Even injured—
the doctor smiles.
“She already belongs to Sentinel.”
Wrong answer.
Very wrong answer.
Gabriel hauls the woman violently upward by the front of her coat.
“You don’t get to say her name anymore.”
Gunfire explodes through the nursery entrance.
The barricade finally breaks apart.
Black-armored operatives flood the doorway.
“CONTACT!”
Russ opens fire immediately.
Chaos detonates across the room.
Lucas drags two children behind overturned beds while Mason and the rest of Gabriel’s remaining team return heavy fire toward the corridor.
Glass shatters.
Bullets rip through medical equipment.
Children scream.
The lullaby keeps playing.
Always playing.
I can barely stay conscious now.
The gas thickens overhead.
Clay tears off his tactical scarf and covers my mouth with it instantly.
“Breathe through this.”
My fingers clutch weakly at his vest.
“I can’t…”
“Yes, you can.”
His forehead presses briefly against mine.
“You stay with me, Hannah.”
The way he says my name—
like it matters.
