Page 16 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

I heard footsteps running toward us.

Not Gideon. Too loud. Too heavy.

I turned just in time to see a man charging down the hall with a blade in his hand.

I shoved Kaylie behind me and raised my weapon—but Tag appeared out of nowhere, slamming the guy into the wall so hard the plaster cracked.

He didn’t even pause.

“Got her?” he asked.

I nodded. “She’s okay.”

“You?”

“I’m good.”

More footsteps echoed behind us—Gideon and his team flooding in, weapons raised, voices sharp.

“Building’s secure!” someone yelled.

Kaylie burst into sobs against my chest.

And I finally let my body shake.

Not from fear.

But from the sheer, brutal relief of knowing—for once—we made it in time.