Page 9 of Reckless: Collision

“Only you, every day.” He pauses. “Cay? Next time you decide to hack a secret lab?”

“Yeah?”

“Maybe don’t do it in our building.”

I laugh, wild and free, as bullets rain down like deadly confetti. “Where’s the fun in that?”

The window-washing rig hits the thirtieth floor with all the grace of a drunk giraffe. My bleeding feet remind me that kicking out windows barefoot wasn’t my brightest idea, but hey—at least the unicorn on my right pajama leg is still smiling.

Holding my breath, I shoot out these windows too. I roll off just as more bullets ping the metal frame, tucking into a controlled tumble that’s only slightly ruined by my breathless cursing.

“Puritan Security entering north side,” Quinn updates. “Five alphas, three betas. Full tactical.”

I check my sparkly gun—two rounds left. Because apparently, I can remember to bedazzle my weapon but not to grab extra ammo. Typical.

“You know what would be really great right now?” I pant, pressing against the wall, trying to ignore how my feet sting. “If someone had access to the building’s lighting systems.”

“Already on it,” Quinn says, and suddenly the entire floor plunges into darkness. God, I love having a tech genius friend. “But Cay? The assassins are using thermal.”

“Good thing I came prepared.”

“You? Prepared? That’s new.”

I pull a small device from my pajama pocket—a prototype thermal scrambler I’ve been tinkering with. Because sometimes paranoia pays off. “Remember last month when I said I needed to borrow the Omega Guardian’s environmental testing lab for a personal project?”

“You said it was for a dating app!”

“I may have stretched the truth.” I activate the scrambler, watching tiny LEDs blink to life. The metal is warm against my palm, humming with potential chaos. “In my defense, it technically could help with dating. You know, if you’re dating someone who might try to kill you.”

“Your therapy bills must be astronomical,” Aria mutters.

Footsteps approach from both directions—the assassins from above, the Security team from below. I’m trapped in the middle, armed with a bedazzled gun running on empty and prototype tech that’s only been tested on houseplants.

So, you know, just another Tuesday.

I press the scrambler against the wall and hit the activation sequence. The entire floor fills with scattered heat signatures, like someone copied and pasted me a hundred times. The assassins’ thermal imaging is now about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

“You realize,” Quinn says as I limp-sprint toward the east stairwell, leaving tiny bloody footprints behind, “that you’re also blocking the security team’s thermals?”

“Oops?”

“Don’t oops me. You planned this.”

“I would never!” A bullet chunks into the wall beside me. “Okay, maybe a little.”

I burst into the stairwell just as the security team reaches the twenty-ninth floor. Above me, the assassins are closing in. Below me, heavily armed alphas are about to discover that their favorite tech guru is maybe not as innocent as she appears.

Time for the grand finale.

I lean over the railing, aiming my sparkly gun at the sprinkler system pipe. “Hey Quinn? Remember how you said the building’s fire suppression systems were too sensitive?”

“Cayenne. Don’t you dare?—”

I fire my last rounds. Water explodes from the pipes in a Biblical flood, instantly turning the stairwell into the world’s most aggressive water park. Shouts of surprise echo from below as the security team discovers that tactical gear is significantly less tactical when soaking wet.

“Fire alarm in three... two...” I count down, and right on cue, the building’s evacuation protocol kicks in. Every door automatically unlocks, emergency lights start strobing, and chaos erupts as the remaining overnight workers join the party.

I slide down the handrail through the artificial waterfall, passing the thoroughly drenched security team who are now dealing with panicked civilians, confused security, and two very wet, very angry assassins trying to blend into the crowd. At least the water’s washing away my bloody footprints. Silver linings.

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