My stomach turns.
“Do you think maybe he went back to Maddox headquarters?” I whisper.
“Maybe.” Ozzy’s fingers tighten slightly on my thigh. “For right now we get you behind Maddox walls and we get answers.”
I nod even though my body wants to crawl out of itself. The city slips behind us, and the familiar industrial stretch leading to Maddox Security comes into view. My pulse kicks up hard as the gates appear, tall and secure with cameras that normally feel like comfort.
Tonight, they feel like a question.
Arrow pulls in, the gate opening fast after a code. The lot is lit and busy. Vehicles are scattered like the whole building has shifted into emergency mode. Men I don’t know move in tight groups, purposeful and armed. It feels like a nest that has been kicked.
We park. Everyone piles out at once.
Ozzy stays close, his hand at my lower back as we move. River reaches for my arm and squeezes gently, her eyes soft with empathy that makes me want to cry.
“You’re okay,” she whispers like she’s saying it to herself too.
“I’m okay,” I manage, even though I’m not sure what okay means anymore.
We enter the building, the air inside warmer but heavy with tension. The hum of servers that I expected to hear is different tonight, uneven, like someone cut power and patched it back together with tape.
Rae stands at a workstation with two other techs, her fingers flying, face pale and fierce. Sawyer is nearby, speaking to someone on comms that keeps cutting in and out. Dean is not in sight yet, which makes the whole place feel wrong.
Ozzy’s head turns, scanning. “Where’s Poe?”
Gage’s gaze sharpens. Arrow’s face tightens. Knight goes still. Lark’s hand curls around her bat strap even though we are indoors.
Nobody answers immediately.
Rae looks up from the screens, her eyes haunted. “He hasn’t checked in.”
Ozzy takes a step toward her. “That’s not like him.”
“No,” Rae agrees quietly. “It isn’t.”
Arrow moves first, leading us toward the glass-walled conference room I have heard about. The Aquarium.
When I step inside, the room feels like a stage. Clear walls. Bright lights. A long table that has hosted too many hard conversations, I’m sure. Tonight it holds laptops, printouts, and half-drunk coffee.
The team gathers around the table like we’re about to choose who gets sacrificed.
Ozzy stands at my side. His posture’s rigid, protective. His face looks carved from anger and fear.
Gage leans his hands on the table. River presses close to him. Juno stays tucked against Arrow, her expression tight. Lark’s eyes dart constantly, reading faces. Knight watches her with a quiet protectiveness that looks new, like he is still learning how to wear it.
The door opens. Dean Maddox steps in. The room shifts instantly, like everyone’s spine straightens. Dean’s face is controlled, but I can see the strain in the set of his mouth. He looks like a man who has been punched and refuses to show it. Sawyer follows him, phone in hand. Dean’s gaze sweeps the room, landing on me for half a second, then Ozzy. He nods once, acknowledging. “We have the signature from the hack,” Dean says.
My stomach drops.
Ozzy’s jaw tightens. “And?”
Dean’s eyes flick to Rae. Rae’s fingers stop moving. She turns her laptop slightly so everyone can see. Lines of code. Logs. A trail I do not understand, but the way Rae’s hands shake tells me enough.
Dean says, “It matches a signature we’ve seen before.”
Ozzy leans forward, eyes narrowing. “Whose?”
Dean pauses for half a beat, and in that tiny space my body goes cold. I think I already know. Chills skate up and down my spine.