They burst into the cool night air, and Reed immediately spotted Walker and James near the tree line, both of them bloodied but upright. Terrel had brought the SUV around, the engine running, the back door already open.
“Go,” Reed urged, pushing Elena toward the vehicle.
She ran, and Reed ran with her, covering their retreat with his weapon drawn. Behind them, someone shouted—a guard had spotted them—and Reed heard the crack of gunfire.
He spun, returning fire, and saw the guard drop. Another appeared behind him, and Reed fired again, the shot catching the man in the shoulder and spinning him around.
“Reed!” Elena screamed.
He turned and ran, sprinting the final distance to the SUV and diving through the open door just as Terrel hit the gas. Elena grabbed his arm and pulled him fully inside, and then they were moving, the estate falling away behind them as they raced down the service road toward freedom.
Reed lay on the floor of the SUV, breathing hard, his heart pounding against his ribs. Elena was beside him, her hand still gripping his arm like she was afraid he might disappear.
“Everyone okay?” Walker asked from the front seat, his voice rough.
“James?” Reed pushed himself up, looking for his youngest brother.
James was slumped against the opposite door, his hand pressed to his shoulder, blood seeping between his fingers. But he was grinning—that infuriating, irrepressible grin that had driven Reed crazy since they were kids.
“Just a scratch,” James said. “You should see the other guys.”
“How many?” Reed asked quietly.
Walker’s expression was grim. “Enough.”
Reed nodded, understanding what his brother wasn’t saying. Lives had been taken tonight—not innocent lives, but lives nonetheless. It was the cost of the mission, the price they’d paid to get Elena out alive.
He looked at Elena, who was staring at James with horror and guilt written across her prosthetic-altered features.
“This is my fault,” she whispered. “James, I’m so sorry?—”
“Hey.” James’s voice was surprisingly gentle. “I knew what I was signing up for. We all did. And for the record? Totally worth it.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears, but before she could respond, Reed pulled her against his chest and held her there. Her body melted into his as the adrenaline finally began to fade.
“You’re safe,” he murmured against her hair. “We’re all safe. That’s what matters.”
“The virus is in their system,” Elena said, her voice muffled against his shirt. “WATCHDOG will start corrupting within hours. Webb won’t be able to sell functional access codes—the whole system will be compromised.”
“Then the mission was a success.”
“But Webb got away. And now he knows I’m alive.”
“We’ll deal with Webb,” Reed said firmly. “But not tonight. Tonight, we regroup. We rest. We figure out our next move.”
Elena nodded against his chest, and Reed felt some of the tension leave her body. She was exhausted—they all were—running on fumes and adrenaline and the stubborn refusal to give up.
The SUV raced through the Canadian night, carrying them away from the chaos of the Blackwood Estate. Sirens wailed in the distance, but they were already ghosts, shadows that had struck and vanished before anyone could stop them.
Reed held Elena close and watched the darkness flash past the windows, thinking about the men he’d killed tonight, the brother who’d been wounded, the woman who fit so perfectly in his arms.
The battle for WATCHDOG wasn’t over. Webb was still out there, still dangerous, still hunting them.
But for now, in this moment, they were alive and together. And that was enough.
Reed pressed a kiss to the top of Elena’s head, feeling her relax further into his embrace.
“Rest,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
