Page 36 of A Ballad of Blackbirds and Betrayal

“With the molecular decoy concept, closer than I was an hour ago.Let me get back to the lab—I’ll have something for you by the time those trucks reach their destination.”

“Cal,” he said, not looking away from her.“I want constant updates on Mitchell’s movements.If those trucks leave BioGenix property, I want to know where they’re headed.Tell Max and Jade to prep for interception.”

“Copy that,” Cal replied, disconnecting.

For a moment, neither of them moved, the space between them charged with unspoken words and promises they couldn’t yet make.

“Let’s move,” Atticus said, his voice steady with renewed resolve.“We’ve got work to do.”

Sabrina nodded, already turning toward the door.“I’ll be in the lab.When you’re ready to deploy, I’ll have the countermeasure.”

He caught her wrist just before she could leave, his fingers warm against her pulse.“Sabrina.”

She turned back, meeting his gaze.

“When this is over…” he began.

The unfinished sentence hung between them, filled with possibilities neither of them had dared to voice.

“When this is over,” she agreed softly, understanding perfectly what remained unsaid.

After he’d gone, Sabrina remained in the conference room, her mind already racing with the implications of Atticus’s suggestion.A molecular decoy.It could work—if she could develop it in time, if she could perfect it before Mitchell’s demonstration.

With renewed determination, she gathered the last of her breakfast and headed back to the lab.There was work to be done, lives to save.And perhaps, when it was over, there would be time to explore what had begun between her and Atticus—this connection that felt both unexpected and inevitable, as if they’d been moving toward each other their entire lives.

As she stepped into the lab, her phone buzzed with an incoming message.Eden’s name appeared on the screen, along with two words that sent a chill down her spine:

They’re moving.

Time had just run out.

ChapterTwelve

The countermeasure was ready.

Sabrina studied the clear liquid in the vial—deceptively ordinary yet potentially world saving.Her body hummed with exhaustion and triumph after hours of work synthesizing this molecular sponge designed to neutralize Mitchell’s bioweapon.

“Will it work?”

Atticus’s voice cut through her concentration.He filled the doorway in full tactical gear, the compression shirt revealing the coiled strength beneath.The utilitarian outfit somehow intensified his presence rather than diminishing it.

“In theory?Yes.”She secured the vial in its transport container.“In practice?We won’t know until tested.”

“Let’s hope that test doesn’t come tonight,” he said, moving toward her with predatory grace.“Though Mitchell seems determined to force our hand.”

“Any update on the transports?”

“Three separate convoys left BioGenix twenty minutes ago.Cal’s tracking them, but they’re heading in different directions.”

“A shell game,” Sabrina said, sealing the container.“Only one has the actual bioweapon.”

“Or they’ve divided it.”Atticus’s eyes locked on hers, the air between them compressing with unspoken possibilities.

“Atticus—” she began.

“Later,” he cut in.“When this is done.”

The intercom shattered the moment.“Atticus,” Cal reported, urgency edging his voice.“Mitchell just threw a crystal decanter against the wall when he learned about Anna’s extraction.”

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