Page 48 of Rogue Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #4)

Zara’s pulse hammered in her throat as she broke the last bit of plastic on her restraints. She kept her movements minimal, maintaining the slumped posture of defeat.

Lord, give me strength. Not just for my body, but clarity of purpose. Let me end this.

From across the room, Reynolds—her former mentor, the man she’d trusted with her career, her secrets, her very life—paced with the controlled energy of a predator.

Two Vanguard operatives flanked the door while another stood behind Kenji, who sat with his head bowed, blood still trickling from the cut on his temple where they’d struck him during the initial ambush.

“You really should be thanking me, Zara,” Reynolds said, his tone casual as though discussing the weather rather than international espionage and betrayal. “The CIA wasted your talents. Knight Tactical underutilizes you. With me—with Cipher—you could have reshaped global intelligence.”

Zara allowed herself to look up, meeting his gaze directly for the first time since they’d been captured.

“Was it always you?” she asked, her voice deliberately rough with feigned exhaustion. “All those years mentoring me, was it just to position an asset?”

Her eyes flicked briefly to Kenji. The nearly imperceptible tilt of his head told her he’d caught her signal. Good.

She cataloged the positions of each guard, noting distances, weapons, likely reaction times. The guard closest to Finn was distracted, his attention divided between his prisoner and the ongoing conversation.

“Of course. You were genuinely talented—are genuinely talented. A talent wasted at the Agency.” He stepped closer, arms spread in a gesture that was almost paternal. “I saw what you could become with the right guidance.”

Zara shifted subtly, redistributing her weight for maximum leverage when she moved. Her joints screamed in silent protest.

She shoved down the pain. She had to keep him talking. Keep him focused. “And the Sentinel Network? Was that your endgame all along?”

“Not even close. It’s a stepping stone. A powerful and profitable one, certainly.

But we have bigger plans.” Reynolds turned toward the sleek silver case sitting on a table.

“The network is the beginning of our ability to reshape governments. Reshape the world.” He ran his fingers almost lovingly over the case. “Once you and Novak unlock this.”

As he reached to retrieve the biometric scanner from the case, Zara saw her opportunity—his back partially turned, attention divided, guards momentarily relaxed in the false security of their apparent victory.

She exploded from her spot on the floor.

The movement sent shockwaves of pain through her legs, but adrenaline overrode the discomfort as she launched herself at her mentor. Her shoulder connected with his midsection, driving the air from his lungs in a startled whoosh. The scanner clattered to the floor as they both went down.

Around her, chaos erupted. Kenji drove an elbow into the nearest guard’s solar plexus. The man doubled over, and Kenji’s knee connected with his face, dropping him instantly.

Unfortunately, Reynolds recovered quickly for a middle-aged man, years of field experience evident in his reflexes. His fist caught Zara in the ribs, a precise strike targeting her weakest point with the intimate knowledge of someone who had studied her medical file.

Pain exploded through her torso, white-hot and crippling. She locked her jaw against it, driving the heel of her palm upward toward his chin.

“Get Finn!” she gasped to Kenji, who had already disarmed one guard and was moving toward the restraint controls.

The remaining Vanguard operatives came at them, weapons drawn, faces set in grim determination. One moved to intercept Kenji, while the other targeted Zara, hesitating only because she remained tangled with Reynolds on the floor.

“Stand down, Zara,” Reynolds growled, blood trickling from his split lip. “This is bigger than your misplaced loyalty to Knight Tactical.”

“This was never about loyalty.” She drove her knee upward, connecting with his thigh rather than her intended target. “This is about justice.”

Finn flew past, tackling the guard who had been moving to intercept Kenji. They crashed into weight tower, sending handbells rolling.

Zara leveraged Reynolds’ momentary distraction to break free, rolling away and coming up in a defensive stance. Her vision tunneled, dark spots dancing at the periphery as her body struggled to compensate for the exertion.

Reynolds reached inside his jacket, and Zara’s heart stuttered when his hand emerged holding a compact pistol.

“Enough!” His composed mentor persona shattered, replaced by the cold calculation of Cipher. “I gave you every opportunity. Every chance to make the right choice.”

Reynolds shifted the weapon, aiming deliberately at her shoulder. “I only need you conscious for the biometrics, not comfortable,” he said coldly.

