"They've reached him," I breathed, relief washing through me in a wave so powerful it nearly knocked me unconscious. "They've got him, Yuri."
The bear shifter's hand squeezed my shoulder, a gesture that might have been gratitude or comfort or both. "You did good, kid."
I tried to smile, but my face wouldn't cooperate. The room was spinning faster now, the control panel blurring before my eyes. I'd pushed too far, used too much of myself. My body was shutting down, system by system.
But it had been worth it. Nicolai was safe.
On the monitor, I watched as Dima's team worked to release Nicolai from his restraints. The big man sat up immediately oncefreed, his eyes finding the camera again with unerring precision. He knew I was watching, somehow, he knew.
The look in his eyes made my failing heart stutter—gratitude, yes, but something more, something that made the sacrifice worth it a thousand times over.
My body swayed dangerously, and for the first time, I couldn't fight the darkness closing in. Yuri caught me as I slumped forward, his grip surprisingly gentle as he lowered me to the floor.
"Damn it, kid," he muttered, his voice oddly distant. "You stubborn fool."
I wanted to tell him I was fine, that I just needed a minute to recover, but my lips wouldn't form the words.
Instead, I focused on the monitor showing Nicolai—now standing, powerful despite everything they'd done to him, a force of nature barely contained in human form.
Yuri was saying something, urgent and worried, but his voice faded into a dull roar as my senses began to shut down. The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was Nicolai on the monitor, moving with purpose toward the exit, toward freedom.
Toward me.
I'm not sure how long I drifted in that black void where pain couldn't reach. Seconds? Minutes? Time lost meaning in the emptiness. What pulled me back was Yuri's voice, sharp with alarm and something I'd never heard from him before—fear.
"—need extraction now! Medical emergency!"
I forced my eyes open, vision swimming and unfocused. Yuri knelt beside me, one hand pressed to his comm unit, the other supporting my head. The front of his tactical vest was soaked with my blood.
"Stay with me, kid," he ordered, voice gruff but concerned. "Nicolai will skin me alive if I let you die on my watch."
The thought of Nicolai's anger almost made me smile. He was protective that way—ferociously guarding what he considered his. When had I become something he considered worth protecting?
The memory of our first meeting flashed through my mind—me, desperate and hunted, crashing into his restaurant like a cornered animal. Him, imposing and dangerous, yet offering sanctuary when he could have simply handed me over to my pursuers.
"The team has Nicolai," Yuri reported, checking my pulse with surprising gentleness. "They're headed to the extraction point now."
I tried to nod, but my body refused to cooperate. Everything felt disconnected, like I was floating slightly above myself, tethered by the thinnest of threads.
"Need to finish," I managed to whisper, blood bubbling on my lips with each word. "O'Rourke... data..."
Yuri's expression hardened. "You've done enough. Right now, we need to get you out of here."
I wanted to argue, to explain that if we didn't destroy everything, O'Rourke would just rebuild. That as long as he had research on people like me, no one with abilities would be safe. But I couldn't form the words. My consciousness was fading again, darkness creeping in from the edges.
The last thing I remembered before surrendering to the void was Yuri lifting me in his arms, surprisingly gentle for such a formidable man, and the distant sound of Nicolai's voice through the comm unit—urgent, concerned, commanding.
Calling my name.
I clawed my way back to consciousness, each breath a labor, each heartbeat a painful reminder that I was still alive—barely. The lights throughout the facility continued their erratic dance, responding to my powers even as my grip on them weakened.
Through half-lidded eyes, I could see one of the security monitors still functioning, showing O'Rourke hurriedly gathering data drives and research files, preparing to abandon ship like the rat he was.
"Oh no you don't," I whispered, blood bubbling between my lips with each word.
"Stay down," Yuri ordered, his tone brooking no argument. He was positioned between me and the door, weapon drawn. "Extraction team is three minutes out."
I ignored him, forcing my broken body to cooperate as I dragged myself toward the control console. My legs wouldn't work properly, so I used my arms to pull myself across the floor, leaving a smear of blood in my wake. Each inch felt like a mile, but I refused to stop.
