18. Clay
Clay
Chaos detonates outside the warehouse again.
Not scattered militia fire this time.
Organized.
Controlled bursts.
Multiple entry points.
Coordinated movement.
Professional.
The commander turns sharply toward the loading dock entrance while men outside begin shouting over each other in Arabic.
Panic.
Real panic.
Interesting.
Russ immediately moves beside me.
“You know who that is?” he asks quietly.
The commander ignores him completely.
His attention stays fixed outside while gunfire erupts closer and closer to the riverfront.
Then—
A rocket detonates somewhere nearby.
The blast wave slams through the warehouse hard enough to shake metal beams overhead.
Children scream again.
The little girl behind Hannah starts crying harder.
And somehow Hannah still stays calm through all of it.
Her hand settles protectively against the child’s hair while her eyes track exits, movement, civilians.
Always protecting.
Always thinking.
God, I love this woman.
The realization still feels massive inside my chest.
Too big to deal with right now.
The commander suddenly barks sharp orders in Arabic toward the militia outside.
Immediate movement follows.
Some of the fighters reposition toward the northern street.
Others begin retreating deeper into the warehouse district.
Not advancing.
Falling back.
That tells me everything I need to know.
Whoever just arrived is dangerous enough to scare them.
Lucas’s voice crackles urgently through comms.
“Multiple black SUVs entering from the north bridge.”
Black SUVs.
My pulse slows instantly.
That’s not local militia.
Not military either.
Too clean.
Too deliberate.
The commander’s jaw tightens.
Then his eyes shift toward Hannah.
Decision made.
I see it happen in real time.
He’s taking her.
No.
Absolutely not.
The commander gestures sharply toward two nearby fighters.
They immediately start moving toward us.
“Doctor comes with me.”
I step forward before they make it three feet.
“No, she doesn’t.”
Weapons snap upward instantly around the loading dock.
The tension becomes suffocating.
One wrong move and this entire place turns into a massacre.
The commander studies me calmly.
“You are outnumbered.”
“Maybe.”
Russ shifts beside me slightly.
Miles and Lucas reposition subtly near the civilians.
Nobody says it out loud.
But we’re all calculating casualties now.
The commander’s gaze settles back on Hannah.
“You have value,” he tells her evenly. “These people do not.”
Something cold flashes across her face instantly.
“You’re wrong.”
The commander tilts his head slightly.
“Am I?”
Hannah slowly steps out from behind me before I can stop her.
“Hannah—”
She ignores me completely.
Which is becoming a problem I’m weirdly attracted to.
The commander watches her approach carefully.
“You think fear controls people,” Hannah says quietly.
The commander says nothing.
“You think violence makes people obedient.” Her eyes sharpen. “But all you’ve done is create enemies.”
One of the militia fighters near the entrance shifts uneasily.
Another avoids looking at her entirely.
Interesting.
The commander notices too.
“You speak boldly for someone surrounded by armed men.”
Hannah doesn’t back down.
“You kidnapped children.”
His expression hardens slightly for the first time.
“There are larger wars happening than your morality allows you to understand.”
“No,” Hannah replies softly. “There are just men who justify evil because it profits them.”
Jesus Christ.
I should probably stop her before she gets herself shot.
Instead I’m standing here feeling irrationally proud.
The commander stares at her for one long moment.
Then slowly—
He smiles again.
But this one feels different.
Not amused.
Interested.
Dangerously interested.
And I hate it instantly.
“She was right about you,” he says suddenly.
Every instinct inside me goes alert.
“What?”
His gaze shifts toward me.
“The woman who recommended you.”
Ice floods my bloodstream.
Hannah goes still beside me.
Russ’s head turns sharply.
“What woman?” he asks quietly.
The commander’s smile widens slightly.
And suddenly I realize something horrifying.
This entire thing—
Hannah’s kidnapping.
The convoy.
The transfers.
It may not have been random at all.
The commander studies my reaction carefully.
Then calmly says the words that change everything.
“She said you would come for her.”