Page 4 of Saving Meri

The hallway was clear, but he couldn’t count on that lasting. He moved quickly, leading her through the back corridors of the compound. They set the underground auction in a repurposed warehouse, but the hidden levels beneath it were a different world—cold concrete walls, security cameras in every corner, and guards stationed at regular intervals. Bear had mapped it all before arriving, committed every exit, security checkpoint, and blind spot to memory.

“Where are we going?” Meri whispered as they moved.

“Out,” he answered, scanning ahead. “Stay quiet.”

She didn’t argue. Smart girl.

They rounded a corner just as two guards stepped out of a side room, deep in conversation. Bear moved fast, bringing his silenced Glock up and dropping the first man with a single shot to the temple. The second guard barely had time to register what was happening before Bear ended his life with a second shot.

Meri inhaled sharply, but she didn’t scream, didn’t freeze. She was watching. Calculating.

Bear grabbed her hand and began dragging her forward. “Move.”

They were headed toward the door just as the first alarm blared through the facility. Bear muttered a curse under his breath. He’d expected at least ten minutes before they realized what was happening. Someone had been paying attention.

Damn it.

He turned to Meri, gripping her chin and forcing her to look at him. “We do this my way. You follow orders, you keep moving, and you don’t stop unless I tell you to. Got it?”

For a second, just a second, something flickered in her eyes—something deep, instinctual. She nodded.

The door loomed ahead, dark and open. The worst kind of kill zone, but they had no choice. Bear tightened his grip on her hand and moved first, opening the door, his gun raised. They were just steps from freedom when the first wave of reinforcements poured in from below.

Bear shoved Meri behind him and fired.

The first two went down immediately, clean headshots. The third got a shot off before Bear’s bullet tore through his chest. Meri gasped behind him as the bullet hit the wall inches from her head, but she didn’t freeze.

Bear grabbed her waist and spun them both against the concrete wall, shielding her as another burst of gunfire rang out.Too many. He was good, but even he couldn’t take them all in open ground.

His eyes flicked to the service door twenty feet down the hall—a risk, but their only option.

He turned to Meri, his voice sharp. “Stay close.”

They moved as one, sprinting through the hallway as bullets chipped at the walls behind them. Bear threw his shoulder into the service door, slamming it open. The night air hit him like a shock to the system—cold and biting, thick with the scent of oil and damp asphalt.

Outside. Not safe yet, but close.

Meri staggered slightly as she followed him out, her bare feet skidding against the cracked pavement. He caught her easily, gripping her hip to steady her before scanning their surroundings.

Warehouse district. Empty lots. A few transport trucks lined up along the docks. His extraction point was two blocks away, but he needed to clear the immediate threats first.

Behind them, the guards were already spilling out of the building, shouting and firing their weapons.

Bear pivoted, lifting his gun and dropping the first man through the door before grabbing Meri’s wrist and pulling her toward the nearest cover—a stack of abandoned crates.

A bullet whizzed past her head. She flinched, stumbling, but Bear’s grip held firm.

“Keep moving,” he ordered, shoving her behind the crates. He turned, firing off three more shots—two hits, one miss. More were coming. Too many.

He tapped his earpiece. “Fitz, where the hell is our ride?”

A burst of static, then Fitz’s clipped Scottish accent. “Two minutes out. Hold your ground.”

Bear glanced at Meri. She was breathing fast, her hands clenched into fists, but she was still standing. Still fighting.

His fingers brushed her cheek, grounding her. “Almost done, little one.”

She didn’t flinch at the term. Didn’t push him away. That was all the confirmation he needed.

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