Not suspicious at all.
Clay’s eyes narrow.
“Why?”
Gabriel hesitates.
Wrong answer.
Then finally—
“Sentinel funded this district years ago.”
Oh my God.
The warehouse.
The militia.
The trafficking routes.
All of it connected.
The scale of this thing suddenly feels enormous.
Like we accidentally kicked open a door we were never supposed to find.
Clay grabs my face suddenly.
Firm.
Focused.
My pulse stumbles instantly.
“Hannah.”
The way he says my name—
Like I’m the only thing anchoring him right now.
“You stay with me,” he says roughly. “No matter what happens.”
Bullets slam into concrete nearby.
People scream.
Smoke burns my lungs.
But all I can focus on is him.
The fear in his eyes.
The desperation.
The love he hasn’t said out loud yet.
And suddenly I realize something terrifying.
