Sharp.
Raw.
Dangerous.
“Clay—”
“That’s not a suggestion.”
Her lips part slightly.
And I kiss her right there beside the hatch.
God help me, I couldn’t stop myself.
She kisses me back.
But below us—
somewhere deep beneath Bucharest—
children are still trapped inside Sentinel.
So I rest my forehead briefly against hers.
Just one second.
One heartbeat.
One promise.
Then I whisper:
“We end this tonight.”
Her fingers tighten around my wrist.
And softly—
like the words scare her too—
she whispers back:
“Together.”
Then alarms suddenly explode underground beneath us.
Red emergency lights flood the tunnel below.
And Director Wu’s voice echoes calmly through hidden speakers.
“Welcome home, Hannah.”
60
Hannah
Wu’s voice crawls through the underground tunnels like poison.
