Page 41 of Keeping Caroline

A knot tightened in my stomach, but I shook my head. “Nothing will happen to them. They’re secure. But Caroline… We can’t afford to lose more time.”

Ethan let out a heavy sigh, the sound like static in my ear. “Alright. Stake out the place but keep your head down. I’m on my way. Don’t do anything until I get there.”

“Understood. Be careful,” I said, the words seeming inadequate, but I did not know what else to say.

“Always am,” was all he said and then the line went dead.

Climbing out of the car, I tucked my phone away, allowing myself a moment to breathe in the night air, trying to calm my nerves, but it was useless. I was out of my element, so I was running on pure adrenaline and the need to rescue the woman I cared deeply for. I just hoped I had not made an unwise decision that would get us both killed.

The darkness of the Appalachian Forest swallowed me whole, a silent behemoth that stood indifferent to the urgency pulsing through my veins. Every step I took was a careful negotiation with the terrain, the coordinates of Caroline’s tracker leading me deeper into the heart of the timbered maze. The beam from my flashlight cut through the night, illuminating tangled underbrush and gnarled roots ready to trip an unwary traveler. I just did not want it to be me.

The ground beneath my feet was damp, my boots sinking into the moss and fallen leaves making subtle noises that disrupted the silence I was trying to maintain. Yet, there was still a stillness that hung in the air the deeper I went, punctuated only by the distant hoot of an owl or the rustle of nocturnal creatures stirring in the undergrowth. It was as if nature herself was holding her breath, waiting for the outcome of my quest.

Navigating through this verdant labyrinth, I remained vigilant, my senses attuned to any anomaly, any sign that would indicate danger lurking just beyond the reach of my light. The digital world had always been where I felt most at ease, a realm of clarity and control so starkly contrasted by the unpredictable chaos of the forest. Yet there I was, driven by a force stronger than any code or algorithm—my burgeoning connection to Caroline—what I was starting to suspect could be love.

An hour passed—a lifetime in each minute—as I followed the old logging road, now little more than a whisper of its former self. The ghost of industry wound through the forest, a reminder of man’s fleeting dominion over nature. And then, like a specter emerging from the past, a warehouse appeared, dilapidated and all but consumed by the encroaching wilderness—but not uninhabited.

With the stealth of the Phantom I was, I found refuge behind a grouping of trees, their branches providing a canopy of concealment. From the vantage point, I made out the silhouette of a building, its structure imposing and out of place in the otherwise untamed landscape. The moon, a sliver of silver in the sky, illuminated the broken windows high on the exterior, too small and high for anyone to climb out—at least from what I could tell. Still, I wondered if I would be able to find a way to get up high enough to peek inside, possibly find where they were keeping her.

Heart a steady drumbeat in my chest, I settled into my hidden perch, muscles taught. Each moment that ticked by was a moment too long, a stretch of time in which Caroline’s fate hung in the balance. Watching from outside, I could not help but imagine what she could be suffering through just inside, and it made me want to go in after her, but I knew I needed to wait for Ethan. If we were going to be successful, we needed to work together.

Knowing I had nothing but time until Ethan got there, I lifted the binoculars to my eyes, narrowing my focus on the decrepit structure that held Caroline captive. The night vision lenses brought the scene into sharp detail—the grainy textures of the weathered walls, the jagged shards of glass clinging to the window frames like desperate fingers, and the slow prowl of shadows cast by the moon’s gaze.

One by one, I counted the mobsters lingering outside—eight in total—their outlines ghosting through my field of vision. They moved like they had no care in the world, guns slung casually over shoulders, cigarettes dangling from lips, their laughter grinding over my already taut nerves. Watching them closely, I memorized their positions. There were two by the entrance, lethargic and unsuspecting, one of them actually sleeping as he leaned against the wall. Several feet away, there were three men clustered near a flickering fire barrel, the shadows dancing across their hard, lined faces telling me they were at least in their forties. Another trio patrolled in a loose arc, using flashlights to check the tree line for any trespassers.

