64. Jonah
Jonah
T he second the shooter clears the doorway—
I fire.
Two rounds.
Center mass.
The impact slams him backward into the shattered steel frame hard enough blood sprays across the wall.
But he isn’t alone.
Three more flood in behind him immediately.
Black tactical gear.
No insignias.
Suppressors mounted.
Professional.
“CONTACT FRONT!”
Gunfire detonates through the room.
Concrete explodes beside us.
Lance shoves Elizabeth behind an overturned medical cart while returning fire one-handed.
Cal appears in the doorway from the outer corridor, rifle already up.
“Move move MOVE!”
I grab Sienna hard around the waist and drag her sideways just as bullets rip through the space where she stood.
Glass bursts.
Metal sparks.
She gasps against me—
But doesn’t freeze.
Good.
Very good.
Because freezing gets people killed.
“Stay behind me,” I snap.
Another operative pushes through the entrance.
Vale moves before anyone else does.
Fast.
Way too fast for a scientist.
He grabs the dead operative’s dropped sidearm off the floor and fires twice with brutal precision.
Headshot.
Then throat.
The attacker collapses instantly.
Lance curses.
“Well that’s unsettling.”
No kidding.
Vale ejects the magazine smoothly.
Checks the chamber.
Military training.
Or something close enough to it.
Sienna sees it too.
The betrayal on her face deepens.
“How many lies?” she breathes.
Vale doesn’t answer.
Because more gunfire erupts down the corridor.
The entire compound sounds like a war zone now.
And somewhere overhead—
Kade laughs softly through the speakers.
“You always did surround yourself with dangerous men, Sienna.”
My jaw tightens instantly.
“Muting him,” Cal growls.
The speakers cut out.
Thank God.
Sienna presses a shaking hand briefly against her mouth.
Trying to hold herself together.
But I can see it happening.
Everything she believed about her past is collapsing in real time.
And she still keeps moving.
Jesus.
This woman is stronger than anybody in this room.
Cal slams a fresh mag into his rifle.
“We’ve got maybe ninety seconds before this sector gets overrun.”
Lance jerks his chin toward Elizabeth.
“She’s not making a sprint.”
“I can walk,” Elizabeth whispers again.
She immediately coughs so hard she doubles over.
Sienna drops beside her instantly.
Gentle hands.
Soft voice.
Complete opposite of the fury from seconds ago.
“Hey,” Sienna says quietly. “Look at me.”
Elizabeth does.
Barely.
“We’re getting you out.”
Fear floods Elizabeth’s face immediately.
“No—”
“We are.”
“You don’t understand,” Elizabeth whispers.
Then her terrified eyes dart toward the ceiling cameras again.
“Kade won’t let me leave.”
Cold settles hard in my gut.
Sienna notices too.
“What did he do to you?”
Elizabeth starts shaking.
Not emotionally.
Physically.
Like her body remembers something horrific before her mind can stop it.
Vale sees it.
And for the first time—
He looks afraid.
Real fear.
“Elizabeth,” he says carefully, “what did he give you?”
Every instinct I have sharpens instantly.
Because that is absolutely the wrong question.
Elizabeth’s breathing turns ragged.
“I didn’t have a choice…”
Sienna grabs her hand tighter.
“What did he do?”
Tears spill down Elizabeth’s face.
Then she whispers the words that make the entire room stop cold.
“There’s a kill switch inside me.”
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the gunfire outside suddenly feels distant.
No.
No no no.
Sienna goes completely still beside her.
Vale’s face drains of color.
Cal lowers his rifle slightly.
Lance just stares.
“What kind of kill switch?” I ask carefully.
Elizabeth breaks.
Full panic crashing through her all at once.
“He said if I escaped—if anybody tried to take me—”
Her breathing spirals harder.
Sienna grips her shoulders gently.
“Elizabeth. Breathe.”
But Elizabeth’s eyes are wild now.
Pure terror.
“He put something inside me.”