The hidden hatch finally jerks upward.
Dark tunnel below.
Cold air rushes out smelling like mold and river water.
Transport route.
Exactly like Hannah said.
Mason points downward instantly.
“Move!”
Gabriel drops first with the files.
Then Hannah.
I stay above long enough to cover Russ and Lucas as they fall back into the chamber.
Sentinel operatives appear at the far end of the hallway.
Weapons up.
Too close.
I fire twice.
One drops.
The second dives behind cover.
“Clay!” Russ barks.
I jump into the tunnel just as bullets slam into the hatch above us.
Mason yanks the heavy door shut.
Darkness crashes around us.
Then silence.
Except for Hannah’s ragged breathing beside me.
And somewhere far above—
the church bells suddenly begin ringing wildly in the storm.
45
Hannah
The tunnel smells like rust, river water, and death.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
The deeper we move beneath the old Romanian church, the harder it becomes to breathe around the memories clawing their way back into my head.