Even if she dodged, in the confined space and with her compromised mobility, she wouldn’t escape the shot. She tensed, praying Kenji and Finn would still be able to fight their way out of this.

But the impact never came.

Instead, Finn flew in front of her, blocking her vision. The gunshot cracked like thunder in the confined space.

Finn jerked and crumpled to the floor, hands to his chest.

“No!” The word tore from Zara’s throat, primal and raw.

Before Reynolds could fire again, Kenji appeared behind him, driving the butt of a confiscated weapon into the base of his skull. Reynolds staggered, and Zara surged forward, channeling every ounce of her CIA combat training despite the agony radiating through her body.

Her strike connected with his wrist, sending the gun skittering across the floor. She followed with an elbow to his sternum, then a swift, brutal knee to his groin that doubled him over. As he folded, she brought her joined hands down on the back of his neck, driving him to the floor with finality.

Around them, the remaining guards ran.

Kenji landed on Harrison’s back, yanking the man’s hands behind his back and pulling off his belt to secure the prisoner.

But Zara barely registered the victory. Her attention had already locked onto Finn’s crumpled form, blood spreading across his shirt in an ever-widening stain.

She dropped to her knees beside him, ignoring the jolt of pain that shot through her legs at the impact. Her hands moved automatically, applying pressure to the wound in his upper chest.

“Stupid,” she hissed, tears burning her eyes as she pressed down.

Finn’s eyes fluttered open, his face ashen but his lips curving into that infuriating, wonderful half-smile that had haunted her dreams for seven years.

“Always. Are we square now?” he whispered, his voice alarmingly faint.

Something broke inside Zara then, some final wall crumbling as she looked down at this man who had betrayed her, pursued her, protected her, and now possibly sacrificed himself for her.

“We’re more than square, Finn,” she said, her voice cracking as tears spilled freely now.

His eyes widened briefly, a flash of wonder and disbelief before they fluttered closed, his body going slack beneath her bloodied hands.

“No, no, no. Stay with me, Finn. Stay with me,” she pleaded, barely aware of Kenji securing Reynolds with zip ties before rushing to her side.

“Let me,” Kenji said gently, his medical training taking precedence as he quickly assessed Finn’s wound.

“Upper right quadrant. Missed the heart, might have clipped the lung.” He pressed a folded jacket against the wound, his movements efficient despite his own injuries.

“He needs a hospital, but this is survivable with immediate care.” He grabbed Zara’s hands, pressing her palms against the jacket. “Hold that tight. I need my med kit.”

Zara nodded, unable to form words as relief warred with terror. She pressed hard against his wound, her tears staining his pale cheek.

Lord, keep him safe. Keep him alive.

The air stirred behind her. Not Kenji.

Hands still pressed against the jacket, she whirled around. First Ronan, then Axel, Griff, and Maya burst through the door, weapons drawn, faces set with grim determination.

Ronan took in the scene in an instant. “Kenji?”

“On your six.” Kenji flew back through the door, medical pack in hand.

“He going to make it?” Axel asked as Griff dragged Harrison to his feet.

“For sure. Looks worse than it is,” Kenji said as he fell to his knees at Zara’s side. He gave her a wink. “Great bedside manner, am I right?”

Ronan rolled his eyes. “Should I prep the helo for medevac?” he asked Kenji.

“I got this,” Kenji said softly as he nudged her hands aside. He lifted the edge of the jacket, frowning down at Finn’s chest. But he shook his head. “Ambulance is only two minutes out. ER team at Hope General’s expecting us.”

Kenji pressed down on the dressing again and moved to rummage in his pack. “You’re doing great,” he assured her. “Man’s gonna live to fight another day.”

She nodded, but the sharp lump in her throat prevented her from talking. She stared into Finn’s face, watching every rise and fall of his chest, his blood warm against her hands, his words echoing in her mind.

Are we square now?

As the chaos of extraction swirled around her, she took Finn’s hand in hers, and leaned close to his ear, even though she knew he couldn’t hear her.

“Come back to me,” she whispered fiercely. “We have unfinished business, you and I.”

And somewhere in the depths of unconsciousness, she could have sworn his fingers twitched against hers, the faintest acknowledgment.