Page 25 of Deadly Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #2)

“Someone’s upgrading our security,” Kenji said slowly, as if he didn’t believe the words. “While they’re inside our system.”

Olivia watched tension ripple through the man’s shoulders as he leaned closer to his screens. As a therapist, she’d learned to read micro-expressions, the subtle tells that revealed what people tried to hide. Right now, Kenji’s face showed pure bewilderment.

“That’s not possible,” Axel countered, but he didn’t sound convinced.

“Look.” Kenji’s screens filled with scrolling code that meant nothing to her, but the team’s reactions spoke volumes.

“They’re closing backdoors we didn’t even know existed.

Patching vulnerabilities. Adding layers of encryption specifically around .

..” He glanced at her. “Around your files, Dr. Kane.”

She moved closer, drawn by the intensity of their focus. Axel shifted subtly, positioning himself at her shoulder. She’d noticed he did that—always keeping himself between her and potential threats, even digital ones. The protectiveness should have felt stifling. Instead, it was oddly comforting.

“Two signatures,” Zara announced suddenly. “I’m seeing two distinct patterns. The first one’s aggressive—they’re hunting, gathering intel. But the second ...” She shook her head. “They’re following behind, strengthening everything the first one touches.”

“Government,” Griffin said quietly. “Deep operatives. Has to be. This level of sophistication ...”

“But which government?” Izzy asked the question Olivia was thinking. “And whose side are they on?”

Olivia studied the faces around her—these people who’d become her protectors. They all carried the same expression she’d seen countless times in her practice: the looks of people whose worldview was being fundamentally challenged.

“The first entity,” she said carefully, “they’re studying your security to break it. But the second one ... they’re using their access to improve it? Like they’re trying to protect us without revealing themselves.”

Axel turned to her, and something in his steel-blue eyes made her breath catch. “Not us,” he said softly. “You.”

The weight of that settled over her like a physical thing. More players in a game she still didn’t understand. More people who either wanted her dead or needed her alive, and she didn’t know which possibility frightened her more. “So you think there are two different breaches?”

Zara shook her head, never taking her eyes from her screens. “Doubtful. How would our rescuer manage to be online at the exact moment the baddies initiated a breach? My guess is we’re looking at a blue-hat event.”

Before Olivia could ask for a translation, Axel filled in the pieces. “Blue hat hackers work for the good guys. They’re the crews organizations hire to test system security, and then repair it.”

“Only Knight Tactical didn’t hire anybody.” Ronan held up his phone. “I just checked with Jack Reese. No one authorized a test.”

Her hand found James’s compass in her pocket, its familiar edges grounding her. “Well,” she said, summoning a calm she didn’t feel, “at least we know my brother wasn’t paranoid. He was right—something bigger is going on here.”

The question was: How many more ghosts from her brother’s past were about to become very real threats in her present?

“And it all comes down to your brother’s warning. The photo,” Ronan said, breaking the tense silence. “This level of surveillance, the timing ... this Driscoll character is connected to this somehow.”

Olivia watched the name hit Axel like a physical blow, though he masked it quickly. She filed away that reaction for later analysis—professional habits died hard.

“Let me trace these security upgrades,” Zara suggested, already typing. “Maybe we can ID our guardian angel through their coding style.”

“Guardian angel or wolf in sheep’s clothing?” Griffin moved to the windows, checking sightlines with renewed intensity. “We need to update all firewalls. Now. Assume everything we’ve been doing is compromised.”

Kenji had pulled up what looked like organizational charts. “CIA, NSA, DIA ... Driscoll probably drifted through all of them. The hacker could be any of them. Or could be a private hire of Driscoll’s.”

Olivia forced herself to think clinically. “So we have one group hunting me, another apparently protecting me, and we can’t trust either of them.” She smiled wryly. “Sounds like half my couples’ therapy sessions. ”

Nobody laughed. Instead, she caught them exchanging loaded glances, having one of those silent conversations that close-knit teams developed.

“We’re being squeezed,” Axel said finally.

“Even if this latest infiltrator was a good guy, they clearly expect an attack from the other side. We’re caught between players who know our moves before we make them.

” He was pacing again, energy coiled tight.

“We can’t trust traditional channels, can’t risk reaching out to usual contacts . ..”

Something dark flickered across his face. She wanted to reach out, offer professional comfort, but this wasn’t a therapy session. This was survival.

“James knew this would happen,” she said quietly, drawing their attention.

“Everything in that safety deposit box—the codes, the photo—he left them knowing someone would come after them. After me.” She met each of their eyes in turn.

“He trusted me to figure it out. But he also made sure I’d have help. ”

Axel stopped pacing, studying her with an intensity that made her skin tingle. “You think he knew about the second player? The one protecting you?”

“I think my brother never did anything without multiple contingency plans.” She pulled out the compass, its weight familiar in her palm. “And I think it’s time we stopped reacting and started acting. Whatever game this is, I’m done being a piece on the board.”

The team straightened, energy shifting from defensive to offensive. Even Olivia felt it—the transition from hunted to hunter.

“Whoever they are, they just left the scene,” Kenji said.

Zara shook her head. “So weird. They broke in, snooped around and then slipped back out, repairing the security flaws on their way out.”

“Alright,” Axel said, authority settling over him like armor. “Let’s show these rubes why they shouldn’t have made this personal.”

Olivia caught his gaze again, saw her own determination reflected there. Yes, she was scared. But she was also her brother’s sister. And it was time to prove it.