Chapter 1
The inside of the cabin was as quiet and dark as it had been before Evelyn left it. But the heaviness that had weighed on her chest was gone.
Caleb Hawthorne had come back alive.
The moment she stepped inside behind him, Smith who’d been crouched behind the sofa loading his gun for cover shot to his feet. He must have heard them coming and braced for the worst.
“Major!”
Mortifyingly, Smith burst into tears the instant he saw Caleb. So much for the composure he’d been working so hard to maintain it had all been an act.
It was Evelyn who found herself thrown by the sudden, unguarded display of humanity. Caleb, on the other hand, only huffed a quiet laugh, as if Smith’s reaction was nothing new to him.
“I was worried you’d be late.”
Smith scrubbed the tears from his face as he spoke.
“We covered our tracks and left a false trail on the other side,” Caleb said.
“I figured as much. You never leave anything to chance.”
“Is everyone unhurt?”
“Yes, sir. Even if you hadn’t made it back, we would have moved to the first rendezvous point. In case the timing didn’t line up, we thought you might head straight there instead.”
Caleb nodded. The stiff, severe expression he wore while receiving the report was the same one Evelyn remembered from the battlefield — the face of Major Kane, not the man she’d come to know.
Lily, woken by the voices, came down from the loft, and a simple meal was laid out on the table for Caleb, who hadn’t eaten all day. Afterward, a second sleeping spot was arranged beside the sofa.
Through all of it, Evelyn worked hard not to meet Caleb’s eyes. Watching him eat, watching him calmly absorb the debrief, her sanity slowly crept back to her.
What on earth had she been thinking, kissing this man?
She’d spent the whole time terrified for him, praying he wouldn’t die.
She’d even left her own sister behind to go save him — but now that her head was clearing, she refused to admit that any of it meant something serious.
It was just a debt of gratitude toward a superior officer who’d pulled off something extraordinary, she told herself. Nothing more, nothing less. She repeated it to herself like an excuse.
That night, Evelyn slept deeply for the first time in what felt like forever.
She’d been awake since before the operation even began — nearly thirty hours without rest before sleep finally claimed her.
“This is our current position. We follow the ravine from here and rendezvous with the others at the third peak of the ridge. That team’s been tracking Dr. Nick Taylor’s movements for five months now.
According to last month’s report, Taylor headed north — probably to get his hands on the Vermin specimen they’d been after. Window’s October 17th to 20th. We agreed to wait exactly three days; if we don’t arrive in that window, everyone scatters on their own. Questions.”
Before they left the cabin, Caleb gave a brief operational briefing. The stubble that had shadowed his jaw and the disheveled hair from the night before were gone now, neatly groomed. In a black tactical shirt and khaki cargo pants, the man looked more at ease than he ever had back in the bunker — despite having been out of the military compound for barely a day.
“How many are on that team?” Evelyn asked, chewing slowly on a piece of bread.
Caleb’s gaze shifted to her. She kept her eyes fixed on the map he was pointing to, refusing to look at him directly.
He had to notice the strange stiffness in her manner by now.
“Five.”
“People we can trust?”
“They don’t know the bunker’s been compromised yet. But they’re the ones who backed Commander Gonghyung when Nick Taylor defected and tried to convince the higher-ups — which tells you they’re quick to read a situation. They’ve probably been expecting a day like this.”
“Just in case, maybe we shouldn’t make contact right away. A few of us could stay hidden and watch how things play out first.”
“Agreed.”
Once the briefing ended, they packed their gear — simple rations, water, and weapons for the trek through the mountains. The cabin had been stocked with an impressive range of weaponry, a testament to how long this had all been planned. Evelyn checked the pistol and combat knife she’d carried the day before, tucked them away, and slung a rifle over her shoulder.
The others were in similar shape. Smith loaded up with several knives, and when that wasn’t enough, stuffed a few throwing blades into his vest as well. She vaguely remembered hearing once that knife work was his specialty.
Looking at him, she’d have guessed hand-to-hand combat was more his style — but apparently his hands were more precise than his build suggested. Gone was the man who’d wept openly over the Major’s safety the night before; Smith’s expression had hardened back into brisk, businesslike efficiency as he finished preparing.
Evelyn handed Lily a gun and checked that she still remembered the shooting technique she’d taught her. To her relief, Lily loaded it smoothly, her stance steady and correct.
With preparations complete, Lily — who’d grown fond of the cabin during their days there — carefully tidied the space, erasing any trace that they’d stayed. Securing the place fell to her and Smith.
“My father loved this place. If things work out, maybe we’ll come back and live here someday. If we don’t lock everything down properly, the wild birds will tear it apart. There are still unmutated animals wandering this forest.”
Smith, uncharacteristically sentimental again, rattled on. Back at the base, she’d only ever seen him trailing the Major, executing his duties with total precision — she’d had no idea this side of him existed.
“It really is beautiful here. I’ve grown attached to it too. Though I barely saw any animals.”
“There are traps set up within about a kilometer out front. This isn’t monster territory, so anything that can catch regular game is more than enough.”
“Ah, that explains it. I kept hearing animal calls at night, but nothing ever came close. I sat up with my gun every night just in case.”
“There’s nothing out here fierce enough to need a gun.”
Lily was the only one who indulged his idle chatter.
Caleb stood apart, arms crossed, silently watching the exchange, while Evelyn walked along the stream, trying to guess where Smith might have laid his traps — and idly wondering whether, if she’d wandered off ignorant of their location, she might have ended up caught in one herself.
Smith, who knew the mountain trails well, took the lead, with Lily close behind. Evelyn followed next, and Caleb Hawthorne brought up the rear.
Evelyn made a fierce effort not to think about him at her back, keeping watch as he walked.
She wanted more than anything to put distance between them — but in a party of just four, there was no way to avoid him for long.