From what I could tell, the building didn’t appear to have power, but was instead being lit by candles and a generator that was loud when it kicked on, but it seemed as though they didn’t run the generator during the entire night, unless they needed it to power something for a short period of time. It had kicked on once since I had been watching them, but it only ran for about twenty minutes before turning off. If the generator was powered on when Ethan and I went in to try to rescue Caroline, I knew it would provide us with reliable sound cover. If I could find a way to turn it on without them knowing it was not one of them who did it, then we could use it as a distraction.

A rustle of leaves, so slight it could have been mistaken for wind, snatched my attention. A long figure skirted the edge of the clearing, his silhouette fragmenting as he passed between trees and moonlight. With his path meandering too close to where I crouched, I had to make a decision—one I wouldn’t be able to come back from.

Sliding the hunting knife out of its sheath, I burrowed farther back into the brush, allowing the night to cloak me. I peered around the tree’s bulk, watching the mobster pause, head cocked as if sensing me, but he seemed to shake his unease off and continued to walk in my direction. Without a sound, I stood, back pressed against the dark side of the tree, listening as his footsteps got closer and closer, my heart beating in time with his steps.

When he stopped right next to my hiding spot, I held my breath, planning my attack, but before I could strike him, another pair of eyes slipped out of the forest behind him. Before I could even register what was happening, Ethan grabbed the mobster by the back of his jacket and pulled the man closer, dragging an insanely long blade across the guard’s neck. I stood there motionless as I watched the mobster’s body slump to the ground, blood spilling out in rivers onto the forest floor, doing my best to keep the contents of my stomach intact. I had never witnessed such violence in person before. It wasn’t something I thought would be easy to wipe from my mind, but although I was not a violent person, and wasn’t looking forward to taking any life, I knew it had to be done, and I knew we would both do whatever we had to do in order to save Caroline. If that meant I would have to kill to do it, then so be it.

“Hey,” he whispered, wiping his blade on the jacket of the dead guy at our feet. “Were you going to kill him? Or buy him a drink?”

I huffed, the tension that had wound itself around my spine unraveling as I lowered my weapon. “Thought you would never show. Scarlett and Evie?”

Reaching forward, Ethan grabbed my binoculars and held them up to his eyes. “I spoke to her right before getting here. They’re in the safe room and locked down tight.”

“Good.” I nodded, a little bit of reassurance settling over me like a cloak. With them safe, we could focus on keeping Caroline—and ourselves—safe.

“Any sign of Caroline?” Ethan’s voice broke through the haze of my thoughts, dragging my attention back to the task at hand.

“Nothing yet,” I admitted, the worry for her gnawing at me like a persistent ache.

When he turned his eyes to me, there was a hint of mischief in them, as though he enjoyed the rush. “Then, let’s get her back.”

Chapter 29

The Savior

Tristan crouched beside me, his eyes scanning the grim facade of the warehouse as if he could pierce its secrets with sheer will. Caroline was in there, a prisoner. Rage simmered in my veins, but I tamped it down. It may have been months since I had worn my darkness on the outside, but it had slipped on like my favorite pair of boots.

“We’ve got six guards on rotation,” he murmured, my own gaze tracking the sweep of a flashlight’s beam through the tangled brush. “Two by the main entrance, two roaming, and the two who are supposed to be at the back are by the fire barrel. There were two others, but one went inside and the other is dead on the ground. So, aside from whoever is inside, there are six left.”

The corner of my lips lifted into a grin, even though my hands curled into fists, leather cracking. “You went through that like a pro. Consistency is good, though. Makes ‘em predictable.” Shifting my weight, I jerked my chin at the building. “Cameras?”

Tristan shook his head, the ghost of a smile touching his lips as though proud of himself. “They’re using a generator, so they have cheap cameras—portable ones run by batteries. I was able to tap into them and disable them with my cellphone.”

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