Keira bit her bottom lip. “I don’t know. She won’t trust me. I’m sure they’ve told her that I’ve abandoned the family. The program. That I’m a traitor.”
“Then we make her see the truth. You tell her what you overheard in the senator’s apartment.”
“The brainwashing is so deep, I don’t think she’ll listen.” Another alert pinged on her computer.
“Another facial recognition software alert?”
She frowned down at her screen, touched a few keys and brought up a messaging app. Her eyes widened. “Holy shit.”
“What?” Rogue leaned closer to see what she was reading.
“It’s Jade. She’s reaching out to me.” Keira turned the laptop toward Rogue.
He read the message.
J: KD, they’re making me do things. I can’t. I don’t want to k anyone else. I need your help.
“The fact that you’ve defected might have opened the door.” Rogue met Keira’s worried gaze. “I think she’s willing to talk.”
Chapter 5
Keira paced for the next hour, sleep the furthest from her mind.
“Jade contacted me,” she murmured. “What does it mean?”
“That she wants out.”
“Or Viktor is using her as bait to get me to come out of hiding. It could be a trap.” She made another pass across the living room floor. “I can’t let them get to me. We don’t have enough on the players in this deadly game.”
“And yet, you can’t ignore a cry for help.” Rogue stepped in front of her and gripped her arms. “If she truly wants out, we have to make contact.”
Keira nodded. “And get her to somewhere safe.”
“As soon as we determine that it is, in fact, Jade contacting you and not Viktor,” Rogue said. “Did you two train together?”
Keira nodded. “And we lived in the same barracks on the compound.”
“Is there something she might know about you that Viktor wouldn’t?”
“Maybe.” Keira slid the laptop onto her lap and keyed a response to Jade’s message.
KD: Jade, if this is truly you, tell me something only you and I would know.
Keira sent the message and sat staring at the screen for long moments after. “She might not have immediate access to her messages. It could be a while before she responds.”
Rogue glanced at his watch. “We won’t hear from Royce until morning. It’s getting late. We should try to get some sleep.”
Keria nodded. “You can have the bedroom, if you like. I’ll sleep out here on the sofa.”
“Not happening,” Rogue said. “It’s your place. Go sleep in your bed. I’ll be fine out here.”
“You’re too tall to be comfortable on this couch.”
“I’ll manage,” he insisted. “We need to be rested for tomorrow. We might be on the move again.”
She nodded. “Okay, then. I’ll leave my door open and my gun loaded.”
Rogue’s grin made Keira’s pulse quicken.
