diff --git a/cmd/modern/e2e_test.go b/cmd/modern/e2e_test.go
index 9c3d14e6..75c07e34 100644
--- a/cmd/modern/e2e_test.go
+++ b/cmd/modern/e2e_test.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -312,6 +313,41 @@ func TestE2E_PipedInput_WithBytesBuffer_NoPanic(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.NotContains(t, outputStr, "nil pointer", "should not have nil pointer error")
 }
 
+// TestE2E_QueryTimeout_LiveConnection tests that the -t flag properly times out queries
+// and doesn't hang for 10 minutes on Linux. This is a regression test for the issue
+// where sqlcmd would print "Timeout expired" but then hang for ~10 minutes before exiting.
+func TestE2E_QueryTimeout_LiveConnection(t *testing.T) {
+	skipIfNoLiveConnection(t)
+	binary := buildBinary(t)
+
+	// Use a 1 second timeout with a query that would take 10 seconds
+	args := append([]string{"-C", "-t", "1", "-Q", "WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:10'"}, getAuthArgs(t)...)
+	cmd := exec.Command(binary, args...)
+	cmd.Env = os.Environ()
+
+	// Measure execution time - this is the key validation
+	// The command should complete in a few seconds, not 10 minutes
+	start := time.Now()
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+	elapsed := time.Since(start)
+	outputStr := string(output)
+
+	// The command should fail due to timeout
+	assert.Error(t, err, "query should timeout and return an error")
+
+	// Output should contain timeout message
+	assert.Contains(t, outputStr, "Timeout expired", "output should contain 'Timeout expired' message")
+
+	// Critical: verify the command completed quickly (within 30 seconds, not 10 minutes)
+	// If the bug exists, this would take ~10 minutes on Linux
+	maxDuration := 30 * time.Second
+	if elapsed > maxDuration {
+		t.Errorf("Command took too long to complete: %v (expected < %v). The timeout hang bug may still exist.", elapsed, maxDuration)
+	}
+
+	t.Logf("Query timed out correctly in %v: %s", elapsed, outputStr)
+}
+
 // cleanupBinary removes the temporary build directory containing the test binary.
 // TestMain calls this to ensure deterministic cleanup instead of relying on
 // eventual OS temp directory maintenance.
diff --git a/pkg/sqlcmd/sqlcmd.go b/pkg/sqlcmd/sqlcmd.go
index 5e572a94..ba6a74e4 100644
--- a/pkg/sqlcmd/sqlcmd.go
+++ b/pkg/sqlcmd/sqlcmd.go
@@ -431,6 +431,9 @@ func (s *Sqlcmd) runQuery(query string) (int, error) {
 	}
 	retmsg := &sqlexp.ReturnMessage{}
 	rows, qe := s.db.QueryContext(ctx, query, retmsg)
+	if rows != nil {
+		defer rows.Close()
+	}
 	if qe != nil {
 		s.Format.AddError(qe)
 	}