Page 81 of Rogue Hope
“Because what he wants can’t be accessed remotely,” Finn replied, realization dawning. “Reynolds is coming for us. He needs us,” he said finally, the words tasting bitter on his tongue. “Both of us. Alive.”
A distant sound reached their ears—the unmistakable soft thud of a suppressed weapon.
“He’s closing in,” Zara stated.
A cold realization settled in his gut. Paris. The unfinished business. The truth he’d been avoiding since discovering Reynolds’ identity.
Zara’s eyes narrowed, her intelligence officer instincts locking onto his discomfort like a targeting system. “Why both of us?”
Finn’s mind raced through the possibilities, each more disturbing than the last. The pieces were there, but the complete picture remained frustratingly blurred. “It has to connect to Sentinel Network. Nothing else would justify this level of risk.”
“You’re holding something back.” It wasn’t a question. Zara’s gaze bored into him, searching for the truth beneath his words.
The weight of their shared history pressed down on him—his betrayal in Paris, her justified distrust, the fragile alliance they’d forged in the aftermath of Reynolds’ frame-up. He couldn’t afford to shatter that tenuous connection, not when their lives depended on it.
“I have theories,” he admitted. “Nothing concrete enough to act on.”
Zara held his gaze a moment longer, clearly sensing the deeper currents he wasn’t voicing. “We’ll sort it out later,” she said finally, the brief softening in her expression telling him she understood more than he’d said. “Right now, we need a plan.”
“Communications are still jammed,” Kenji announced, frustration evident in his voice. “I’ve tried every override protocol in the system. Nothing’s getting through.”
“Vanguard technology,” Finn supplied. “Military-grade signal suppression. They’ve effectively cut us off.”
“Then we adapt,” Zara said, the decision crystallizing in her expression. “Kenji, stay here. Keep working on communications—if you can reach Ronan and the team, warn them it’s a trap.”
The medic nodded, determination settling over his features. “I won’t stop trying.”
Zara turned to Finn, her stance squaring despite the pain he knew each movement caused her. “You and I are going after Reynolds.”
“Direct confrontation?” Finn raised an eyebrow, concern warring with admiration.
“He wants us both,” she replied, her voice hardening. “Let’s give him what he wants—on our terms.”
The corner of Finn’s mouth lifted in grim appreciation. This was the Zara he’d always admired—brilliant, adaptable, fearless in the face of impossible odds.
“Lead the way,” he said simply.
As they prepared to leave the secure room, Finn checked his weapon one final time. The weight of it in his hand was both comforting and inadequate against what they faced. Reynolds—Cipher—had orchestrated this entire scenario perfectly. Every move anticipated, every reaction calculated.
Except, perhaps, for this. The two people he’d manipulated most thoroughly trying to break them apart, teaming up and fighting together.
43
Zara moved alongside Finn,her boots making no sound on the polished concrete floor. Every shadow seemed deeper, every corner a potential ambush point. The building that had become her home—her refuge—was now hostile territory.
Lord, protect my team. Give us strength and wisdom, she prayed silently, her grandmother’s silver cross a reassuring weight against her sternum. Faith had sustained her through Finn’s betrayal in Paris, through her diagnosis, through everything.
It would sustain her now.
She crouched behind a storage cabinet, watching three Vanguard operatives sweep the corridor ahead. The adrenaline coursing through her system kept the worst of the pain at bay, but she knew she’d pay for it later—if there was a later.
Through the mesh grate above them, Zara glimpsed another team of operatives moving through the upper level. Six total that they’d spotted so far, probably more they hadn’t.
“They’ve isolated the building,” Finn whispered, his breath warm against her ear. “Cut communications.”
They edged forward, utilizing Zara’s knowledge of the building’s blind spots to avoid detection. Her heart ached forher team—scattered, hunted, possibly captured. Ronan and the others had been drawn away by Reynolds’ false intel, leaving the facility vulnerable. The perfect trap.
As they approached the main security hub, Finn gripped her arm. “Three more, coming in from the east corridor,” he breathed. “And four securing the north entrance.”
