Page 31 of Raven's Claw
His words played in her head as she combed through every book, every drawer, every possible spot he could have left a warning.She was in the process of slowly inching up the mattress when Kash appeared at the doorway.
“Jordan.You need to see this.”
Her stomach fell.The pinched lips, the narrowed eyes.He didn’t like whatever he’d found.
She drew herself up then walked over to him, following him into the bathroom.He went over to a small mirror on the edge of the counter, then flipped it, stepping back so she could read the word on the frame.
Ember.
Nothing earth shattering or covert.Just her code name printed in bright red.Not lipstick unless Rook had brought some.Blood maybe.Likely hers, from one of the bags the Scythe doctors had bagged for emergencies.
She let the truth sink in, then grabbed Kash’s arm.“I’m burned.”
She darted into the bedroom, prying up a board in the closet, then removing a small metallic box.She put her thumb on the print reader, tapped in her code then waited for the voice prompt.
“Access authority Archer five seven two six.”
It popped open, and she palmed the decryption drive as Kash stood inside the doorway.
“What’s Ember?”
“It’s not a what, it’s a who.”
“And?”He scoffed when she didn’t answer.“You?Your code name’s Ember?”
“We can talk about this later?”
“What’s on the drive?”
She froze, then held it up.“A decryption algorithm that opens the kind of intel people kill for.”
“Is that why they’re after you?”
“Mostly.And it’s definitely the reason I chanced coming back here.”She held it between her thumb and forefinger, then offered it to him.“You should hold onto it.Just in case.”
He stared at her hand, then slowly reached up and grabbed the drive.He didn’t say anything, but he got the message.She was entrusting him with the one item she needed to have any chance at a life.“I’ll call my team.Get them to meet?—”
“Not here.For all we know, Rook’s got a damn parabolic mic outside.Or a predator drone overhead.Maybe a satellite feed zeroed in on this cabin.We take the bike, get as far away as possible, and if we’re still breathing, we’ll go from there.”
“Jordan…”
He jerked his head around, shoved her against the far wall then grabbed the door — slammed it against the asshole trying to creep through.The guy bounced off the frame, giving Kash another chance to coldcock him with the door before he hit the ground.A few kicks and a hard cross, and he was down.
That had Jordan racing out of the bedroom — heading for the main door.Two men dressed in black tactical gear busted through while she was a few feet back, AR-15s notched in their shoulders.She shifted her next stride, kicked off the wall then caught the guy on the right with a massive left hook, the force from the leap spinning him into the wall.A twist and a jump, and she was on the other guy’s shoulders, just like she’d done with Kash.
Two hard claps to his ears and a tilt, and they hit the ground, all her weight crashing the back of his head into the floor.An elbow and a strike with the butt of his rifle, and he stilled.
Kash had the other guy in some kind of choke hold, waiting until he went limp before grabbing her by the hand and pulling her to her feet.He picked up one of their rifles, offering it to her, but she shook her head.
“We can’t risk it.He’ll have trackers on everything.”
“Seriously?”He cleared the door, nodding toward the brush.“You lead.”
She took off, sprinting across the yard then onto the narrow trail winding through the trees.Shouts rose from the forest, bullets cutting through the walls of the cabin behind them.She veered right at the next junction, bounding over a few downed logs as the dirt bike appeared in the next clearing.
Kash swept the area, boots pounding up that same trail.Twigs snapped somewhere off to their right, branches and brush shaking against the weight of something.She opened one of the panels on the rear cowling — retrieved twin Berettas and a few mags.
He caught the key she tossed, straddled the bike, then kicked it on before looking back at her.“Are you gonna be able to hold on?”
