Page 84 of Dozer

His gaze locks on mine. "After this is over, there is an us. I meant that."

For one heartbeat, the whole world seems to narrow down to those words.

"I know," I say.

Then I follow him into the dark and toward the people who thought they could bury both.

And… toward the future we just promised each other we'd live long enough to see.

CHAPTER 28

Dozer

The service entrance holds for exactly as long as Hack's loop lasts, which is long enough to get all five of us inside before the first alarm confirms somebody notices the gap in coverage anyway.

So much for subtle.

"They're onto us," Ghost says, already moving, weapon up. "Fast breach, no time to be pretty about it."

I don't need him to tell me twice. This isn't a job for patience anymore. Whoever Cole has running security here has been briefed to expect exactly this eventuality, which means we have minutes, not hours, before they start destroying whatever remains of the physical evidence sitting somewhere deeper inside this building.

Evidence we've lost men protecting, and that Kenzi nearly died getting here. I'm not leaving without it. "Kenzi, stay behind me."

She does without argument. She knows when to listen and when to remind me that she can take care of herself. She’s not stupid and follows exactly what I tell her. The quiet scrape of her boots trail behind mine, close and steady, her laptop bag secured tight against her body.

I don't look back to make sure she's there. I know she is. I can feel her and the trust between us tells me she’s there. I don’t have to check.

The first hostiles come around the corner near the main lobby. There’s four of them with professional spacing and weapons already drawn. Their movements are coordinated. These are not the local muscle from the rail yard. These are the real thing, the private contractors Ruby flagged. Trained, funded, disciplined, and apparently willing to kill for a sitting senator who's spent years making inconvenient people disappear. But, are they special operator trained? Are they one of us? We’ll find out soon.

Ghost sees the same thing I do. "Left."

"Got it."

We split without another word. Years of working together means there isn't much else to say. Ghost moves left as I cut right, both of us collapsing the distance before the men can fully adjust to the fact that we're not doing what they expected us to do.

I take the first one fast. Second one gets closer. Too close. I redirect his weapon, drive him into the wall, put him down hard enough that he stays there. No wasted motion. No anger. That's something people misunderstand about violence. The best operators don't fight angry. Anger costs time. Anger makes people sloppy. I don't need to hate the man in front of me. I just need him to stop being a threat.

"Clear," Ghost says.

Then a fifth man comes out of a side hallway I haven't cleared. I see him half a second too late. His strike catches me across the ribs. Hard. Air leaves my lungs completely, pain detonating along my side, and something gives beneath the impact with a sharp internal crack I feel more than hear.

That's going to be a problem.

A problem for later.

I drive forward anyway. He expects pain to slow me down. Most people do. That's their mistake. I put him down before my lungs remember how to work properly, straighten, and force air back into them one controlled breath at a time.

Behind me, Kenzi says my name. "Dozer."

"I'm good."

"That sounded suspiciously like something breaking."

"Probably him."

There's half a beat of silence. "That was almost funny."

"Move."