Page 28 of Deadly Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #2)

Olivia stared at the pile of sandwiches Ronan had thrown together while Zara and the others hit the library, thick slabs of sourdough stuffed with turkey and avocado that would normally have her mouth watering.

But food seemed irrelevant as she watched three brilliant minds attack the code from James’s message.

Three identical copies of the colorful book were spread out on the dining room table. The familiar illustrations sent a fresh jolt of grief through Olivia’s heart.

“If we assume the page numbers correlate to the numbers in the message somehow …” Zara muttered, typing on her tablet while Kenji and Izzy bounced possibilities back and forth.

They spoke a language of algorithms and patterns that made Olivia’s head spin.

Even Axel, though quiet, was clearly following their logic, his sharp focus evident in the slight furrow between his brows.

That furrow. She shouldn’t find it so endearing, shouldn’t want to smooth it away with her fingertip.

While the others worked, she let her mind drift.

The sunlight streaming through the safe house windows felt surreal, too normal for a day spent chasing her dead brother’s breadcrumbs.

James would probably laugh at her right now, getting moony over a man while knee-deep in international intrigue.

He always teased her for being the practical one, the steady one, the one who made five and ten and fifteen-year plans and stuck to them.

But there was nothing steady about the way her heart kicked whenever Axel looked at her. This wasn’t just gratitude for his protection or attraction to those broad shoulders. This was something deeper, something that scared her with its intensity.

Guilt pricked at her—here she was, daydreaming while they worked to unravel the mystery of James’s death. But even that guilt couldn’t squash the warm flutter in her chest when Axel glanced her way, his expression softening for just a moment before returning to the task at hand.

She was falling for him. Hard and fast and completely outside her careful control. And the scariest part wasn’t the falling itself—it was how right it felt, even in the middle of all this chaos.

“Wait,” Izzy said suddenly, “what if we cross-reference the word count with?—”

Olivia pulled her focus back to the present, trying to follow their rapid-fire exchange.

“Got it!” Izzy’s triumphant voice cut through the tension. “It’s not the page numbers—it’s the word positions combined with?—”

“Exactly,” Kenji breathed, leaning over her shoulder. His usually playful expression hardened as he read. “Stay away from Driscoll.”

Zara’s tablet clattered to the table. “Well, that explains why James had that photo of Driscoll in the safety deposit box.”

Olivia’s stomach clenched. The image of that photo—her brother and Driscoll at some military function—flashed through her mind.

Izzy read the rest. “‘Connected to Operation Cerberus. Knowledge of Cerberus is dangerous. If he approaches you, run.’”

“Operation Cerberus.” Axel’s voice was dangerously quiet, his jaw clenched tight enough that she could see the muscle jumping.

“Think about it,” Zara said, her expression shifting. “We’ve been assuming Driscoll was just another player James was investigating, but what if Driscoll’s been orchestrating this whole thing? The anonymous tip about the threat to Olivia ...”

“Making sure word got out about her being in danger,” Kenji added, catching on. “Forcing her to seek protection?”

“Classic psyops,” Axel bit out, and she could hear the rage simmering underneath his controlled tone.

“Position yourself as both threat and protector. Control all the angles.” His hands curled into fists, then deliberately relaxed.

“It’s exactly the kind of game a CIA deep cover specialist would run. ”

The team’s faces had transformed, shifting from analytical focus to something harder, more dangerous. They weren’t just problem solvers anymore—they were soldiers who’d discovered an enemy in their midst.

And Axel ... she could see him struggling to maintain control, his breathing measured in that deliberate way she’d noticed after his flashback. Whatever Operation Cerberus was, he knew about it. And it had left scars on him too.

They’d all been played. Every step that had led her here—to Knight Tactical, to this team, to Axel—might have been carefully orchestrated by someone her brother had died trying to expose .

The safe house erupted into discussion, voices sharp and focused.

“We need to reassess every piece of intel—” Zara started.

“Already on it,” Kenji cut in. “Running traces on all communication channels.”

“Sweep for surveillance,” Axel ordered, voice clipped, every movement economical and precise.

“If Driscoll’s running this,” Izzy said, “we’re dealing with Agency-level resources.”

“And Agency-level manipulation,” Ronan added grimly. “We’ve been dancing to his tune this whole time.”

The change in them was startling—like watching housecats turn into lions. These weren’t just security contractors anymore; they were warriors who’d discovered they were on a battlefield they hadn’t even recognized.

Axel paced the length of the room, and Olivia noticed how carefully he maintained his distance from her now. No accidental brushes, no lingering looks. His control was a tangible thing, evident in every measured breath and deliberate movement.

She watched him confer with Zara, all business now, and felt that familiar ache of isolation creep back in. Everything she thought she knew had shifted—about James’s death, about their mission, about her place in all of this.

Everything felt uncertain.

Except ...

Except the way her heart jumped when Axel’s control slipped for just a second, his gaze meeting hers across the room. In that brief moment, she saw it—the same heat, the same connection, now warring with his need to protect her.

The mission might be compromised. Their safety might be an illusion. But what she felt for him? That was the one thing she couldn’t doubt.

Too bad she wasn’t sure if he would say the same.