Page 106 of BounBound By Scars

I initiated the data dump. All intel from the last eight years. That would cover the full operational lifespan of the Alpha squads. The whole damn lie.

“Ninety-three seconds,” I said tightly.

“Great,” she muttered, typing fast. “Titan and Shadow are on standby for extraction.”

I nodded, reaching for my cell to monitor the internal feeds—watching every corridor between East and West Wing like my life depended on it.

Because it did.

And hers did too.

A sudden blur on one of the hallway cams snapped my spine straight. A flicker of movement where there should’ve been none.

“Unknown just crossed West Corridor, headed for the basement,” I said, heart punching my ribs. “Ping Titan. Now.”

Amelia’s fingers danced across her screen without hesitation. I focused on the Sentrix, forcing calm into my limbs as the transfer bar blinked across the display.

“Transfer complete,” I exhaled.

“Fuck,” she hissed. “Shadow compromised with POTUS.”

My pulse spiked.

“What?”

She looked up, jaw clenched. “Shadow’s pinned. Can’t exfil. Titan running interference.”

I ran through possibilities. None of them good. None of them quiet.

“I’ve informed Titan to hold position,” she added. “Take the Sentrix. I’ll handle the unknowns outside—draw them off.”

I grabbed her wrist. “No. Absolutely not.”

“Cipher, we’ve now got six confirmed unknowns converging on our door,” she snapped, low and hard. “You are the exit plan. I’m the misdirection. Stick to Plan B.”

I met her eyes—and for a second, I didn’t see the strategist, or the soldier.

I saw her.

I saw Lia.

My partner. MyHeer. My heart.

“Seventy seconds before our window closes,” she whispered.

I forced myself to nod.

She handed me her gun and turned.

And for the first time in a long damn time, I didn’t feel like Cipher.

I felt like a man watching his world walk away.

I slipped out of the Situation Room and sealed it behind me with the biometric override Lia had programmed.

The hallway was dead quiet.

The two security officers hadn’t woken up yet.

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