Page 22 of Deadly Hope
“Dude. Seriously?” But there was a hint of amusement in Ronan’s exasperation now, his reflection in the monitor showing the slight quirk of his mouth that meant he wasn’t actually angry. “Anything else while we’re at it? Maybe a beach house in Maui?”
The question hung in the air, and Axel could feel the shift in the room’s energy. His team might give him a hard time, but they were already problem-solving. Already protecting what was important to one of their own.
“Actually,” Zara’s voice drifted over from her workstation, where multiple monitors cast a blue glow over her focused features. Her fingers never stopped moving across the keyboard, but Axel knew she’d been listening to every word. “I might have something. That empty floor in the Meridian building? The one we were going to convert to additional training space?”
“Perfect location,” Kenji chimed in, swiveling in his chair. His usual playful expression had been replaced by the tactical assessment that reminded everyone why he was their infiltration specialist. “Clear sightlines, multiple exit routes, easily secured.”
“And walking distance to that chai place she likes,” Dekeadded from the doorway. The former chaplain’s massive frame somehow never seemed imposing when he was offering these small kindnesses. He grinned at Axel’s surprised look. “What? I pay attention.”
The surveillance feeds cast shifting shadows across the concrete floor as Ronan finally turned away from them. “You’re all enablers,” he muttered, but Axel could see him considering it. The same look he’d worn when Christian first proposed forming their team. “Fine. I’ll talk to management. But you?—”
The sharp crackle of the comlink cut him off, the sound slicing through the room’s comfortable atmosphere like a blade.
“Guys? We’ve got a situation.” Griffin’s voice was tight with tension, the kind that made everyone’s combat instincts snap to attention. “Message just came through on a secure channel. Military-grade encryption.”
Axel’s blood ran cold, his fingers automatically checking the placement of his sidearm. Around him, his team had gone still with that predator’s focus that meant they were all thinking the same thing.
The message Griffin read out confirmed their worst fears. “Knight Tactical’s newest charity case? How sweet. Tell Olivia her brother would be so proud—right up until the end. Tick tock.”
“That’s not possible,” Zara whispered, fingers flying over keys with renewed intensity. The monitors reflected off her face like war paint. “Those encryption codes ... they’re classified. Unless?—”
“Unless he’s one of us,” Axel finished grimly, his mind already cataloging everyone who’d have that level of access. “Someone with access to our resources.”
“There’s more,” Griffin added. Something in his tonemade Axel’s combat instincts ratchet higher. “Security footage from the airport just went dark. All of it.”
Blind panic clawed at Axel’s chest, threatening to overwhelm his training. Then he forced himself to breathe. Izzy was with Olivia. The woman might be small, but she packed a huge punch. Literally. One of the best operatives at close quarters combat he’d ever seen. Man or woman. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Olivia.
But the relief was fleeting. If someone with their level of access was targeting Olivia ...
Ronan met Axel’s eyes, all traces of their earlier banter gone. In that moment, they weren’t just colleagues or even friends. They were brothers-in-arms, and someone had threatened their own.
“Get her,” he said simply. “Now.”
Axel was moving before the words finished echoing through the command center, his team already shifting to support positions without being asked. Family didn’t need orders. They just acted.
13
Olivia tracedher fingers along the worn leather arm of her therapy chair, watching dust motes dance in the late afternoon sunlight. After three years, she knew every crack and indent in the leather, every subtle shift of light across her office walls as the sun made its daily journey. This space, with its collected memories of healing and hope, had been her first real achievement after leaving the hospital system.
Now half-packed boxes crowded the room, making the familiar space feel strange. Clinical texts and patient files were already sealed away, leaving only her personal items—the inspirational angel statue from her brother, the abstract painting a client had given her after their final session, the family photo that still made her chest ache when she looked at it too long.
From her position by the window, Izzy shifted slightly, adjusting her sightlines. The petite operative made the casual movement look natural, but Olivia wasn’t fooled.
“You know,” she said, smiling at a sudden memory, “my first client in this office was terrified of windows. We spent our entire session with the blinds closed, lights off, huddledin that corner.” She gestured to where her small meditation cushion still sat. “By our last session, she could sit right where you are.”
“Small victories,” Izzy murmured, her slight smile suggesting she understood the deeper meaning behind such progress.
The smile faded as Izzy’s hand flew to her earpiece, her entire body language transforming in an instant from casual observer to lethal predator.
Izzy’s eyes locked onto hers. “Cams are down. All feeds to the compound are dark.”
“Activate your comlink,” Izzy ordered, weapon already drawn as she moved away from the window. “Now, Olivia.”
With trembling fingers, Olivia touched the small device in her ear.
“Olivia.” Axel’s voice filled her ear, breathless but controlled. She could hear his footsteps pounding in the background. “Stay with Izzy. I’m on foot. Three minutes out.”
Olivia forced herself to take deep breaths, calling on years of training in staying calm during crises. But all her professional experience couldn’t quite silence the voice in her head screaming that someone was hunting her. That they were coming. That this time, she might not?—
