Page 18 of Secret Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #5)
Reaching his room felt like a small victory. Kenji immediately went for his go-bag, pulling out the encrypted satellite phone that was standard Knight Tactical equipment and powered it up.
The signal flickered between three bars and four. Good enough. But the approaching storm was already interfering with the satellite connection. The phones were outright amazing…except in heavy weather.
He punched in Ronan's direct line, counting the seconds until the connection stabilized. One ring. Two. Then?—
"Kenji." Ronan's voice came through with slight static but clear enough. "Perfect timing. We were about to?—"
"The situation's gone critical." Kenji cut him off, knowing every second counted. "Vega's framing Cassidy Reynolds for murder. One of the tournament players—Marcus Holloway—found dead this morning. Vega lured her to the scene, made sure she'd contaminate it."
Silence for a beat, then Ronan's voice sharpened to mission-mode. "How solid is the frame?"
"Professional. She was seen approaching the room on security cameras. Her fingerprints are probably on the door. Vega's demanding she help him eliminate specific players from the tournament or he'll ensure she takes the fall."
"Whoa." Ronan's surprise emphasized the gravity. "How many civilians are we talking about?"
"Three primary—Cassidy Reynolds, her assistant Sophia, and..." Kenji grimaced. "Spencer Donovan. Trust fund kid who's gotten tangled up in this. Vega's people have seen him with us. He's a target now too."
"Copy. What's your assessment of immediate threat level?"
"High but not immediate. Vega wants to use Cassidy first—she's more valuable as a tool than a corpse right now. But the window's closing. The storm's building, and once it hits..."
"No one in or out. I know. How long do you think before Vega moves to eliminate witnesses?"
"Unknown. But he's got the local police in his pocket. Once he decides Cassidy's outlived her usefulness..." Kenji didn't need to finish.
"Understood. I'm spinning up the team now. Can you hold position for—" Static crackled across the line. "—hours until we can?—"
"Say again?" Kenji pressed the phone harder against his ear. "Ronan?"
"—maintain cover and protect the civilians. We'll be airborne in a couple hours. ETA approximately—" More static, then the line cleared momentarily. "—eighteen hours, weather permitting."
Eighteen hours. It might as well be eighteen days.
"Copy that," Kenji said. "I'll keep them safe until?—"
The line went dead. Not static—complete signal loss. Kenji checked the display. Zero bars.
The approaching storm was already killing satellite communications.
He tried twice more to reconnect before accepting the reality. They were on their own for the next eighteen hours minimum. Three civilians, one operator, against Vega's entire security apparatus.
His phone buzzed with a text.
Spencer: Lobby still clear but weather channel says storm hitting earlier than expected. Also I ordered coffee. Want some?
Despite everything, Kenji almost smiled. At least Spencer was maintaining his cover as a clueless tourist.
Time to get back to the others and break the news—help was coming, but not soon enough. They'd have to survive on their own until Knight Tactical arrived.
Kenji secured the sat phone and headed for the door, taking a moment to check the hallway through the peephole first. Clear for now, but that would change once Vega decided Cassidy had outlived her usefulness.