Page 126 of Operation: Defiance

I can still feel the sting of the needle. The way my arms started to tremble as my strength waned. The superglue burned, fire spreading out from the wound until I was sure it was going to consume me.

“I carried the target the last mile to the border. My back was on fire, and my right leg was numb. Every step felt like the one that was going to drop me.”

Raine’s fingers twitch, but she doesn’t reach for me. Good. I’m too raw. Her touch might break me.

“I didn’t get us out because I was brave,” I say quietly. “I got us out because there wasn’t an alternative. Nobody was coming. Not for the target. Not for me. We both lived, but I learned what happens when you try to play at heroics.”

She shakes her head. “Because you were honest.”

“Because I did the right thing for the person in front of me,” I correct. “Not everyone cares about that.”

Raine doesn’t say anything for several long moments. The silence isn’t awkward. She’s mapping me. The way I work. The way I speak. My tells, but also my character.

“What happened to the target?” she asks.

“They lived.” My voice softens a shade. “New identity. New city. I checked on them after a couple of years. They’re happy. Safe.”

She studies me again, but this time her gaze is warmer. “Would you make the same choice now?”

I don’t look away. For the first time in years, I cross a line I told myself was non-negotiable. I let Raine see the real me.

“I already did.”

Nothing moves in the room, but something inside her settles. And something in me does too.

Raine

Exhaustion threads through my limbs, insistent and…irritating.

It hasn’t even been two days. This is normal.

My self-talk doesn’t help. I’m so tired of being…tired. Scared.

Asher notices. He always notices.

“You did well,” he says, sitting back in his chair. “And I’m tracking wins tonight.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Oh really?”

He nods toward the bowl. “You finished more than half the soup. You’re talking. You’re…here.”

I don’t look down. The little kernel of warmth in my chest isn’t something I’m used to. “You didn’t think I could?”

“I thought you’d stop when your body told you to,” he says simply. “I’m glad it decided not to be hasty.”

I let my fingers drag lightly across the grain of the tabletop, grounding myself in the texture. “We should look at the logs.”

He huffs something that might be a snort or a quiet laugh. “It’s after midnight. You’ve been pushing yourself all day, Raine. Tomorrow, when you’re steady, we’ll hit it fresh.”

“When,” I repeat. “Not if.”

Another smile. “I get the sense there’s no ‘if’ with you. Ever.”

The words sit between us, weighty in a way that feels…good. Right.

I push the chair back to stand, but the second I straighten, my legs protest. A soft tremor runs through them, and the room tilts at a slow diagonal.

Asher’s attention sharpens instantly. “Easy. I’m going to walk you back to bed. I won’t touch you unless you fall.”