Page 97 of Sweet Deception

Slung around Darren’s waist is a small, lightweight satchel. He brought “supplies,” as he calls them, which is definitely his term for deadly explosives and other weapons and tools. He plans to stash a few of those babies around the main floor while I get to the server room and do what needs to be done.

Though our proximity makes me feel so much safer, I’m glad we’re splitting responsibilities.

If he came with me, he’d discover I’ve got a mission of my own. I want to believe that if Darren were in my shoes, he’d do the same. If he had someone he cared deeply about who was in trouble, who no one else would lift a finger to save, he’d swoop in to help, by hook or crook.

I know I’m just attempting to comfort myself, to rationalize my soon-to-be deviant behavior.

When we reach the door that leads out to the main loading dock floor, Darren pauses to review our roles in the plan.

“You know where the server room is?”

“Third door on the left.” I memorized my hallway from the blueprints Rory and Cian managed to retrieve.

“I’m going to get you to the opening of that hall?—”

“I’ll go there while you set traps?—”

“And we’ll meet back at the intersection in six minutes flat.”

I nod, holding up the watch he gave me.

Darren hits the timer button on both his watch and mine to ensure we’re synchronized, and with adrenaline flying through my veins, we slip noiselessly through the door onto the main floor while I pray I don’t make a mistake.

The guards we saw patrolling in here from outside have disappeared.

Darren scans the whole place before we take a single step forward. He grabs my hand, and together, we creep onward.

As soon as we reach the official entry-exit point, Darren rips little pouches from his bag and starts to nestle them into the foundation, grinning all the while.Just in case, he mouths to me.

His wild energy spikes my anxiety. My internal timekeeper screams that we’re moving too slowly, that we’ll be caught any moment.

I peer down the hallway ahead of us. Empty, though I can see hulking shadows moving across the wall at the very end of it, suggesting that Red Hill guards still lurk nearby. I want the passageway between where I’m standing and that far wall.

With Darren still laying traps, I gravitate toward the hall. He glances up at me, eyes wide.

I throw my chin toward the passageway I need, pointing and mouthing,I’ll go ahead.

You sure?he mouths back.

I nod.

Darren doesn’t look okay with it, but I spin on my heel anyway and jog the short stretch of hallway between here and there before turning the corner.

In the dimness, I pass the first door on my right, another, then one on my left, two on my left… Here.Door Number Three.

With the code breaker Rory gave me, I’m through the door’s digital lock in fifteen seconds.

The room is about what I expected. Small and crammed with hardware, cords, and blinking lights.

Once I’m tucked safely inside, I find the central server and remove two wireless backdoor trackers from my pocket. First, Iinstall my tracker to the server and confirm it’s working. Then I install Rory’s tracker and wait for the upload to start.

Next thing I know, Darren’s voice is whispering through my earpiece. “Did you make it inside?” Static from his end. “Nika, someone’s headed your way?—”

Once the second part of his message sinks in, sirens of alarm wail through me. Before the upload’s complete or I can sayyes, a scuffle outside the server room reverberates through the door. I freeze.

A handful of monitors are bolted to the back wall near the ceiling, each displaying the feed from a different security camera. When my eyes flicker to the one with the most movement, my stomach plummets.

Shit.