Chapter 92 Raine
Raine
The west hall smelled colder, sharper, like the air itself had been sterilized. My boots squeaked faintly on the tile as Adam pushed the next door open, Blade sliding in ahead of us like a shadow.
Three more patients.
Two men, one woman—strapped down, IV lines taped, monitors beeping with eerie calm. Sedated, alive, waiting.
My chest ached. We didn’t have enough arms to carry them all out, not under fire. But we’d find a way. We had to.
I hurried to the woman’s side, fumbling at the buckle with shaking hands, whispering to her like she could hear me. “You’re okay. You’re safe now. Just hang on.”
Behind me, Hawk cursed low. “Shit. Movement outside.”
Adam’s voice snapped sharp, all commander. “Report.”
Russ’s calm voice crackled through comms. “Four SUVs pulling up to the south entrance. Heavily armed. They know you’re inside.”
My blood turned to ice.
“They’re early,” Boone added, static lacing his voice. “Either your window just closed, or this was never about keeping it open.”
I looked at Adam, my heart slamming. His eyes burned like steel in the low light. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t hesitate.
“Blade, Hawk—two each. Logan, cover the hall. Russ, Boone, prep evac.” He turned to me, voice dropping low but still sharp enough to cut. “Raine—keep them breathing.”
I wanted to argue. To tell him I could fight, that I’d earned my stripes. But then I looked down at the woman under my hands—her pulse faint, her lips moving in some half-dreamed prayer—and I knew.
This was my battle. Right here.
“Got it,” I whispered.
Gunfire cracked in the distance, muffled but close. Boots thundered against tile. The building vibrated with the sound of men moving fast, armed and angry.
I smoothed my palm over the woman’s hand, forcing myself to stay steady even as fear burned up my spine. “You’re going home,” I told her, my voice breaking. “I swear it.”
Then I raised my head, met Adam’s eyes across the chaos.
And even as hell closed in around us, I saw it there—faith. Trust. That unshakable belief that we would survive this.
Together.