahead.
As we approached the coordinates of the safehouse,
the smell of smoke filled the air,
rising above the scent of wet pine trees.
We rounded the final bend,
revealing the mountain cabin,
which was now partially consumed by bright orange flames.
The front door had been blown off its hinges,
and several black vehicles were parked haphazardly in the driveway.
There were bodies on the ground,
belonging to Valerie’s mercenaries,
showing that Marcus had put up a ferocious fight.
We stopped the SUV,
jumping out before it even came to a complete halt,
and entered the burning structure with tactical precision.
The heat inside was intense,
smoke filling our eyes and lungs,
making it difficult to see or breathe.
We made our way to the hidden basement entrance,
which was located behind a false wall in the kitchen.
The heavy steel door of the bunker was warped,
blasted open by military-grade plastic explosives,
just as Marcus had feared.
I lowered my weapon slightly,
my heart sinking into a bottomless pit of despair,
fearing the worst as I stepped into the room.
The basement was in ruins,
with concrete dust covering everything,
and bullet holes riddling the walls.
Marcus was slumped against a pillar,
holding a wound in his side,
his face covered in blood and soot.
He looked up at me,
his eyes filled with immense sorrow and regret,
and he managed to whisper a few painful words.
"I am sorry,"
he wheezed,
coughing up dark blood,
"They took her,
May you like
Valerie took Clara,
she said you know where to find them."
