Page 60 of Sweet Betrayal

The shit could hit the fan at any moment. They’d have to act, fast.

He couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

“Hannah,” he croaked, glancing down at her. “Hannah, we can’t?—”

He broke off.

She was fast asleep.

CHAPTER 24

The flashes are white, blinding. She ducks, but not before the smoke engulfs her. It’s thick, suffocated. She begins to chock, except it isn’t smoke, it’s sand… in her mouth.

She runs, always running, the rooftop is a blur beneath her feet. Gunfire cracks behind her like fireworks. Too close.

She leaps but misses. Frantic hands grab for purchase. A voice shouts her name, but it is distant and garbled.

She turns. A soldier stares at her, blood on his uniform. His eyes lock on hers. Judging.

“No,” she whispers.

He reaches out, but she can’t get to him. Her feet won’t move. He falls. Over the edge.

Gone.

Screams echo. Are they hers? She’s falling too now. Down… down… into nothingness.

There’s a weight on her chest. She can’t breathe.

Then suddenly, a hand—familiar, steady—reaches through the dark.

Tom.

“Trust me.”

She clings to him. He’s warm, solid, real. She wants to hold on. Wants to stay in that touch. But he’s pulling away.

“No!” she screams, lashing out. Desperate.

But he’s gone.

CHAPTER 25

At first, he thought she was just turning over in her sleep, but then she whimpered—a sound so soft and broken it pulled him fully awake.

Her breathing quickened, shallow and panicked. One of her arms flung out, hitting his side as she twisted in the sheet.

“Hannah,” he said, sitting up, instantly alert.

She jerked again, her entire body tensing. “No! No, please…”

Tom reached for her, his hand on her shoulder, then her cheek. “Hannah, wake up.”

She gasped, still caught in the grip of her nightmare.

“Tom? Don’t go…”

The plaintive cry made his chest tighten.

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