Page 213 of Damsel in Disguise

She walks toward one of the shelves, studying rows of carefully catalogued files.

“You could’ve solved half the department’s funding problems if Oxford knew this existed.”

Seeing me not engaging with her, her cheerfulness drops.

She lowers her eyes to the shelves again. “I was joking.”

I know she was.

I remove my jacket and place it over the back of a chair before moving toward one of the secured cabinets built into the farthest wall.

My hands perform familiar tasks without instruction. Access codes. Security overrides. Internal communications.

Time. Everything depends on time.

If Asher understood what I was trying to accomplish, he’d move faster.

If Adrian trusted his instincts, he’d already be looking for Ariella.

If neither of them does… that’s when I feel her phone vibrate in my pocket.

I look over my shoulder.

Ariella has wandered deeper into the laboratory, her attention captured by shelves of prototypes and journals she was never meant to see.

For the first time since we entered the Dominion, she appears almost like herself again.

I take it out before a second vibration—Adrian.

Relief is an unusual emotion. I’ve spent most of my life treating it as a weakness. Yet the simple fact that he’s worried for her allows a calculation I almost abandoned to become possible again.

I silence the call and return the phone to my pocket.

Behind me, Ariella continues exploring.

The laboratory fascinates her in the same way every difficult problem ever has.

Curiosity has always been one of her most admirable qualities. It also happens to be the main reason she’s standing here now.

Most people see a locked door and walk away. However, Ariella Keinston has always insisted on discovering what waits behind it.

I suspect that’s why I noticed her in the first place.

I also suspect it may be the reason neither of us survives this.

She pauses before a display case. “There are symbols on these files.”

I continue working. “Internal classifications.”

“They all have the same emblem.”

I close my eyes. Of course they do. The Dominion had marked everything from the inside. I have simply stopped seeing it by now.

She moves farther into the room.

A few moments later, I kneel beside a lower storage compartment, reaching for another encrypted drive. I need to make this look as real as possible to the Crown without actually preparing Ariella for the conversation.

I need to borrow more time.