Page 37 of Protecting Her

"By you." Jude met her eyes briefly. "By how you kept your composure even with blood on your evening gown. How you analyzed their tactics while I checked you for injuries."

The admission carried weight. Carmen touched her arm gently. "You were just as distracting. The way you moved through that firefight, protecting everyone while making it look effortless."

A ghost of a smile touched Jude's lips. "Professional admiration?"

"At first." Carmen watched another team take position on the feeds. "Then I noticed other things. How you always had coffee ready before dawn briefings. The way you'd adjust your position whenever I entered a room. Small moments that had nothing to do with protection protocols."

Their eyes met in the harsh light. No declarations needed; they'd moved beyond them now. Understanding passed between them as another explosion rocked the building above.

"They're almost ready," Carmen said quietly.

Jude checked her weapon one final time. "So are we."

The words carried certainty born of shared purpose. Whatever came next, they would face it as one, together.

Explosions shook the building above. The infiltrators were closer now. Carmen studied the security feeds, counting teams and positions while Jude checked their remaining defenses. The panic room's filtered air tasted stale, despite the ventilation system working at full capacity.

"They're getting impatient," Carmen noted, watching another charge detonate on the floor above. Her diplomatic instincts recognized the shift in tactics. "Something's changed in their orders."

Through the feeds, she watched the tactical teams adjusting their positions. Their original precision had given way to something more aggressive. More urgent. She'd seen this pattern before when corporate interests decided time was no longer on their side.

"Six teams are converging on the east wing," Sarah's voice crackled through their failing radio. "They're—" Static consumed the rest.

Jude moved to the weapons locker, her movements precise and controlled. Carmen recognized the look in her eyes, the same expression she'd worn before the evacuation at thesummit. The one that meant she was preparing to do something tactically sound but personally reckless.

"The north service tunnel," Jude said quietly, checking her weapon. "They haven't found it yet. If I create enough distraction?—"

"No." Carmen's diplomatic voice carried decades of authority. "I'm not leaving you."

"Carmen—"

"I've spent my career negotiating other people's wars." She stepped closer, forcing Jude to meet her eyes. "Finding compromise between opposing forces. Making peace from chaos." Her voice dropped lower. "But this isn't negotiable. Where you go, I go."

Another explosion rocked the building, closer than the others. On the security feeds, Carmen counted the opposition forces: twelve tactical teams, each carrying enough firepower to level a city block. Their movements had shifted from containment to assault.

"They're preparing for a final push," she observed, analyzing their new formation. "See how they're concentrating forces on the weak points? They know about the structural support beams."

Jude checked her spare magazines. "Which means they have the building plans. Probably from the same source that gave them our security protocols."

"The corporate contractors are improvising now." Carmen gestured to the feeds. "Look at their spacing. It's degrading. They expected us to be broken by now."

"Because they thought I'd choose protocol over..." Jude's voice trailed off.

"Over me?" Carmen touched her arm. "It looks like they don't know you very well, do they?"

A ghost of a smile touched Jude's lips. "No. They don't."

The next explosion sent dust filtering through the ventilation system. Carmen watched another security camera go dark, their view of the outside world shrinking with each detonation. Soon they would be completely blind.

"The tunnel leads to the old metro maintenance system," Jude said finally. "If we time it right?—"

"We might make it." Carmen emphasized the word. "Both of us."

Their eyes met in the harsh light. Carmen saw the moment Jude's resistance cracked, when tactical necessity yielded to something stronger than protocol.

"I had a whole speech prepared," Jude admitted quietly. "About duty and the mission and keeping you alive at any cost."

"And now?"

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