Page 150 of Operation: Defiance

The room tilts sideways, and I grip the edge of the table so I don’t slide off the chair.

It’s not panic. Not shock. It’s the realization that for two and a half days, Tessa and I were probably only a few dozen feet apart.

That they broke her so quickly and thoroughly that she might never fully recover, then sent her back into a world that had no idea what she went through.

I see her empty desk.

Her revoked credentials.

The quiet escort that led to…what? The same van? Restraints. The fear that she was utterly and completely alone?

Coherent Path almost dismantled me. What did it do to her?

A sharp pulse flares at my temple. I’m here. Not back there. I know that much. But my body hasn’t caught up yet.

“Raine.”

Asher’s voice reaches me the way warm light does—quiet, steady, impossible to ignore.

I blink once. Twice.

The tilt of the room eases. Lines stop warping at the edges of my vision.

My heart is still beating too quickly, but it’s no longer trying to outrun me.

“Come back,” he murmurs.

I exhale, the sound broken but mostly…real. Close enough to break the spiral I was about to be trapped in.

My sense of up and down clicks back into place. “I’m okay,” I whisper. It’s not a lie. Not entirely the truth either. Aspirational.

He doesn’t say anything for a moment. When he does, he keeps his tone gentle. “What do you need?”

A part of me wants to say nothing, but that isn’t true. And I won’t—can’t—lie to him.

“Something that doesn’t hit back.”

Carefully, I angle the chair so I can see his face. He’s tired. No. Exhausted. Is he holding his left shoulder a little closer to his body? Or am I imagining it?

I blink once, and he’s adjusted. Or I have.

“I found Tessa in the logs.” The words feel fragile in my mouth. “Her intake was a few hours before mine. She’s…out now. Two and a half days. Her codes…there were so few of them. But they broke her anyway. “She’s home. Weekly monitoring. They think she’s unstable. Coherent Path…worked on her, Asher. No one will ever believe her again.”

I close my eyes briefly and let that fact settle somewhere far away where I can process it later. When it’s not so sharp and painful.

“If you want, I can check on her,” he offers. “It doesn’t need to be today. But…when you’re ready.”

“She’ll be watched.”

“I know how to stay in the shadows. And spot a tail.” He straightens slightly, almost like I’ve offended him. Until he cracks a small smile.

“Maybe…soon. Right now, I need structure. Dates. Metadata. I can’t look inside the files themselves. But I can do this. It’ll help me when we go back in…later.”

“You’re sure you don’t want a break?” His posture shifts by a fraction.

“Yes.” My voice doesn’t crack. The tremor in my hands settles. “It’s numbers and order. I can handle that.”

He nods once. “All right. I need to make a call. I’ll go into the bedroom so I don’t distract you, but I’ll leave the door open.”