Page 49 of Crossfire Creek Siege

It just felt… still.

He should’ve been thinking about boundaries, consequences, about how this could complicate everything between them and with Crossfire Ops. He’d tried to tell himself that a dozen times already. But when she’d looked at him the way she had, open, unguarded, trusting, he hadn’t stood a chance.

It had always felt inevitable. From the moment they’d met, there’d been something electric beneath the surface, simmering just out of reach. Maybe it had taken danger, loss, and too many close calls to strip everything else away, but they were here now. Together.

He brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, his fingers lingering. No regrets. Not a single one.

Still, the thought lingered. How hard it was to think about the future when every day could be the one that ended it. When someone out there still wanted them dead.

But tonight, he pushed that thought aside. He tightened his arm around Rena, let the weight of her against him anchor him to something good, something worth fighting for.

Rena stirred against him, a soft sound escaping her as she blinked awake. The dim light from the lamp cast faint gold across her face, and when her eyes found his, a slow, sleepy smile curved her lips.

“Hey,” she whispered, her voice rough with sleep.

“Hey, yourself,” Gage murmured, brushing his thumb over her shoulder.

She leaned in and kissed him, lazy and unhurried, but there was heat there too, the same spark that had drawn them together hours ago. When she pulled back, her gaze searched his. “What time is it?”

He reached over for his watch. “Just after midnight.”

She sighed and settled back against him for a moment, her hand tracing idle circles over his chest. The air between them hummed again, low and dangerous.

Then her stomach gave a quiet growl, breaking the spell. She laughed softly. “Guess I’m starving.”

He grinned. “Good thing I still have ice cream in the fridge.”

He slid out of bed, tugging on his pants, but before he could take a step, both of their phones buzzed on the nightstand. Gage grabbed his, scanning the screen. “It’s Noah.”

“Get to the briefing room. Now,” he read aloud.

The warmth between them vanished, replaced by that sharp, familiar edge of adrenaline. They scrambled to get dressed, the urgency in Noah’s message cutting through whatever warmth had lingered. Gage’s pulse was already kicking into high gear as he tugged on his shirt and boots, the weight of his gun settling against his hip like second nature.

“Think it’s another attack?” Rena asked, her voice tight as she zipped her vest.

“Or another invasion,” he muttered. Either way, it meant trouble.

They were out the door in seconds, the echo of their footsteps pounding down the corridor. The air inside the headquarters felt charged, tense as if the building itself was bracing for what was coming.

When they burst into the briefing room, Gage immediately saw all the people who were already there. Noah stood near the main console, Isla typing furiously beside him. Sheriff Chase and Deputy Sanchez were seated at the side table, both watching the monitors, while three other techs tracked data feeds. Operatives, Delaney Hart and Eli Torres, were geared up, too.

So much for Noah’s order to get some rest.

Gage’s gaze snapped to the monitors, and his stomach dropped. Two screens showed what was clearly live drone footage, the camera feeds flickering slightly with movement. Both images were of remote compounds, fenced and spread across rough, scrub-covered terrain.

Noah glanced over as Gage and Rena came in. “Looks like our informant was right,” he said. “The techs found the two training facilities less than half an hour ago.”

And judging by the sharpness in his tone, Gage knew they were about to find a hell of a lot more than that.

Isla spun her chair toward them, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She looked exhausted—dark circles under her eyes, energy drink in hand—but her grin was pure Isla.

“You’re welcome,” she said, then launched into her explanation. “I cross-referenced heat signatures from our satellite feeds with flight path anomalies. Took me all night and two pots of coffee, but boom, two facilities. Hidden deep in the woods, both of them. Practically invisible unless you know exactly what to look for.”

She turned back to her screens, pulling up side-by-side drone feeds. “This one’s near the river basin, completely off any mapped road. The other’s north. Hills, rock cover, good visibility from the ridge. Perfect spots for off-grid training.”

Noah nodded, stepping closer to the monitors. “Both are close enough to Crossfire Creek to make staging the attack possible. And the terrain matches the tactical routes the attackers would’ve used for fast access, easy retreat.” He pointed at one of the feeds where faint tire tracks were visible through the drone’s infrared filter. “You can still see vehicle imprints. Fresh. Within the last forty-eight hours.”

Rena leaned in, her brow furrowed. “So, one of these could be where they trained the men who hit the hangar?”