Page 19 of Provoking Bryan

Sara let out a sharp breath, her shoulders slumping slightly. “Well, that’s embarrassing.”

Bryan leaned closer, his breath warm against her cheek as he peered at the screen. “Is that… a deer?”

“Antelope,” Sara corrected, already guiding the drone back to its dock.

Bryan chuckled softly, the sound irritatingly warm. “You were ready to take on a cartel hit squad, and instead, it’s dinner on legs.”

Sara shot him a glare, though she couldn’t help the faint smile tugging at her lips. “Laugh it up, Doc. Next time, you can handle security.”

Bryan held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, you’re the expert. I’m just here to admire your work.”

She rolled her eyes, powering down the drone and setting the controls aside. “Let’s just hope the next alert is another something with antlers.”

“Agreed,” Bryan said, his tone softening. “But I’m glad it wasn’t anything serious.”

Sara nodded, though the tension in her chest didn’t fully ease. Even a false alarm was a reminder of how precarious their situation was.

“Get some rest,” she said, brushing past him toward the door. “Tomorrow’s another day.”

The soft morning light filtered through the safe house windows as Sara sat at the small dining table, her laptop open in front ofher. The faint aroma of coffee lingered in the air, but she barely noticed, her focus entirely on the encrypted files she’d received from a Cerberus contact overnight.

Bryan moved around the kitchen, humming quietly as he prepared breakfast. His presence was both a comfort and a distraction, but Sara forced herself to stay focused.

She scanned the documents, her sharp eyes catching a pattern that made her stomach tighten. A list of supply shipments. Travel routes. Personnel changes. All of it perfectly timed to correspond with cartel activity in the region.

“This doesn’t make sense,” she muttered under her breath.

“What doesn’t?” Bryan asked, setting a plate of toast and eggs beside her.

Sara leaned back, her fingers tapping against the table. “Someone’s feeding information to the cartel. Every time Doctors Without Borders makes a move, they know about it—down to the smallest detail.”

Bryan frowned, sitting across from her. “Are you sure? It could just be a coincidence.”

“It’s not,” Sara said firmly, turning the laptop to show him the files. “Look at the dates. The timing’s too precise.”

Bryan studied the screen, his jaw tightening. “If you’re right, then that means someone inside the organization is working with them.”

“Exactly,” Sara said, her tone grim. “And if they know we’re here…”

She didn’t finish the thought, but the implication hung heavy in the air.

Bryan exhaled sharply, his gaze meeting hers. “What’s our next move?”

“I’ve talked to the person who sent the file and updated it with what we know,” Sara said, already pulling out her phone.“They can cross-reference it with their intel and see if we can narrow down the leak. In the meantime, we keep our guard up.”

Bryan nodded, his expression unreadable. “And what about us?”

Sara hesitated, his question weighing heavily on her. “We stay put for now. The safe house is secure, and I’ve already adjusted the perimeter alarms.”

He reached across the table, his hand brushing hers briefly. “We’ll figure this out, Sara.”

The warmth in his voice sent a shiver down her spine, but she forced herself to focus. “We don’t have a choice.”

Bryan smiled faintly, though the tension in his eyes remained. “I’ll start packing supplies, just in case.”

Sara watched him move to the storage closet, her mind racing. The pieces were falling into place, but the picture they painted was far from clear.

And the question that loomed largest in her mind was one she couldn’t shake:How far did the betrayal go—and how much closer was the enemy?

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