diff --git a/codex-wrapper/main.go b/codex-wrapper/main.go
index e57747b..7921297 100644
--- a/codex-wrapper/main.go
+++ b/codex-wrapper/main.go
@@ -41,12 +41,17 @@ var (
 	buildCodexArgsFn = buildCodexArgs
 	commandContext   = exec.CommandContext
 	jsonMarshal      = json.Marshal
-	forceKillDelay   = 5 // seconds - made variable for testability
 	cleanupLogsFn    = cleanupOldLogs
 	signalNotifyFn   = signal.Notify
 	signalStopFn     = signal.Stop
 )
 
+var forceKillDelay atomic.Int32
+
+func init() {
+	forceKillDelay.Store(5) // seconds - default value
+}
+
 // Config holds CLI configuration
 type Config struct {
 	Mode          string // "new" or "resume"
@@ -998,7 +1003,7 @@ func forwardSignals(ctx context.Context, cmd *exec.Cmd, logErrorFn func(string))
 				return
 			}
 			_ = cmd.Process.Signal(syscall.SIGTERM)
-			time.AfterFunc(time.Duration(forceKillDelay)*time.Second, func() {
+			time.AfterFunc(time.Duration(forceKillDelay.Load())*time.Second, func() {
 				if cmd.Process != nil {
 					_ = cmd.Process.Kill()
 				}
@@ -1032,7 +1037,7 @@ func terminateProcess(cmd *exec.Cmd) *time.Timer {
 
 	_ = cmd.Process.Signal(syscall.SIGTERM)
 
-	return time.AfterFunc(time.Duration(forceKillDelay)*time.Second, func() {
+	return time.AfterFunc(time.Duration(forceKillDelay.Load())*time.Second, func() {
 		if cmd.Process != nil {
 			_ = cmd.Process.Kill()
 		}
diff --git a/codex-wrapper/main_test.go b/codex-wrapper/main_test.go
index 4021276..1e91c7f 100644
--- a/codex-wrapper/main_test.go
+++ b/codex-wrapper/main_test.go
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func resetTestHooks() {
 	buildCodexArgsFn = buildCodexArgs
 	commandContext = exec.CommandContext
 	jsonMarshal = json.Marshal
-	forceKillDelay = 5
+	forceKillDelay.Store(5)
 	closeLogger()
 }
 
@@ -1530,7 +1530,7 @@ func TestRun_LoggerRemovedOnSignal(t *testing.T) {
 	defer signal.Reset(syscall.SIGINT, syscall.SIGTERM)
 
 	// Set shorter delays for faster test
-	forceKillDelay = 1
+	forceKillDelay.Store(1)
 
 	tempDir := t.TempDir()
 	t.Setenv("TMPDIR", tempDir)
@@ -1762,12 +1762,12 @@ func TestRunForwardSignals(t *testing.T) {
 		cmd.Wait()
 	}()
 
-	forceKillDelay = 0
-	defer func() { forceKillDelay = 5 }()
-
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
 	defer cancel()
 
+	forceKillDelay.Store(0)
+	defer forceKillDelay.Store(5)
+
 	ready := make(chan struct{})
 	var captured chan<- os.Signal
 	signalNotifyFn = func(ch chan<- os.Signal, sig ...os.Signal) {