Chapter 37
Clay
We’re not gonna make it.
The thought hits hard and fast as another burst of gunfire tears through the corridor behind us.
Too many hostiles.
Too much weight slowing us down.
Not enough time.
Stephen stumbles again.
Hannah catches herself against the wall with a sharp gasp.
“Move!” I bark, dragging them both forward harder.
“I’m trying,” Stephen grits out.
Not fast enough.
I key comms while firing one-handed down the hall.
“Lucas, status.”
“Two minutes out,” he answers immediately. “But west side hostiles are closing fast.”
Of course they are.
I glance toward the distant exit.
Still visible.
Barely reachable.
“Clay.” Lucas’s voice lowers slightly. “You’re not outrunning them carrying both.”
Yeah.
I know.
Doesn’t change anything.
“We’re not stopping.”
“You may not get a choice.”
Gunfire erupts again.
Concrete explodes beside us.
I shove both Hannah and Stephen behind a broken section of wall as rounds rip past.
Then I drop beside them and fire back.
Two hostiles go down.
A third disappears behind cover.
“Stay down,” I snap.
Hannah grips my arm weakly. “You should go.”
“No.”
“You’ll lose all of us.”
“No,” I say again, harder this time. “We’re getting out.”
Her exhausted eyes search mine like she already knows I’m lying.
Because honestly?
Maybe I am.
I check my mag.
Almost empty.
Fantastic.
“Lucas,” I mutter into comms. “I need a distraction.”
A beat of silence.
Then—
“Copy.”
One second later an explosion rocks the far side of the building hard enough the corridor shakes beneath us.
Dust rains from the ceiling.
Hostiles start shouting.
Confused.
Perfect.
“That’s my cue.”
I haul Stephen upright again and drag Hannah with my other arm.
“Move!”
Adrenaline takes over.
Pain.
Exhaustion.
Doesn’t matter.
We sprint the final stretch while scattered gunfire chases us through smoke-filled hallways.
Then suddenly—
Headlights blaze through the doorway ahead.
Exfil vehicle.
Finally.
“Clay!” Lucas shouts from outside. “Move!”
I don’t waste another second.
We burst through the exit into freezing night air.
Freedom hits for half a breath.
Then gunfire erupts from the side.
I twist instinctively, taking the impact across my vest as I shove Hannah and Stephen forward.
Pain detonates through my ribs.
Ignore it.
“GO!”
Lucas appears instantly, grabbing Hannah and dragging her toward the vehicle while another operator catches Stephen.
More hostiles spill from the compound behind us firing wildly.
I turn and fire back automatically.
One drops.
Another.
Then Lucas grabs my shoulder hard enough to yank me backward.
“Move!”
This time I listen.
We run.
All of us.
Toward the vehicle.
Toward survival.
Toward the end of this nightmare—
At least for tonight.