Page 29 of Deadly Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #2)
Axel watched Zara command multiple keyboards, screens flickering with data streams while Izzy cross-referenced on her tablet. The tension in the command center was palpable, made worse by Olivia’s presence at his elbow. He could feel her nervous energy, see her fighting to stay still.
“Wait,” Zara said suddenly. “Look at this pattern.”
She pulled up a timeline of incidents—the flight rerouting, the dead car battery, the power outage. Each event expanded into cascading data points.
“Every intervention required system manipulation,” Zara explained. “Intrusion into the FAA database, vehicle computer interface, power grid access. But here’s the thing—they’re not just random hacks. These are sophisticated infiltrations using contractor-level encryption.”
Axel bit back a sour taste. “Something a man with Driscoll’s cred would have access to.”
“Correctomundo.” Izzy slid her tablet into the center. “And look at this. Each digital intrusion needed proximity. The signal signatures show our guardian angel had to be within a specific range to execute these manipulations. ”
“So either someone’s protecting me,” Olivia said, “or someone’s making it look that way while keeping tabs on my every move.”
“Or both.” Axel’s jaw tightened. The thought had been eating at him—what if these “rescues” were just Driscoll’s way of maintaining control, keeping Olivia exactly where he wanted her until she found or decoded what he was really looking for?
“Both scenarios need the same things,” Zara pointed out. “Eyes on Olivia, system access, and physical proximity to execute.”
“Which means we can predict where they have to be,” Axel said, moving to the tactical board, grateful for the excuse to turn away from Olivia’s determined face.
“We can do better than that,” Olivia interrupted. “We can make it impossible to resist interfering.” Her voice hardened. “I’m tired of being watched. Let’s force their hand.”
“Olivia—” Axel started.
“Don’t,” Olivia cut him off. “I’m done being a pawn. It’s clear now this has something to do with my brother and his death. If we’re doing this, I’m all in.”
The marker nearly snapped in Axel’s grip.
Every protective instinct he’d developed in spec ops screamed at him to shut this down.
To keep her safe and contained and away from danger.
But beneath that professional response lurked something far more dangerous—the way his chest constricted at the thought of her in harm’s way, how his hands itched to pull her close and never let go.
He forced himself to think tactically, not ... whatever this other thing was. She wasn’t his to protect, wasn’t his to ... anything. She was a client. An asset. Nothing more.
“Wait.” Olivia’s hand flew to her mouth. “I completely forgot. I’m supposed to give a talk tomorrow at the community center. Stress management for first responders. ”
Axel’s head snapped up. “Cancel it.” The words came out harsher than he intended, betraying more than he meant to reveal.
“Actually ...” Zara looked up from her keyboard. “This could work better than anything we could manufacture. It’s already scheduled. Already public. Nothing suspicious about it.”
“Nope.” Axel’s voice was steel. “Too exposed. Too many variables.”
“Think about it,” Kenji said slowly. “The community center’s got basic security we can supplement. Limited access points. And it’s exactly the kind of situation our ghost has been monitoring—Olivia in public, potentially vulnerable.”
Olivia straightened. “I should text Linda. She’s coordinating the session. Just to ‘confirm’ the details.” She made air quotes. “If someone’s monitoring my communications ...”
“They’ll see it,” Ronan finished. “And they’ll have to decide whether to let you appear in public or intervene.”
“Either way, we get intel,” Izzy added. “And it’s more natural than trying to set up some elaborate sting.”
Axel paced, combat boots silent on the command center floor. Every instinct screamed to keep Olivia hidden, protected. But tactically, this wasn’t the stupidest idea ever.
“We’d have complete control of the environment,” Deke offered. “Could put our people in as attendees, facility staff ...”
“And I’d be doing something I actually know how to do,” Olivia pointed out. “Not trying to play some spy game.”
Axel stopped pacing. Studied her face. Saw the same determination there, but now mixed with confidence. This was her territory—helping people, sharing her expertise. She’d be more natural, more focused.
“If we do this,” he said finally, “we do it my way. Full security protocol. No exceptions. ”
Olivia nodded, already pulling out her phone to text her contact. “I’ll just say I wanted to double check the time and room number ... maybe mention I’m bringing some new multimedia materials so I need to arrive early to set up ...”
“Good,” Kenji approved. “Gives us reason to be there ahead of time without raising flags.”
Axel moved to the tactical board, marking entry points with sharp strokes. They’d have to cover every angle, anticipate every possibility. Because whether their guardian angel was protector or predator, they were about to force their hand.
The sour taste returned. At least this time, Olivia would be in her element. He just prayed that would be enough.