Gunfire rattled the rafters as Amira wrestled with Dominic on the floor. Zion pulled himself up, clutching his bleeding shoulder, and fired into the chaos, covering Rosalie and Lucia as they rushed to Gabriel's side. Smoke billowed from the far corner of the factory, flames licking up the old walls, casting a hellish glow over the carnage.
Amira slammed Dominic's head into the concrete, screaming in fury. He cackled, blood spattering across his teeth as he hissed, "You're too late. The place is rigged to blow."
"Not before I kill you," she spat, driving her elbow into his throat.
Amira and Dominic fought hand to hand. Zion dragged Gabriel to safety as the factory burns, Rosalie hacked into Dominic's detonator signal to delay the explosion, and Lucia covered them with gunfire. Dominic taunts Amira with Celeste's final moments, trying to break her resolve, but she fights through the grief and rage.
Rosalie screams that the building will blow in sixty seconds. Amira plunges a shard of glass into Dominic's chest, whispers, "For Celeste," and flees with Zion into the smoke. The factory explodes behind them in a roar of flame and shattered steel.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Rising From the Ashes
The ground still trembled from the force of the explosion as Amira and Zion stumbled through the woods, Gabriel's weight slumped between them. Smoke clung to their clothes, stinging their eyes. Twigs snapped underfoot, and every sound seemed amplified in the tense silence that followed the chaos.
"Hold on, Gabriel," Zion grunted, shifting the boy's limp weight higher against his chest.
Amira wiped blood from her cheek, her heart thundering. "We're almost there. Just breathe."
Gabriel coughed, a wet rattle that made Amira's gut twist. "It hurts…Amira…"
"I know," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I know, sweetheart. Stay with me."
They crashed through a line of trees and stumbled into a small clearing. An old hunting cabin stood in the moonlight, boarded windows casting jagged shadows over rotting steps. Amira threw the door open, gun raised, but the cabin was empty—dust, old blankets, and the lingering smell of mildew greeting her.
"Get him inside," she ordered.
Zion layed Gabriel on a filthy mattress, Rosalie tore through supplies for bandages, Amira paced like a caged animal, her hands shaking. Lucia stood by the door, gun drawn, eyes haunted.
Zion turns on Amira, voice rough. "This is on you. You dragged us into this. Gabriel nearly died."
"Don't you dare," Amira spits, fury rising. "I did what I had to do. Dominic would have killed us all!"
Rosalie snaps, "Stop it! This won't help him!"
They fall into tense silence, the only sound Gabriel's labored breathing. Later that night, Zion finds Amira outside, staring at the moon. He touches her shoulder, gentle despite his anger.
"I'm scared," Amira admits, voice small. "If he dies…if we lose him…"
Zion pulls her close, his breath warm against her ear. "We won't. We'll keep fighting. Together."
Their lips brush in a desperate kiss, broken and raw. The chapter ends with Lucia interrupting, her voice shaking. "I found something in Dominic's files…a list of men who funded him. This isn't over."
Amira turns, eyes cold, fury reignited. "Then we hunt them ".