The water reached his chest, forcing him to swim rather than walk. The cold seeped into his muscles, making them heavy, unresponsive. The titanium case became an awkward burden,something he had to keep above water while trying to stay afloat himself.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Get in, get the case, get out. Clean and simple. Now he was trapped in a flooding tomb with no clear way out, no way to contact Vivi, and Sabin’s life hanging in the balance.
The water continued to rise, inexorable, uncaring. Dom kicked toward the ceiling, searching for any pocket of air that might buy him time. The lights flickered once, twice, then went out completely, plunging the sublevel into darkness broken only by the dim red glow of emergency exit signs.
In the darkness, the rushing water sounded even louder. More ominous. Dom took a deep breath as the water reached the ceiling, leaving only small pockets of air trapped against the concrete. He held the case tightly with one arm and tread water with the other and his legs, conserving energy, thinking.
There had to be a way out. There was always a way out. He just had to find it before the water filled every last inch of space and the air ran out.
He’d promised Vivi he’d be there, whatever happened next. He’d be damned if he broke that promise now.
seventeen
Vivi feltthe building shift before she heard it—a subtle vibration through the soles of her shoes that made her stomach drop. Stavros felt it too. His perpetual smile vanished, his eyes went sharp as glass, and his hand moved to his belt where she now saw a concealed holster. The alarms hadn’t sounded yet, but they would. And when they did, Dom would be trapped in a flooding sublevel with no way out.
“What was that?” she asked, feigning ignorance even as her pulse quickened. The icon pressed against her hip through the fabric of her dress, suddenly heavier than before.
Stavros didn’t answer immediately. He tilted his head, listening, then touched his earpiece. His expression didn’t change, but his shoulders tightened.
An alarm blasted three short, piercing tones followed by a calm, automated voice that announced in multiple languages: “Security lockdown initiated. Structural integrity compromised. All sublevel personnel proceed to emergency exits.”
“It seems we have a situation,” Stavros said, his voice as measured as ever, but now carrying an undercurrent of steel. “We have a breach, and water is flooding into the sublevels.”
Oh, no. Dom. If the sublevels were locked down, he’d drown.
Stavros’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it, and his expression darkened further. “Vault 485,” he said, looking up at her with new intensity. “Someone has breached Vault 485.”
She weighed her options in a fraction of a second. Lie and lose Dom. Tell the truth and maybe lose everything. But Dom was her only chance of saving Sabin. Her only chance, period.
“That’s my partner,” she said, the words spilling out before she could second-guess herself. “That’s Dom. He’s down there. You need to release the lockdown.”
Stavros went utterly still. The elegant courtesy never left his face, but his eyes turned cold. “Partner,” he repeated. Not a question.
“We needed what’s in that vault,” she said, stepping closer to him, willing him to understand. “They have my brother. They’ll kill him if we don’t bring them what’s in 485.”
“They?”
“Praetorian.”
Anger flashed across his face, but was gone in an instant, locked behind a neutral mask.
“Please,” Vivi said, a word she rarely used and meant even less often. “Release the lockdown. He’ll drown.”
Stavros studied her, his gaze unreadable. Then he touched his earpiece again. “Status on the sublevel breach?”
Whatever the response was, it made his mouth tighten. He looked at her again. “Your brother,” he said. “Sabin.”
“Praetorian has him.” She swallowed hard, hating how her voice cracked. “They broke his fingers. And maybe they’ve done worse since then. They’ll kill him if we don’t bring them what’s in that vault.”
“And what exactly is in that vault, Ms. Cavalier?”
She winced at the cool use of her last name. He’d always called her Vivianna in the past, but there was no hint of that familiar warmth now.
When she didn’t respond right away, he scowled. “Do you even know?”
She hesitated. “Research belonging to Heinrich Strauss.”
“Heinrich Strauss has been dead for years,” he said. “But his fees are still paid on time, so his vault is supposed to remain undisturbed.”