CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN – THE RESCUE OPERATION

The door was a solid slab of steel, reinforced with enough hardware to withstand a small-scale bombardment. Hawkins held up a fist, signaling for his team to stack up as he readied the breach charge. The explosion was deafening, a thunderous roar that shook the very foundations of the building. Charlotte staggered, her ears ringing, as acrid smoke billowed through the shattered doorway. Julian was the first through the breach, his weapon raised and his eyes scanning the smoke-choked interior with a deadly intensity. Charlotte followed close behind, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to make out any sign of movement through the haze. And then, like a beacon cutting through the fog, she saw him – Patrick, bound and gagged, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and desperate hope. "Patrick!" The cry tore from her lips, a ragged exhalation of relief and anguish. She surged forward, her movements fueled by a desperation that bordered on madness. Julian was at her side in