Page 112 of Reckless: Collision

“What did you do?” Theo asks, equal parts impressed and terrified.

“Let’s just say Sterling Labs is going to have a very interesting morning explaining to their board of directors why their highly classified research data started uploading to public servers.” Shepauses for effect. “Which it isn’t, really, but it’ll take them hours to verify that.”

“You’re terrifying,” Finn says with obvious admiration.

“Thank you. Now run.”

“No, no, no!” Cayenne’s voice suddenly loses its playful edge. “They’re shutting down external connections. Cutting off server access.”

I hear the desperation in her typing, the fury of someone watching their prize slip away.

“Time to go,” I order, but something in her silence makes me pause. “Cayenne?”

“I almost had it.” Raw frustration bleeds through her words. “All the data about the beta—” She cuts herself off. “About their experiments. It was right there.”

The footsteps are getting closer. Alarms blare. Whatever chaos she created is being contained.

“Cay.” Finn’s voice carries understanding. Too much understanding. “We need an exit.”

For three heartbeats, there’s nothing but the sound of her breathing. I can almost see her, surrounded by screens, watching some vital truth slip through her fingers.

Then her voice returns, all business. All steel.

“Take the east stairwell. Now.” The emotion is gone, replaced by lethal focus. “I’m sealing bulkheads behind you. They’ll have to cut through them to follow.”

We run, following her directions without hesitation. Behind us, metal doors slam shut with hydraulic finality.

“Two guards at the next junction,” she warns. “But the sprinkler system is still mine.”

Water rains down, giving us cover. The guards slip on wet floors, cursing.

“Loading dock in forty seconds.” Her typing never slows. “I’ve got their systems tied in knots, but they’re catching up. Whatever you do, don’t stop running.”

We don’t.

Through it all, I hear what she’s not saying. What she gave up to get us out. Something about beta experiments. Something she needed badly enough that sacrificing it cost her.

But she chose us.

Despite her secrets, despite whatever truth she was hunting, she chose the pack.

“Vehicle exit route?” I ask as we burst into the loading dock.

“Sending it to Theo now. Alternative course to avoid security response teams.” Her voice catches, just slightly. “I’ve got you. Just... just get out.”

We pile into the vehicles, Theo peeling away in the van with Cayenne while we follow in the SUV. Her voice guides us through back streets, around emergency responses, away from cameras.

“Clear,” she finally announces, five miles and fifteen minutes later. “We’re clear.”

The air should taste like triumph, but something sour coats my tongue. Cayenne’s voice carries a hollowness beneath her words, a vacuum where celebration should be. Finn’s knuckles whiten around his tablet, tendons standing out like wire beneath skin.

Whatever she was trying to download, whatever truth she had to sacrifice to ensure our escape—it meant something. Something big enough to make her hesitate, even for a moment.

But in the end, she chose us.

Now I just have to figure out why that feels like both a victory and a warning.

And confront her as soon as we get back. It’s past time she tells us what is on that drive.

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