Chapter 50
Clay
The vehicle doesn’t stop.
Not yet.
Not until—
“We’re across.”
Lucas’s voice cuts through everything.
Low.
Certain.
Final.
Across the border.
Safe.
The word doesn’t register right away.
Because my body—
It’s still in it.
Still fighting.
Still braced for the next hit.
“Say again,” Miles mutters.
“We’re across the border,” Lucas repeats. “We’re clear.”
Clear.
That’s when it happens.
The shift.
It’s subtle at first.
A crack in the armor.
A slip in the focus.
The adrenaline starts to drain—
And everything I’ve been holding back comes crashing in.
Pain.
Heavy.
Crushing.
My ribs scream.
My vision blurs slightly.
I suck in a breath—
Bad idea.
“Clay.”
Lucas again.
Closer now.
Too close.
“I’m fine,” I start—
And the world tilts.
Just for a second.
I grab the edge of the seat—
Miss it.
That’s new.
I don’t miss.
“Hey—”
Hands are on me now.
Lucas.
Miles.
Voices sharp.
Focused.
Too loud.
“I said I’m—”
The rest of the sentence never makes it out.
Because my body gives.
Just—
Gone.
Like someone flipped a switch.
Dark edges creep into my vision.
I hear someone swear.
“Stay with me, Clay.”
Lucas.
Closer now.
Urgent.
I try.
I really do.
But my body’s done taking orders.
“Kids—” I manage.
Because that’s what matters.
That’s all that matters.
“They’re good,” Miles says quickly. “They’re safe. You got them out.”
Good.
That’s—
Good.
The tension in my chest loosens.
Finally.
And that’s the last thing I feel before everything goes black.
Olivia
Something’s wrong.
I don’t know how I know—
But I do.
The room hasn’t changed.
The machines are still steady.
The pain is still there.
But something—
Shifted.
My fingers tighten around Russ’s.
He feels it immediately.
His gaze snaps to mine. “What?”
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I just—”
The door bursts open.
And a medic rushes in.
“Multiple incoming!” he calls. “The American team just crossed—one down, possible internal—”
Russ is already moving.
My hand slips from his again.
This time—
It feels worse.
“Russ—”
He turns back instantly.
Just for a second.
But it’s enough.
Our eyes lock.
And I see it.
The change.
The thought of his team is pulling him.
The part of him that will always run toward danger—
Even after everything.
“Go,” I whisper.
Because I won’t be the reason he hesitates.
Not ever.
His jaw tightens.
Like he wants to argue.
Like he wants to stay.
But we both know—his team needs him.
“I’ll be back,” he says.
Not a maybe.
Not a hope.
A promise.
I nod.
Even though my chest feels tight.
Even though something inside me is screaming not to let him walk away.
But I do.
Because I trust him.
Because I—
The thought cuts off before I can finish it.
He’s already gone.
And the room feels empty again.
But this time—
I don’t feel weak.
I feel…
Certain.
Clay
Voices.
Distant.
Then closer.
“BP dropping.”
“Get him on the gurney—now!”
Hands again.
Moving me.
Lifting.
Pressure on my chest—
Pain explodes.
That drags me halfway back.
Not fully.
Just enough to feel it.
To hate it.
“Stay with me, Clay!”
I try to open my eyes.
They don’t cooperate.
Light flashes.
Too bright.
Too much.
“Vest trauma—possible internal bleeding,” someone says.
“Let’s move!”
Everything is motion again.
Fast.
Controlled chaos.
Familiar.
But this time—
I’m not the one running it.
I’m the one on the table.
Hate that.
A lot.
“…he stayed up too long,” another voice says.
Yeah.
No kidding.
“Where’s Russ?” someone asks.
Footsteps.
Fast.
Approaching.
Then—
There it is.
That presence.
Even before I hear him.
“What happened?”
Russ.
Sharp.
Focused.
Locked in.
“Blunt force trauma—he took a hit to the vest a few times and kept going,” Lucas reports. “He collapsed after crossing the border.”
There’s a pause.
Just a fraction of a second.
But I hear it.
Feel it.
Then—
“Let’s not lose him,” Russ says.
Calm.
Deadly serious.
Command in every word.
Good.
That means I’m not dying today.
Probably.
Olivia
I stare at the doorway long after he’s gone.
Listening.
Waiting.
Every sound outside feels louder now.
Closer.
Because whatever just came in—
It’s bad.
I know it is.
A nurse steps in briefly, checking my monitors.
“Who was it?” I ask.
She hesitates.
Just for a second.
That’s all it takes.
“Delta Force Team,” she says. “One of them went down.”
My heart stutters.
Because I know that team is Russ’s team. The ones who came here to rescue us, three doctors stranded in Iran during a war.
“Is he—”
“I don’t know yet,” she says gently.
And then she’s gone again.
Leaving me alone with the silence.
And the fear.