AXEL’S POV:
I stepped out of the helicopter, my boots hitting the ground with a dull thud. The moment I did, an unsettling silence pressed in around me. The wind barely stirred the brittle grass, and the only sound was the distant hum of the helicopter blades slowing to a stop.
The GPS had led us here, but this couldn’t be the right place. It didn’t make sense. The coordinates pointed to an active location, yet everything around me was abandoned—rundown houses with shattered windows, rusted fences barely standing, and trees stripped bare like skeletons. No movement. No sound. No sign of life.
My jaw tightened. Was this a mistake? Should I turn back? The thought lingered, but I shoved it aside. I wasn’t the kind of man who retreated. If this was a setup, then so be it—I would deal wi
