Hard.
He crumples.
The girl flinches at the noise.
I crouch in front of her immediately.
“It’s okay,” I say, voice even. “You’re safe.”
Her eyes are wild.
Behind me, boots thunder in the hallway. Saint’s voice carries.
“Two down on our side.”
Ghost appears in the doorway. “Front’s clear.”
I peel the tape gently from the girl’s mouth.
She gasps.
“They said—” Her voice breaks.
“It’s over,” I tell her.
I cut the bindings at her wrists.
Her skin is raw underneath.
Anger moves through me like a slow burn.
I shrug off my cut and drape it around her shoulders.
“Can you stand?”
She nods shakily.
I help her up.
I glance toward the lot through the window.
Carly stands near the bikes, arms folded tight around herself against the cold. She’s watching the door.
Waiting.
Viper drags one of the men into the hallway by his collar.
“Where’s the rest?” he demands.
The man wheezes.
“Gone,” he croaks.
Saint appears behind him, shoving another body forward.
“That’s it,” Saint says. “Building’s clean.”
The girl clutches my shirt in her fists.
