Page 73 of Broken Trust
Still holding Mason’s stare, Elin’s eyes widened. He saw her chest heave with a deep intake of air.
If anything happened to her, he’d never forgive himself.
The pilot’s voice cut through the headset. “Five minutes out.”
Mason nodded, his stare never leaving Elin.
He hoped to hell they were ready. More than that, he hoped she knew what she’d become to him.
His entire world.
The helicopter touched down hard, the landing gear thudding against the pad hard enough to jostle them in their seats.
He looked at Elin. She looked back.
Game on, angel.
They ducked out of the chopper. Wind whipped in the night and dust stung Mason’s face as he jumped down and reached for Elin’s hand to steady her. She took it long enough to clear the door before pulling free.
While the warmth of her fingers lingered on his fingers, he was glad for the professional distance between them. His focus tightened.
“Let’s move,” Con barked over the comms. Their small unit fell into formation with Con in the lead. Mason and Elin took the center, moving quickly to the maintenance tunnels that would get them inside unseen.
Only two steps into the narrow passage, the noise of the chopper faded, replaced by the echo of boots as two operatives from Blackout Alpha stepped from the shadows.
He felt more than heard Elin’s soft intake of air. He extended a hand toward her, but she didn’t take it.
The guys’ faces broke into grins as they greeted each other. Mason couldn’t hold back his own smile as he held out his knuckles to bump theirs. “Sparrow. Apollo. Damn good to see you.”
Their gazes shifted to Elin, and they nodded in greeting but said nothing, just turned and led them deeper into the tunnel.
Mason stuck close to Elin, though she walked a step or two behind at all times. The urge to glance at her blazed through him, but he managed to focus on what was ahead.
They reached the fork in the tunnel that Sparrow told them about. Both men stopped and turned to Mason.
“You know the way?” Sparrow asked.
He tapped a finger to his temple to indicate he had the map locked in.
Con took it from there. “You get in. You copy his system. You get out. You go to the rendezvous point.”
He nodded.
“Ten minutes in the office. No more. If we don’t hear from you or you haven’t returned by then, we’re coming in.”
“Copy.”
Mason directed a look at Elin. She responded with a short nod. Her face was pale but her eyes clear, locked on him like she was drawing strength from him. Good. He would be her goddamn rock. He’d guarantee nothing happened to her.
They split from the rest of the team and took the fork in the tunnel. The farther they went, the colder the air became, laced with the tang of something electrical. Every step felt amplified.
He motioned for her to stay close. “Silent from here.”
She nodded that she understood and touched her coat pocket where she carried the small handheld device that would copy Kent’s entire system, just like she and Dante planned.
The corridor ended at a heavy maintenance door. Mason eased it open and slipped inside first, weapon up. Elin followed, her footsteps muffled.
They crept the few steps to Kent’s office and Mason flashed an ID to gain access.
