We’re going to have to touch down.”
I falter in my next step. It isn’t every day that words like that make my stomach
drop, but as my mind flashes to the girl sleeping in the bedroom, that’s exactly what
happens.
I don’t bother asking him anything else. If he’s alerting me of this, it means the
engine restart has failed. Adrenaline pumps through me. There’s no rush accompanying
it. For the first time in years, the beginnings of panic blossom.
There’s no caring about my team. I don’t even care about myself. I should, but one
thought is repeating itself over and over as I near the cockpit: I can’t let anything happen to her.
Isaac, one of the pilots, turns to me as soon as I’m at the cockpit door. “Hong Kong
International can accommodate an emergency landing. We’re starting descent.”
“Any idea what caused the failure?” I ask him.
John, the other pilot, gives me his attention long enough to tell me, “No. We won’t
know until we land. Misty already started a scan to see if the software’s corrupted
at all.”
Gage is behind me when I turn around. Motioning with my head for him to follow me,
I storm back out of the cockpit and toward our seats. The rest of our team is already
buckling up for the descent. “I’m going to go wake her. But you need to be informed:
someone’s after her.”
“Her?” Gage’s eyes flicker toward the closed bedroom door. “Why? Because she’s Lei
Heaton’s daughter? Or for her parts?”
“Both. And because she’s not Magdalena and I think whoever is after her knows that.”
His eyes shoot wide. “Excuse me?”
“There’s no time to explain it all right now. I’m sending all the info I have on the
situation to your drive.” I’d already downloaded it onto my own, so a single mental
command initiates the transfer. Gage blinks as the download starts. “Go through all
of it while we land.”
The nod he gives me is tense. Serious. The soldier in him has taken over.
Good.
“We’re not letting anyone take her.” With that, I turn to head to Sapphire.
“There’s no way I’m letting anything happen to her.” Gage’s tone is low and dangerous.
A vow he intends to keep.
And it’s a good thing. It is.
Doesn’t stop my fist from itching to connect with his fucking mouth.
I crack my neck and move onward. There’s no point in addressing the situation, and definitely no time to do so right now.
En route to the Peninsula Hotel.
Tsing Sha Highway, Hong Kong, China.
THE INSIDE OF THE CAR IS SILENT. Only the noises from outside penetrate the tense quiet around us.
As for the plane? It’d been sabotaged . Misty found the virus deep within the plane’s software. I’m also one-hundred percent
sure that a check of the engine will show structural damage as well.
So is Gage. Now that he’s up-to-speed on everything, he’s come to the conclusion that
someone leaked the info on the Sapphire AI. If that’s true, there’s no telling how
many factions are now after Sapphire.
Lei Heaton spoke to Logan back at headquarters. He’s demanding that we let him send
his own private jet to pick us up.
Impatient fool. He’s well-known; a select group of people know about Adelphi. If they
were able to track us down and mess with our plane, there’s no way they wouldn’t recognize
anything even remotely linked to him.
Another stealthier, smaller plane of ours will be here in the morning to pick us up.
Along with more agents. We had to pull Horus and his team off a mission for this.
With him, Gage, and I together, we should be able to handle the situation.
We booked rooms under aliases at the Peninsula Hotel for the night. That’s where we’re
heading.
Clark is driving again. The cars we rented are much bigger this time. A lot flashier,
too, which worries me. People don’t look twice at a regular car. Now, a Rolls-Royce
Phantom? Eye-catching. Damn it, it’s all we could get on such
I falter in my next step. It isn’t every day that words like that make my stomach
drop, but as my mind flashes to the girl sleeping in the bedroom, that’s exactly what
happens.
I don’t bother asking him anything else. If he’s alerting me of this, it means the
engine restart has failed. Adrenaline pumps through me. There’s no rush accompanying
it. For the first time in years, the beginnings of panic blossom.
There’s no caring about my team. I don’t even care about myself. I should, but one
thought is repeating itself over and over as I near the cockpit: I can’t let anything happen to her.
Isaac, one of the pilots, turns to me as soon as I’m at the cockpit door. “Hong Kong
International can accommodate an emergency landing. We’re starting descent.”
“Any idea what caused the failure?” I ask him.
John, the other pilot, gives me his attention long enough to tell me, “No. We won’t
know until we land. Misty already started a scan to see if the software’s corrupted
at all.”
Gage is behind me when I turn around. Motioning with my head for him to follow me,
I storm back out of the cockpit and toward our seats. The rest of our team is already
buckling up for the descent. “I’m going to go wake her. But you need to be informed:
someone’s after her.”
“Her?” Gage’s eyes flicker toward the closed bedroom door. “Why? Because she’s Lei
Heaton’s daughter? Or for her parts?”
“Both. And because she’s not Magdalena and I think whoever is after her knows that.”
His eyes shoot wide. “Excuse me?”
“There’s no time to explain it all right now. I’m sending all the info I have on the
situation to your drive.” I’d already downloaded it onto my own, so a single mental
command initiates the transfer. Gage blinks as the download starts. “Go through all
of it while we land.”
The nod he gives me is tense. Serious. The soldier in him has taken over.
Good.
“We’re not letting anyone take her.” With that, I turn to head to Sapphire.
“There’s no way I’m letting anything happen to her.” Gage’s tone is low and dangerous.
A vow he intends to keep.
And it’s a good thing. It is.
Doesn’t stop my fist from itching to connect with his fucking mouth.
I crack my neck and move onward. There’s no point in addressing the situation, and definitely no time to do so right now.
En route to the Peninsula Hotel.
Tsing Sha Highway, Hong Kong, China.
THE INSIDE OF THE CAR IS SILENT. Only the noises from outside penetrate the tense quiet around us.
As for the plane? It’d been sabotaged . Misty found the virus deep within the plane’s software. I’m also one-hundred percent
sure that a check of the engine will show structural damage as well.
So is Gage. Now that he’s up-to-speed on everything, he’s come to the conclusion that
someone leaked the info on the Sapphire AI. If that’s true, there’s no telling how
many factions are now after Sapphire.
Lei Heaton spoke to Logan back at headquarters. He’s demanding that we let him send
his own private jet to pick us up.
Impatient fool. He’s well-known; a select group of people know about Adelphi. If they
were able to track us down and mess with our plane, there’s no way they wouldn’t recognize
anything even remotely linked to him.
Another stealthier, smaller plane of ours will be here in the morning to pick us up.
Along with more agents. We had to pull Horus and his team off a mission for this.
With him, Gage, and I together, we should be able to handle the situation.
We booked rooms under aliases at the Peninsula Hotel for the night. That’s where we’re
heading.
Clark is driving again. The cars we rented are much bigger this time. A lot flashier,
too, which worries me. People don’t look twice at a regular car. Now, a Rolls-Royce
Phantom? Eye-catching. Damn it, it’s all we could get on such
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