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.
38
Russ
