Go.
Like I’d ever leave her.
“She told you to move,” Lucas says sharply.
“I don’t take orders from her.”
Miles snorts once under his breath. “Clearly.”
I drag a hand across my face hard enough to hurt.
Think.
The civilians are exposed.
The enemy’s closing fast.
Lucas is right.
And I hate him for it.
“She’s right too,” Lucas says quieter now. “If we stay here, we lose everybody.”
That lands like a punch straight to the ribs.
Because it’s true.
Because this stopped being about just us a long time ago.
Kids.
Mothers.
People depending on us to get them out alive.
Damn it.
I stare down into the canyon again, jaw clenched so hard it aches.
Then finally—
“Five minutes.”
Lucas goes still. “What?”
“You move them ahead. Five minutes.” I rise to my feet and check my rifle automatically. “Then I go after her.”
“That’s not enough time.”
“It’s what you’ve got.”
The silence that follows feels razor sharp.
Then finally Lucas nods once.
Reluctant.
Angry.
