Chapter 1
The high-pitched, steady beeping of the heart rate monitor shattered as the aggressor slammed against the cold drywall.
Navy blue fabric crumpled under the army officer's steel grip, pinning thirty-year-old Ryan tightly against the wall.
Twenty-five-year-old Chloe lay in her hospital bed, her pale pink gown twisted as her hands clutched the blood-stained bandage around her leg.
"You have five seconds to clear out of this room before I file a court-martial report," General Sterling growled, his beige military uniform impeccably crisp under the fluorescent lights.
Ryan panted, his chest heaving rapidly as suppressed panic flared in his dark eyes.
"You don't understand the full picture, General," Ryan hissed through clenched teeth, his dark brown trousers rustling against the linoleum floor.
"She holds classified clearance codes that belong directly to the United States Department of Defense!"
General Sterling leaned in closer until his black beret almost brushed Ryan's forehead, his expression remaining terrifyingly cold and resolute.
"I don't care if she holds the keys to the White House itself," Sterling whispered with lethal calm.
"You put your hands on my operative again, and they won't even find your remains in Arlington."
Chloe watched the encounter, her pale face glistening with a light sheen of cold sweat as the IV line shook against her arm.
She knew the truth that neither man was willing to admit out loud in front of the medical staff.
The blood bleeding through her thick leg bandage wasn't from a random street mugging or an accidental fall.
It was from a silenced military firearm fired inside a secure government facility in downtown Washington.
Sterling shoved Ryan toward the heavy double doors, pointing a stiff, authoritative finger toward the corridor.
"Get out," Sterling commanded, his voice cutting through the silent room like a razor blade.
Ryan straightened his rumpled blue button-down shirt, glaring at Chloe with pure, unadulterated hatred.
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"This isn't over, Chloe," Ryan warned in a low raspy tone as the automatic doors slid open behind him.
"The package you hid in Virginia will be retrieved before nightfall."
