Page 52 of The Cabin-A Reverse Harem Romance
“Then let’s go,” Trevor said. “Daylight’s burning.”
“Let’s move out,” Chase ordered.
We took off again, and I tried to get a bead on where the smell of the fire was coming from. It was impossible because of the swirling wind, but it was definitely starting to grow stronger. I knew we were at least on the right track. I glanced over at the guys and saw, judging by the looks on their faces, that they knew we were too.
We pressed forward, energized by the idea that we were closing in, that we were on the verge of getting our girl back, hopefully safe and unharmed. Letting myself think any other way just wouldn’t do.
Brad had actually better pray there wasn’t so much as a scratch on her. Because if so much as a hair on her head was out of place, he was going to pay the price.
12
Chase
It felt weird to be giving orders again. I hadn’t done that since we’d all been in the Army together and I’d acted as the squad leader. It had to be done though. I needed to get us moving. Needed to get us to start acting and doing what we came there to do – rescue Elle.
We all fell back into our roles easily enough though – with the guys following my lead. I guess it was that ingrained sense of purpose in all of us we got from being Rangers; the elitist of the elite. It was strange to fall back into old habits and patterns, but in a way, it felt good At least we were doing something to fix a fucked up situation.
Although the air was cold enough to make my lungs hurt, I took a deep breath, trying to figure out where the smell of smoke was coming from. I could smell it, and as we walked, it was getting stronger, but with the wind swirling around among the trees, it was hard to get a bead on where the source was exactly.
“I think it’s coming from this way,” Nolan said.
We all turned and followed him. Nolan was the one who smelled the smoke to begin with, so this was his show now.
“You sure?” Sean asked.
Nolan shrugged. “As best as I can figure,” he said. “If you think you know –”
“No, come on,” I said. “Let’s go the way you pointed us. It’s as good a place to start as any.”
Nobody else offered up a better suggestion, so we fell in behind Nolan and made our way through the dense, closely packed forest around us. In some ways, it felt like being on a mission again. Like we were running some op like we did back in the day, when we were in the shit over in the Middle East.
The smell of smoke was definitely getting stronger the further we walked. I was positive we were heading in the right direction. Nolan looked back at me and nodded, even more positive than I was that we were going the right way.
Trevor hung back and fell into step beside me. He looked skeptical.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I just don’t know that we’re gonna find a cabin out here in the middle of this forest, man,” he said. “I mean, it seems kinda unlikely, doesn’t it?”
I shrugged. “No idea, man,” I said. “All I know is that I smell the smoke, and I’m pretty damn sure there are no wildfires going.”
“I just feel like we’re wasting time here,” he said.
“Do you have a better idea?” I asked. “You saw the tracks leading away from the car.”
Trevor said nothing, and just shook his head. “I don’t know, man, I just –”
“Guys, cabin at our eleven o’clock,” Nolan called back to us.
We immediately dropped down, lowering our profile to avoid being seen. Not that we needed to worry about it all that much, given the density of the forest and bushes around us. It was part of our training though and was second nature to all of us.
About a hundred yards ahead of us, sure as shit, there was a clearing in the woods, and in that clearing, sat a cabin. It wasn’t big or fancy like the ones we stayed in on Brad’s property, but it was nice enough. It looked like it was kept up and maintained pretty well. A dirt road cut through the trees and headed back the in the opposite direction toward the highway.
“What do you think?” Trevor asked.
I shrugged. “Not sure,” I replied. “Could be somebody’s vacation house.”
I stared at the cabin, looking for signs that it was where Brad had taken her. The windows were all dark, save for the one that had light peeking around through the closed curtains. Smoke curled up and out of the chimney, then rode along on the gusts of wind. There was definitely somebody there.
