Lethal.
“You’re not taking her anywhere,” he says quietly.
The operator doesn’t react.
“We’re not your enemy.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
The operator’s eyes flick briefly toward Hannah again.
“You believe Clay Vincent can protect you from what’s coming?”
The question sends a chill through me.
“What’s coming?” Russ asks sharply.
The operator ignores him.
His focus stays entirely on me now.
“The people behind this operation won’t stop,” he says calmly. “You know too much already.”
“I don’t know anything!”
“You survived long enough to become a liability.”
The words hit hard.
Because I hear the truth underneath them.
People are dying over this.
Fighting over this.
And somehow—
I’m in the center of it.
Outside, more gunfire erupts near the river.
The militia commander shouts more orders while vehicles reposition through smoke and flames.
The entire district is collapsing into open warfare.
And we’re standing in the middle of it arguing over who gets custody of me.
Unbelievable.
Clay takes one slow step forward.
The operator’s team immediately raises weapons.
So does Russ.
Miles.
Lucas.
