Page 189 of Fractured Allegiance

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Will I think I'm alone and slip?

I pocket the key.

"Understood."

He leaves.

And the trap gets tighter.

At 2:43 AM, I hear it.

Soft crying from inside the room.

Not loud. Not sobbing.

Just quiet, broken sounds that slip through the door like ghosts.

My hand goes to my pocket.

To the key.

I could open the door.

Just for a second.

Just to—

No.

I pull my hand away.

Clench it into a fist so tight my nails dig into my palm.

The cameras are watching.

Drazen is watching.

And if I open that door, if I go to her, if I try to comfort her—

We both die.

So I stand here.

And I listen to her cry.

The sound cuts through me like a blade.

Every sob. Every broken breath.

I slide down the wall. Sit on the floor.

Listening.

Unable to help.

This is the cost.

This is what being undercover means.

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