Page 21 of King's Reckoning
The machines monitoring Abby's vitals beeped steadily in the silence that followed. Rowan's mind raced. Her mother had never mentioned Abby,never hinted at sharing The Archive's secrets with anyone else.
Unless…
"The codes," Rowan said suddenly. "In Mom's journal. Some of them didn't match her usual patterns. Because they weren't hers, were they? They were yours."
Abby's smile widened despite her split lip. "Smart girl. Elena knew she couldn't protect The Archive alone. Knew she needed backup plans. That's why she left pieces of it with trusted brothers, why she encoded the locations. And why she came to me."
"Why you?" Reed demanded. "What made you so special?"
"Because I was there at the beginning," Abby said. "When they first found the tunnels, when they realized what was buried under this territory. I saw what it did to them—the power, the fear. Saw how it changed everything." Her eyes found King's. "Saw how it drove you apart."
King's hands clenched into fists. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I? Elena wasn't the only one who made sacrifices to protect The Archive. Some of us just didn't run away."
"She didn't run," Rowan snapped. "She protected me. Protected all of us."
"And now here you are, following in her footsteps. But you don't even know what you'rereally protecting, do you? What's really buried in those tunnels?"
Before Rowan could respond, fire alarms began blaring in the hallway. Ace burst in, gun already drawn. "Company," he reported. "Multiple hostiles, heavily armed. Coming up the stairs."
"Devils?" Reed asked, moving to cover the door.
"Worse. Blackwood's personal security team. They must have followed us."
King cursed. "They're after her. After what she knows." He turned to Abby. "Can you move?"
She was already pulling out IVs. "Always could handle pain better than you, Marcus."
"Reed, get them out," King ordered, ignoring her jab. "Back stairs to the garage. Ace and I will slow them down."
"Not happening," Rowan said firmly. "We stick together."
The argument was cut short by gunfire in the hallway. Screams and chaos erupted from patients and staff already in the process of evacuating. The prospects were buying them time, but it wouldn't last long.
"Window," Reed said suddenly. "Stairs will be packed. Service elevator shaft runs right alongside this room. Maintenance platform two floors down."
"You want us to go out a window?" Abby demanded. "Eight floors up?"
"Unless you'd prefer Blackwood's hospitality."
More gunfire, closer now. Rowan could hear shouts, running feet. Their time was running out.
"Help me with her," she told Reed. Together they got Abby to her feet, while King and Ace barricaded the door.
The window opened onto a narrow ledge. Cold wind whipped at them as Reed rigged a quick rappel line of linens, curtains and anything else he could find, like a modern MacGyver. Below, the maintenance platform waited like a metal island in the darkness.
"Ladies first," Reed said, securing the line to Abby's hospital gown. She grimaced but didn't argue as they lowered her down.
Rowan went next, the rope burning her palms despite her gloves. The platform clanged under her feet as she landed. Above, she could hear the fight reaching their room as distant sirens closed in.
"Coming down," Reed called. He was halfway to the platform when the explosion hit.
The blast caught him as he was reaching for the platform's railing. Rowan lunged, catching his arm as he started to fall. For a moment they hung suspended, his weight threatening to pull them both into the void.
Then strong hands grabbed Rowan's belt, anchoring her. Abby helped her haul Reed to safety just as more explosions rocked the building.
"Move," Reed ordered, already reaching for his weapon. "They'll have the bottom of the shaft covered."
