Page 49 of Deadly Hope
“Think about it,” Zara said, her expression shifting. “We’ve been assuming Driscoll was just another player James was investigating, but what if Driscoll’s been orchestrating this whole thing? The anonymous tip about the threat to Olivia ...”
“Making sure word got out about her being in danger,” Kenji added, catching on. “Forcing her to seek protection?”
“Classic psyops,” Axel bit out, and she could hear the rage simmering underneath his controlled tone. “Position yourself as both threat and protector. Control all the angles.” His hands curled into fists, then deliberately relaxed. “It’s exactly the kind of game a CIA deep cover specialist would run.”
The team’s faces had transformed, shifting from analytical focus to something harder, more dangerous. They weren’t just problem solvers anymore—they were soldiers who’d discovered an enemy in their midst.
And Axel ... she could see him struggling to maintain control, his breathing measured in that deliberate way she’d noticed after his flashback. Whatever Operation Cerberus was, he knew about it. And it had left scars on him too.
They’d all been played. Every step that had led her here—to Knight Tactical, to this team, to Axel—might have been carefully orchestrated by someone her brother had died trying to expose.
The safe house erupted into discussion, voices sharp and focused.
“We need to reassess every piece of intel—” Zara started.
“Already on it,” Kenji cut in. “Running traces on all communication channels.”
“Sweep for surveillance,” Axel ordered, voice clipped, every movement economical and precise.
“If Driscoll’s running this,” Izzy said, “we’re dealing with Agency-level resources.”
“And Agency-level manipulation,” Ronan added grimly. “We’ve been dancing to his tune this whole time.”
The change in them was startling—like watching housecats turn into lions. These weren’t just security contractors anymore; they were warriors who’d discovered they were on a battlefield they hadn’t even recognized.
Axel paced the length of the room, and Olivia noticed how carefully he maintained his distance from her now. No accidental brushes, no lingering looks. His control was a tangible thing, evident in every measured breath and deliberate movement.
She watched him confer with Zara, all business now, and felt that familiar ache of isolation creep back in. Everything she thought she knew had shifted—about James’s death, about their mission, about her place in all of this.
Everything felt uncertain.
Except ...
Except the way her heart jumped when Axel’s control slipped for just a second, his gaze meeting hers across the room. In that brief moment, she saw it—the same heat, the same connection, now warring with his need to protect her.
The mission might be compromised. Their safety might be an illusion. But what she felt for him? That was the one thing she couldn’t doubt.
Too bad she wasn’t sure if he would say the same.
27
Axel watchedZara command multiple keyboards, screens flickering with data streams while Izzy cross-referenced on her tablet. The tension in the command center was palpable, made worse by Olivia’s presence at his elbow. He could feel her nervous energy, see her fighting to stay still.
“Wait,” Zara said suddenly. “Look at this pattern.”
She pulled up a timeline of incidents—the flight rerouting, the dead car battery, the power outage. Each event expanded into cascading data points.
“Every intervention required system manipulation,” Zara explained. “Intrusion into the FAA database, vehicle computer interface, power grid access. But here’s the thing—they’re not just random hacks. These are sophisticated infiltrations using contractor-level encryption.”
Axel bit back a sour taste. “Something a man with Driscoll’s cred would have access to.”
“Correctomundo.” Izzy slid her tablet into the center. “And look at this. Each digital intrusion needed proximity. The signal signatures show our guardian angel had to be within a specific range to execute these manipulations.”
“So either someone’s protecting me,” Olivia said, “or someone’s making it look that way while keeping tabs on my every move.”
“Or both.” Axel’s jaw tightened. The thought had been eating at him—what if these “rescues” were just Driscoll’s way of maintaining control, keeping Olivia exactly where he wanted her until she found or decoded what he was really looking for?
“Both scenarios need the same things,” Zara pointed out. “Eyes on Olivia, system access, and physical proximity to execute.”
