The door clicked shut behind the last officer, leaving the heavy silence of the briefing room to settle over Axel.
The rest of the team had scattered to argue over logistics, tactical formations, and fallback lines, leaving him alone in the quiet expanse.
He sank back into his chair, but the quiet offered no comfort. It only amplified the sickening knot twisting in his stomach.
Letting Jayvaughn step into that death trap alone felt like a betrayal of every survival instinct he possessed.
Entrusting Jayvaughn's safety to a team of military tech specialists—guys who probably needed a manual to bypass a basic firewall—well that might be an exaggeration but it was still a gamble he hated taking.
Axel pushed himself out of the leather chair and began to pace the length of the room.
His eyes swept over the sleek design of the walls, automatically scanning for security measures.
