We’re not running blind anymore.
We’ve seen how far Hayes is willing to go.
And that changes things.
Jase turns back to me.
“We know they will kill for what we have. They’ll kill us because we know what is on the flash drive. We have to figure out who we can trust,” he says.
43
Jase
The storm hits just after midnight.
Rain slams against the safehouse windows like it’s trying to break in. Wind howls through the trees, bending them hard enough to snap. The kind of night that makes everything feel exposed… even when you’re hidden.
Or maybe that’s just us.
I brace my hand against the table, the edge digging into my palm as I force myself to stay upright. My ribs protest. My shoulder burns. Fever still lingers under my skin like a slow fire.
Don’t care.
Not tonight.
The flash drive sits between us.
Small.
Black.
Worth more than everything I’ve ever fought for combined.
Mila stands across from me, arms crossed, eyes locked on it like she can already see the fallout. I look at her shirt where the blood stain is from the bullet grazing her.
“We can’t hand it to command,” I say.
Her gaze lifts. Steady. Certain.
“I know.”
That should make this easier.
It doesn’t.
“Then who?” I push. “Because sitting on it isn’t an option. Every second we wait, they’re covering tracks, moving money, disappearing people—”
“I said I know, Jase.”
Her voice cuts clean through mine. Not loud. Not angry.
Sharp.
Controlled.
And that’s worse.
I exhale hard, dragging a hand down my face. “Then give me something.”
