Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 116

(Hendrix's POV) Angel wouldn't move.

She clung to Thomas's body like it was the only thing holding her to the world. Blood soaked her hands, her shirt, her hair, but she didn't care. Her sobs echoed in the cramped maintenance closet in a haunting way that made my stomach twist.

"Angel," I whispered and crouched beside her. "We have to go."

She shook her head violently and her grip tightened on Thomas's lifeless form. "No. I can't leave him. I can't—"

Footsteps echoed in the distance, growing louder with every passing second.

I grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at me. Her tear-soaked face shattered something inside me. "Angel, listen to me. We'll come back for him. I swear. But if we don't move now, none of us are getting out of here alive." She stared at me with wide and uncomprehending eyes before finally nodding. Her hands trembled as she placed Thomas's head gently on the floor and brushed his blood-matted hair back one last time. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

I pulled her to her feet and held her close for a second, then grabbed the evidence bag. The footsteps were closer now and accompanied by voices barking orders.

"We have to go," I repeated, and this time, she followed.

.

The group was waiting for us in a storage room near the West Wing exit. The moment we stepped inside, the air shifted.

grim expression told them everything

the first to break the silence. "Thomas?"

Joe shot

Hande moved to Angel's side

now," I said firmly. "Thomas wouldn't want that. We have

silent again, save for the muffled sound

to have something to expose the center." Once the evidence was divided among the group, I stepped back and tried to catch my breath. The guilt that ate at me refused to let go. Thomas was dead because of me. Because I hadn't been fast enough, strong enough, smart enough. But

palms. "We're finishing this," I muttered under my

(Dennis's POV)

blaring alarms were an indicator of how far things had spiraled

the desk, Dr. Aurora packed her things with an unnerving calmness. Her red wig was perfectly

"You're leaving?" I asked.

Aurora didn't look up. "The inspection has been canceled. The center is compromised. There's no point in staying." "But...

met my gaze, and I saw the cold tint in them.

years ago. The center there had been exposed, and they'd buried the evidence in rubble

going to destroy this

"Of course. Better to burn the

betrayals I'd committed. I thought of Angel, of Hendrix, of the countless lives I'd sacrificed to protect

forward and my hands balled into

are you going to do,