Page 57 of Operation: Defiance

My eyes burn instantly, tears blurring everything into shape and color without edges. I try to focus and fail.

Asher leans closer. Not touching. Just…there.

“Easy,” he says. “Breathe.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, then force them open a fraction.

Concrete. Pale lines. A tall shape beside me. Solid. Still.

I don’t get his face before my body gives out, and gravity wins.

Asher

I feel it as it happens. The moment her strength just…leaves.

“Raine,” I say, sharper now. “We’re almost clear.”

There’s no warning. No drama. Just the quiet failure of a body that’s been running on stubbornness long after it should have given up.

I catch her before she hits the floor, one arm under her knees, the other braced at her back. I angle automatically to avoid her injured shoulder.

“You’re safe,” I say. “Stay with me.”

She tries. I can feel it in the way she tenses, fights to stay present.

Then she’s gone.

Her weight settles fully into my arms as someone shouts from down the hall. I move without thinking, racing over to the service elevator, jabbing the button with my elbow, and praying the doors close before anyone finds us.