Page 67 of Lost Hope

“It’s on now.” Frowning hard, Christian pulled out his cell. “Time to get Jack.”

32

NIGHT KITCHEN

Ronan leanedagainst the conference room wall, using the pressure to brace his injured arm. The pain meds were wearing off again, but he kept his expression neutral. Three a.m., and the room hummed with barely contained energy despite the hour.

The scent of Christian’s stress-baking filled the air—fresh croissants, cinnamon rolls, something with chocolate. The pastries covered one end of the long table, alongside a professional-grade espresso machine. Steam hissed as he pulled another shot.

Jack stood at the head of the table, sleeves pushed up, hair standing on end. He studied the screens where Star had arranged their evidence in neat columns: Abramian’s delivery routes, McClelland’s lab records, Pantone’s connection to Sentinel Security.

“Walk me through it again,” Jack said. “From the beginning.”

Dale Bosch, a Knight Tactical member and former NCIS director, tapped his tablet. Despite being called in at 0300, the man looked pressed and polished. “Sentinel Security has government contracts, more of them than we do, so they haveeasy access to military installations, VA facilities, and for sure sensitive operations.”

Austin reached for his third espresso. “And their COO is paying visits to the doctor in charge of processing stolen biometric data from veterans.”

“Who end up dead,” Axel added quietly.

Kenji cleared his throat. “The VA contracts out some lab work, but nothing this specialized. And definitely not identity verification protocols.”

Ronan watched Maya’s father study the evidence. The retired investigator’s rumpled appearance couldn’t hide his sharp focus. Like father, like daughter.

Griff paced near the windows, while Zara and Star huddled over laptops. Izzy cleaned her sidearm, the repetitive motion betraying her tension. Deke and Maya sat silent, but Ronan could practically see them gaming out tactical scenarios in their heads.

“We can’t just walk into Sentinel Security and start asking questions,” Christian said, sliding fresh espressos in front of Jack and Bosch. “They’ve got too much legitimate cover.”

“And political protection,” Bosch added. “Their CEO plays golf with three senators.”

Jack bit his lip. “I’ll run this new intel by the admiral, but I can tell you, he’ll want us to dig deeper before he runs any of this past Buck Richardson.”

“The lab, then,” Ronan said, pushing off the wall and ignoring the flare of pain. “Pacific Coast Medical. That’s where the evidence is.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed, studying him. “You’re thinking infiltration?”

“For sure. We need proof of what they’re doing with those samples. How they’re building the identity packages if that’s really what they’re doing.”

“And fast,” Griffin added. “They’ll notice Kate and Mike’s disappearances pretty quick. They’ll be cleaning house.”

The room went quiet except for the soft whir of laptops and the espresso machine’s hum. Ronan felt the weight of Jack’s assessment. He kept his posture carefully neutral, refusing to show weakness.

“Thoughts?” Jack asked the room.

“Maybe it’s time to shine a spotlight on this,” Ronan’s mom suggested. “I know the news directors at every major station. We could?—”

Ronan bit back a groan. “Mom, stop. We’re messing with classified intel. You’d just get shut down. Or arrested.”

Whether because of the pain radiating from his wound, or the lack of sleep, or just the constant pressure of being around his mother and his silent bio bro, irritation flashed through him. But it quickly dissipated. Victoria might have been a mostly absentee mom, but the woman loved him. Almost as much as she loved being in the center of the action.

“McClelland’s the weak link.” Jack redirected the conversation.

Exactly what he’d been thinking. “So we grab him, make him talk. He’ll crack.”

“Kidnapping?” Maya’s voice cut through the tension. “That’s a federal offense.”

“Yeah? And? So is murder. They killed Tank. And your partner. We don’t even know how many others. I’ll risk a little kidnapping.”

Axel crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Copy that, bro.”

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