The rain was an absolute, drumming roar against the external intake vents of Sector Four, bleeding through the thick concrete walls as a damp, metallic chill. At exactly 10:14 PM, the service corridors of the sub-levels were hollow, illuminated only by the rhythmic, amber pulsing of the low-voltage security strips along the floor.
Avery moved like a shadow, her boots making zero sound against the wet grating. Right behind her, so close she could feel the intense, radiating heat of his body, was Jake. The tension between them had reached an unbearable density. The fated mate bond was clawing at their insides, heightened by the raw adrenaline of the breach, but their focus was entirely fixed on the tactical objective. They were a pair of apex predators operating in the dark, synchronized by
