24. Clay
Clay
No.
Absolutely not.
The masked soldiers move into the loading dock with terrifying precision.
Black armor.
No insignias.
No exposed skin.
Nothing human about them except the rifles in their hands.
And every single one is pointed directly at Hannah.
“Acquire the doctor.”
The words echo through the warehouse like a death sentence.
My body reacts before my brain does.
I move directly in front of Hannah.
Weapon raised.
Finger tightening on the trigger.
Mine.
The thought slams through me so hard it almost knocks the air out of my lungs.
Not theirs.
Not anyone’s.
Mine to protect.
The lead soldier tilts his head slightly behind the black mask.
“Step aside.”
“No.”
The answer leaves my mouth instantly.
Cold.
Final.
Around us, everybody shifts weapons at everybody else.
Gabriel’s strike team.
The remaining militia.
Russ and our team.
Three separate armed groups seconds away from turning this loading dock into a slaughterhouse.
And somehow Hannah is the center of all of it.
The lead masked soldier studies me calmly.
Then says—
“You are not the objective.”
“Funny,” I reply. “Because right now I feel pretty involved.”
Beside me, Hannah grabs my vest tightly near my ribs.
Not to hold me back.
To steady herself.
I can feel her shaking now.
Just slightly.
First time all night.
That terrifies me more than the guns do.
Russ slowly shifts closer on Hannah’s other side.
Protective formation.
Lucas and Miles move civilians farther behind cover near the office corridor.
Good.
At least somebody’s thinking clearly.
Because rage is starting to flood my bloodstream so fast it’s getting hard to breathe.
The militia commander suddenly laughs harshly near the loading dock wall.
“Well,” he mutters, “now everyone finally understands.”
Gabriel’s gaze never leaves the masked soldiers.
But his voice lowers slightly.
“They’re earlier than expected.”
Expected.
Of course he knew about them too.
“Hannah,” I say quietly without looking away from the threat in front of us, “when I say move, you run.”
“No.”
Jesus Christ.
I glance back at her sharply.
“This is not negotiable.”
“Neither is abandoning you.”
The words hit me like a punch straight to the chest.
Wrong time for my heart to completely betray me.
Very wrong time.
The lead masked soldier lifts one gloved hand slightly.
Every soldier behind him adjusts position immediately.
Perfect synchronization.
Not military.
Something worse.
“You have ten seconds,” he says calmly.
Gabriel suddenly steps forward.
“Not her.”
That catches everyone off guard.
Even the masked soldiers pause slightly.
Interesting.
The lead soldier turns toward Gabriel slowly.
“You survived.”
Gabriel’s expression never changes.
“Unfortunately for you.”
The masked soldier almost sounds amused.
“Your contract expired three years ago.”
Contract.
Not service.
Contract.
My stomach twists hard.
Who the hell are these people?
The lead soldier looks toward Hannah again.
“Doctor Bowers possesses classified cognitive resistance adaptation data.”
Hannah stares at him.
“I possess what?”
The soldier ignores her entirely.
“Recovery is priority one.”
Recovery.
Not rescue.
Not protection.
Recovery.
Like she’s stolen property.
Something inside me snaps dangerously.
“You’re not taking her.”
The lead soldier’s mask slowly turns toward me again.
“You are emotionally compromised.”
I almost laugh at that.
Because he says it like it’s a weakness.
Like I care.
Maybe I do.
Maybe Hannah became the one thing capable of destroying me.
Too bad for them.
Because if they touch her—
I will burn this entire city to the ground.
The lead soldier raises his weapon slightly.
And Gabriel suddenly says one word that changes everything.
“Sentinel.”
Silence crashes through the loading dock instantly.
Even the masked soldiers freeze.
Russ’s head snaps toward Gabriel.
“No way.”
My pulse slows dangerously.
Because now I recognize the name too.
Not from experience.
From whispers.
Ghost stories inside military intelligence circles.
Sentinel.
The organization nobody officially admits exists.
Black acquisitions.
Human experimentation.
Psychological warfare.
Disappearances.
And now they want Hannah.
The lead soldier finally speaks again.
“You were instructed never to say that name aloud.”
Gabriel’s eyes go cold.
“You should’ve killed me properly then.”
Oh, this just became a nightmare.
Beside me, Hannah whispers quietly—
“What the hell did they do to me?”