Clay shifts closer beside me instead.
Protective.
Furious.
The Sentinel operative notices immediately.
“Your attachment to the asset has become problematic.”
Asset.
Again.
Clay’s laugh is cold enough to make my skin prickle.
“She’s a person.”
“Incorrect.”
That one word detonates the room.
Clay moves before anyone can stop him.
Fast.
Violent.
He slams the Sentinel operative into the concrete wall hard enough to crack it, rifle crushed between them, while every other weapon in the loading dock instantly comes up.
“CLAY!” Russ roars.
Too late.
Because I’ve never seen him like this before.
Not angry.
Past angry.
Terrifying.
The Sentinel operative recovers fast—too fast—and drives an elbow into Clay’s ribs.
Clay barely reacts.
Even injured, he fights like a man possessed.
The operative reaches for a sidearm.
Gabriel shoots him first.
The suppressed round punches through the operative’s shoulder, spinning him sideways.
Chaos erupts instantly afterward.
Gunfire explodes across the loading dock from every direction.
Sentinel operators open fire.
