Falling in Love : I love you, Today and Forever
Chapter 773: Rescued? - Part 1

Chapter 773: Rescued? - Part 1

"How the hell are we even supposed to find Jared here?" Joshua was losing his mind as time ticked. With every second passed, it was a second delayed in rescuing Aria and Ivy and just the thought of them being in danger made him all the more antsy.

"I think this is a trap." Noah analyzed the path they had taken and looked around him while the men following him held their guns stretched as they adjusted their night vision goggles. "There’s no way in hell this is the correct route. We must have missed something."

"But what, Noah? Didn’t you notice there are no traces of anyone here, not even car tire marks? If Aria and Stuart had driven along this path, there should have been tire marks. This is not even a proper road to not leave any traces behind." Ian looked below him and stared at the mud road.

"And that proves all the more that this is a trap. Jared’s men must have cleared the tire marks to mislead us." Noah replied and his words were enough to send all the men into a frenzy. If it was true, then not just Ivy, but Aria and Stuart as well were in danger.

"Fuck!" Joshua screamed and kicked in anger. He was angry, not with just Jared but with himself as well. It was all his doing. He had put everyone in danger.

"There has to be a way. There has to be some way." Noah mumbled. But as far as his eyes could see, all there was was nothing but a vast stretch of land filled with trees. Unless...

Noah’s eyes glanced down immediately and his gaze narrowed.

"Look for some opening in the ground. Jared’s lair must be below us." He instructed immediately, stunning the men for a moment. But the next instant, they got to work and split themselves into groups as they started to look for an opening in the ground.

At first, they found nothing and coupled with the darkness and the trees and bushes hindering them, they couldn’t find an opening. However, soon, they felt the change beneath them. Unlike the sturdy mud road, the path ahead of them felt shallow and they looked behind at the three men who were observing them.

Noah’s brows shot up when he noticed their expressions and he didn’t waste another moment to reach them. "There must be some sort of opening to go down. Look everywhere. We need to save the three of them before it is too late."

Ian and Joshua didn’t dawdle and they too searched for the opening.

’Please, please, please. Please, let us find something.’ Joshua begged as his eyes teared up. ’Please be safe, Ivy. I promise I’ll do anything you say. Just be safe.’

"Boss," Ronnie gestured all of a sudden, gaining everyone’s attention. Everyone surrounded him with Noah, Joshua and Ian at the lead. "Look at this."

Ronnie flashed the light below and Noah immediately noticed a latch on the ground. It was barely noticeable at first glance and if not for his sharp eyesight, he’d have not seen it at all.

"Should we break the door, Boss?" Ronnie questioned. Breaking the door was risky, considering that it’d alert the enemy and put the ladies and Stuart in danger even more. But they had no other option as well. It was a risky choice but the only choice.

"Is there another way to open it?" Noah queried. He too had the same considerations as Ronnie and looked for an alternative to open the door.

"No, Boss. We must break it open. We have no other choice."

Noah nodded and glanced at Ian and Joshua. "Keep the choppers on standby. We need to act quickly to save the three people."

"But Noah..." Joshua hesitated, an ominous feeling settling in his heart. "What if Jared were to harm the three of them?"

"Jo, we have no other choice. We’ll have to smash the door open. There’s no other alternative." Ian reasoned. Even though he understood Joshua’s concerns, they had no other way out and they were running short of time. They had to act quickly before it was too late.

"I understand." Joshua surrendered eventually and lowered his head while Noah glanced at Ronnie who understood his message right away.

Summoning two men to help him, he stationed the others nearby as their support. The men did as Ronnie instructed and got ready to attack. Once everyone was prepared, Ronnie and two other men smashed the door open. With a noise that scared the sleeping birds away, the door exploded, and underneath it lay a wooden staircase.

With quick footsteps, Ronnie and the three men descended the stairs. To their surprise, however, there was no one in sight.

With confident and courageous steps, they entered Jared’s lair with their guns ready to put a bullet through their enemies’ heads.

The corridor was long and dark and there was not one person in sight. The place looked like a deserted lair, nothing less than a graveyard at night. Moreover, the cold started to seep through their clothes before reaching their skin, making a few of them shiver.

Yet, they continued marching along the path, not once giving away. They were on a mission and until they rescued the three people, they wouldn’t be giving up.

Ronnie, who was leading the group, glanced at his Boss with worried eyes. They had been walking for quite some time. Yet, they hadn’t met anyone or heard even a sound. It was as if they were inside an abandoned den. If Jared was not here, then they’d only be delaying their rescue mission.

Just as Noah was about to abort the current plan and think of something else, they entered a dead end - a locked dead end to be precise. A door blocked them from continuing any further and everyone’s hope shattered instantly. It seemed like this was the end. They had been fooled.

"Boss..." Ronnie whispered and Noah pursed his lips.

"Break the door open." He ordered and none of the men were surprised by his words. There was a high chance that the door was the end. But they couldn’t erase the possibility that it led to somewhere else.

This time, they didn’t hesitate, and using all possible techniques, they broke the door open within a few minutes. Unlike their expectations, the door was not a dead end. Instead, bright light hit their eyes and they had to squint before getting adjusted to their surroundings.

But what terrified them the most was the moment they passed the door, a strong stench of blood permeated in the air. With quickened footsteps, they rushed inside, their guns prepared to kill anyone they encountered.

However, there was no in sight. No one at all, until they found the three people they were looking for. It was a sight so gruesome that the men knew they wouldn’t forget it ever.

An unconscious Aria was bound to a chair and her face was swollen as blood trickled down her head. Stuart was lying on the ground unconscious beside her and his shirt was stained with blood. Whose blood? They didn’t know.

And Ivy....Ivy was lying naked, face down with a pool of blood around her.