Page 119 of Critical Alliance (Rocky Mountain Courage 3)

“He’s diabetic and could have collapsed due to his blood sugar,” Nora said. “I’m staying with Carson. I’ll wait here for the medics. Or maybe we can all carry him up to meet them.”

Mackenzie hadn’t known that Carson was diabetic. Still, given the circumstances, she believed someone had caused him harm. And they could still be down here. She rose and rubbed her arms, looking around the room filled with servers and beyond to the next set of glass walls—the test drones.

Tilden stood and held his gun at the ready, angling his head left and right as if he sensed they weren’t alone.

“Hello?” she said.

Tilden and Nora glanced at her. She moved around the rack of servers. “Come out and face me. I’m tired of this game.”

“Miss Calhoun, what are you doing?” Tilden drew close, backing her up.

She glanced at Tilden and gestured to the other room.

He subtly nodded and crept forward, but she held him back. “I’ll go. He’s after me.”

He shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere. You and Nora need to go back up and wait for the police. While I hate leaving him here, maybe I should escort you up.”

“You heard Nora. She’s not leaving Carson behind.” She pushed past Tilden, willing him to understand, though she wasn’t sure if she was making the right decision. She knew for certain that Tilden was in danger too, and she couldn’t stand to be the reason he got hurt. “I’ll protect you.”

What was she saying? But she couldn’t help herself.

Whoever had been in this room had hurt Carson but hadn’t been caught on camera. Maybe Mackenzie was wrong on all counts, and she was too arrogant to see. Too bent on making up for the past. All she knew was that she had to see the face of the man behind everything that happened years ago, everything that had started up again even before Julian tried to warn her.

“Nebulous! Don’t be such a coward. Show yourself!”

She had tried to forgive herself. And she might have almost gotten there, pushing her mistakes far behind her, if only those same mistakes hadn’t snuck back up on her to harm her father’s company and kill her brother. Put others in harm’s way.

Why, Lord, why?

Why had those mistakes found her again, come after her and impacted everyone, everything in her life? At least those she knew in Michigan, those she worked with, were safe and far removed.

Mackenzie nodded to Tilden. “Use your hand to get us in.”

“I’m not authorized.”

Nora stepped forward, but before she could press her hand against the biometric device, the doors whooshed open.

The three of them stood there, as if afraid to step into the room. Why had the doors suddenly opened? It remained dark, except for the dim light emanating from the running electronics and spilling from the server room.

Prepared to shoot, Tilden stepped into the dark room a few steps and was just turning back to them when he was Tasered—barbs attached to wires hooked into his back. Someone stood in the shadows against the wall. Nora screamed and jumped closer to Mackenzie.

“Stop it!” Mackenzie shouted as she rushed forward to Tilden’s aide.

Tilden fell to the floor, temporarily paralyzed, stiff and gritting his teeth in pain.

She dropped to her knees next to Tilden. “Please, stop!”

She glanced up but still couldn’t see the attacker’s face—he remained in the dark as he held the Taser. She dug down deep, past the fear of facing off with someone who had been bent on revenge for much too long, storing it up inside until he had strategized on how to destroy her and her family. “Just ... show yourself.”

Their attacker emerged from the shadows, quickly moving in and relieving Tilden of his gun.

Mackenzie’s heart stopped at the sight of someone she recognized.