"Sleep," Micah says quietly. "I'll be here when you wake up."
"Promise?"
"Promise." He pulls the blanket higher, tucks me more securely against him. "I'm not going anywhere."
I close my eyes, let myself drift in the warmth of his body and the steady rhythm of his breathing. For the first time in days, sleep comes without the nightmares chasing me under.
My internal clock wakes me. The overhead lights are still dimmed to night mode, casting the quarters in soft shadow. No windows, no sunlight—just the quiet hum of ventilation and the warmth of Micah's body against mine.
He's still here, exactly where he promised to be, his arms wrapped around me, his breathing deep and even in sleep. The stubble on his jaw has darkened overnight, and even in the dim light I can see the exhaustion lines around his eyes haven't eased.
I let myself have this moment, this quiet proof that he kept his word.
Then my tablet chimes with an incoming priority alert.
Micah wakes instantly, the operator in him shifting from sleep to alert in heartbeats. I reach for the tablet, open the encrypted message from Kane.
My stomach drops as I read.
"What is it?" Micah asks, already moving to read over my shoulder.
"Reeve's team." I pull up the tracking data Cross sent. "They've changed direction. They're heading toward this mountain range instead of continuing the search grid."
"He's narrowing the search." Micah's voice goes cold and flat. "Somehow he's eliminated enough territory to focus on this area."
"How?" My fingers tremble as I trace the new trajectory. "We closed the intelligence leak. We restructured the entire network. There's no way he should have?—"
"It doesn't matter how." Micah's already reaching for his clothes, moving with lethal efficiency. "Kane's team needs to intercept before Reeve can get close enough to confirm anything. If he reaches visual range of this valley, Echo Base could be compromised."
I check the timeline Cross provided. "Days out. Maybe less if he increases pace."
"Then we have no time." Micah pulls on his shirt, reaches for his weapon. "Get dressed. Kane will want immediate briefing."
I move automatically, pulling on clothes while my brain tries to process the implications. Everything we built, every protocol we implemented, every safeguard we created—and Reeve still found us.
No. Not found. He's heading this direction but the data doesn't show confirmation. Just a trajectory change that could mean a dozen things.
But my gut says Micah's right. Somehow, Reeve knows.
"Sarah." Micah's voice pulls me back. "We did everything right. The protocols are solid. Whatever information Reeve has, it didn't come from our network."
"Then where?"
"That's what we're about to find out." He reaches for me, pulls me in for one quick, fierce kiss. "But first, we brief Kane. The operation launches today."
The weight of it settles over me like body armor. Kane, Dylan, Stryker, and Mercer are heading into combat against a Committee kill team. Micah's staying here to coordinate support and security while I maintain communications.
Everything we feared, everything we planned for, is happening faster than anyone anticipated.
I follow Micah through corridors already showing signs of pre-dawn activity. Within the hour, the team will know. They'll understand what the change in Reeve's trajectory means.
Within the hour, Kane's team rolls out.
All I can do is trust the network we built and pray Kane gets to Reeve before Reeve gets to us.
18
MICAH
