Page 71 of Lost Hope

“Transfer at eighty-five percent,” Ethan said.

Through her earpiece, Maya heard the controlled chaos Kenji and Christian were creating. Something about contaminated samples and exposure risks. They had the entire floor’s attention.

“Ninety-five percent. And transfer complete,” Ethan announced. “Get out. Now.”

Maya yanked the USB free and stood—then froze. Footsteps and voices were approaching from both directions—McClelland returning from the false alarm, and what sounded like security responding to his call about unauthorized access to the records system.

She was boxed in. The elevator would be watched, the stairs monitored. McClelland, or the security team that would follow, would be well within his rights to have the new temporary employee—who wasn’t even supposed to be in the computer area—searched.

Which left only one option.

“Window,” Ronan’s voice was tight. “The maintenance ledge.”

Her hands shook as she eased the window open. Four stories up, the late afternoon sun threw harsh shadows across the narrow, concrete ledge. It had looked manageable during planning. Now, with her sweaty hands and trembling legs, it looked impossible.

Maya hesitated.

“You’ve got this,” Ronan’s voice steadied her. “Just like we practiced.”

She swung one leg out, then the other, pressing her back against the rough brick. The polyester scrubs caught against the wall as she inched sideways.

She tried not to look down. She tried not to think about the wind that lifted her loose scrub top, or the way her sensible shoes offered zero grip on the ledge.

Three shuffling steps. Her thigh muscles burned. A bird swooped past, startling her, and her fingers scraped against the brick as she caught herself. Four more steps.

“Almost there,” Ronan murmured in her ear. The tension in his voice told her he was watching through the surveillance feed. “Fire escape is just past the drainpipe.”

The metal platform seemed miles away. Her glasses slipped down her nose, and she didn’t dare adjust them. Inside, she heard voices growing closer to the records room. Any second now, they’d discover the transfer.

Maya’s law enforcement training screamed at her with every unauthorized step. Breaking and entering. Corporate espionage. If she was caught, her career wouldn’t just be over—she’d be facing federal charges. Everything she’d worked for, destroyed in one afternoon.

But then she thought of Marcus and Tom. Of Kate and Mike, who’d barely escaped. Of all those veterans who hadn’t. Sometimes justice needed a push. Sometimes the system that was supposed to protect people became the very thing enabling their destruction.

Her foot slipped, heart lurching as pebbles skittered down the building’s face. The by-the-book FBI agent in her head was still listing federal statutes she was violating, but another voice was stronger now—the voice that had first drawn her to law enforcement. The one that said protecting people mattered more than protecting protocols.

“Maya.” Ronan’s voice again, somehow knowing she needed the anchor. “You’re doing great. Just keep moving.”

That voice. The one that had been systematically dismantling her careful professional boundaries since day one. The one that made her question everything she thought she knew about right and wrong, about duty and justice. About herself.

She reached the fire escape with trembling arms, metal ringing dully under her feet as she practically fell onto the platform. No time to recover. Voices erupted from the records room behind her as she flew down the stairs, each clang of her footsteps echoing off the building’s face. The last flight swayed under her descent.

Heart pounding, she flew down the stairs, jumped the last few feet to the pavement, and ran. She burst out of the alley into blazing sunlight. Ronan stood in the middle of the parking lot, tension radiating from every line of his body. Their eyes met.

Maya’s face split into a fierce grin as she jogged toward him, USB drive clutched tight in her hand. She’d done it.

“I told you to stay in the van,” she said as she reached him, breathless and triumphant.

His answering smile was equal parts relief and pride. “And I told you I had your back.”

For a split second, time stopped. The sun caught his features exactly right, softening the usual hard edges, and Maya felt that familiar flutter in her chest. He looked at her like she’d just conquered the world, not just stolen some files. Like she was someone worth breaking protocol for, worth leaving the safety of the van for. It was the kind of look that made her wonder what else he might break the rules for.

And how much she wanted to find out.

“If you two are done making eyes at each other,” Jack’s voice cut in, “let’s move. McClelland’s calling security.”

They ran for the van together, Maya’s victory thrumming through her veins. Behind them, alarms wailed.

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