"Liar,"Imutter.Myfingers lock over hers, registering the icy chill radiating from her skin. "We'regoing up."
"Up?"Logansteps into my path. "Weneed a debrief, brother.Whathappened out there?"
"Notyet."IhaulKailatoward the heavy steel door of the main building. "TheCostasaren't done.Theymissed the kill shot, which means they'll try to bury us next.Ineed the loft."
Loganscans my expression, recognizing the vicious tension rolling off me.Thehunt remains active. "Dowhat you have to do.I'lllock down the perimeter."
Pushingpast him,IdragKailastraight through the common room.Stalebeer and harsh floor wax flood my senses.Silenceblankets the area with most of the brothers either asleep or on guard duty.Wehit the stairs.Itake the metal grates two at a time, hauling my woman upward while she stumbles to match my aggressive pace.
Weburst into my loft.
Themassive wall of monitors flashes in warning.
Redtext scrolls aggressively across every screen, dumping endless lines of security threats.
SYSTEM BREACH DETECTED. IDENTITY PROTOCOL: REYES, KAILA. STATUS: FLAGGED. FEDERAL DATABASE: UPLOAD IN PROGRESS.
"Shit,"Kailahisses.Sherips her hand from my grip and rushes the desk, her fingers flying over the heavy mechanical keyboardI'vebuilt for her. "They'redumping it.Allof it."
"Whatare they doing?"Imove in close behind her, my knuckles straining against the leather back of her chair.
"They'reframing me," she chokes out, her pitch escalating to a frantic high. "They'reuploading evidence to theFBIcyber-crimes division.Everyinstance of corporate espionage and that massive hack on theBrokenHalosis getting pinned directly onKailaReyes.Worse, they're geolocating the upload source to... ohGod."
Hershaking index finger aims at the map on the center screen, tracking a pulsing red dot.
LOCATION: PINE VALLEY, MT.
"They'reburning me to get to you," she whispers. "Ifthis upload completes, theFedswill be here by morning.They'llraid theClubhouselooking for the cyber-terroristKailaReyes."Shespins the chair around, her chest heaving as she assesses the exits. "Ihave to disconnect.Ihave to run.IfI'mnot here when they ping the location?—"
"No."
"Daniel, look at the progress bar.Fortypercent.Wehave ten minutes before my life ends and your club falls."Shepushes off the armrests, trying to stand. "Giveme the keys to the truck.I'lllead them away."
Ishove her back onto the cushion. "Sitdown."
"Youstubborn, arrogant?—"
"Sit."Ilean over her, planting my palms flat on the desk.Icage her in.Theblue light from the screens washes over her face, highlighting the dark soot smudges painted across her cheekbones.Herpupils swallow the hazel of her eyes, her breath coming in shallow, jagged hitches.Herterror focuses entirely on my survival, completely ignoring her own.
Iknow then.
Sheis fully prepared to rot in federal prison just to save my brothers.Sheis ready to sprint blindly into the freezing wilderness to keep my home safe.
"You'renot going anywhere,"Igrowl, the vibration rumbling deep in my chest. "KailaReyesis the problem?Fine."
Reachingright past her shoulder,Ipunch a raw command into the master terminal.
INITIATE GHOST PROTOCOL: OMEGA.
Thescreens flicker.Thered warning boxes completely stall out.
"Whatare you doing?"Kailabreathes out. "Omega?That'sa scorch command.Itwipes everything."
"Everything,"Iconfirm. "Bankaccounts, birth certificates, your entire existence on the federal grid."
"Daniel, you can't?—"
"Watchme."