The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 520

Nora watched Julia pace the dirt, oscillating between furious indignation and sheer terror. It was almost comical trying to reconcile this anxious girl with the woman who had just violently hog-tied a grown man.

It was a testament to what pure survival instinct could pull out of a person.

"Let's focus on the priority," Nora said, adjusting her jacket. "We need to find Nathan."

Julia snapped to attention. "You're right. We need to tear this place apart. They've been MIA way too long."

A knot of dread tightened in Nora's chest.

The image of those overlapping tire tracks burned in her mind. If the squad cars had been moved...

If Nathan and his team had been loaded into those vehicles and driven off the property, finding them was going to be infinitely harder.

"Nora?"

Julia noticed the dark shadow crossing Nora's face and stepped closer, her voice softening. "Are you worried about him?"

Nora gave a tight, reluctant nod.

She forced a deep breath, compartmentalizing the fear. "We just need to start sweeping the buildings. Nathan is a brilliant tactician. He wouldn't go down easy."

"Exactly," Julia agreed eagerly.

She grabbed Nora's arm, offering a reassuring squeeze. "There is absolutely no way one guy with a hunting knife managed to take down an entire squad of armed detectives. We're going to find them."

Nora clung to that logical lifeline. She was right. The math didn't add up.

They pivoted and approached the open doorway of the red brick building.

Knowing it was the intended ambush site, they didn't charge blindly inside.

They stood back, letting the stagnant air cycle out into the breeze. Once they were confident there were no airborne toxins or gas, they cautiously stepped over the threshold.

The interior looked like a war zone. Chairs were splintered, and tables were violently overturned, clear evidence of a frantic struggle.

Nora immediately inspected the doorframe and spotted a thick, heavy-duty rope rigged to a crude pulley system.

It was a drop-snare. The second they would have stepped fully into the room, the man would have triggered the door, sealing them inside his makeshift slaughterhouse.

In a confined space, his physical strength would have guaranteed a sickeningly quick victory.

If Nora hadn't trusted her instincts, they would currently be bleeding out on the floorboards.

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