Page 97 of The Honeymoon Hack

Soundless.

My vision narrowed. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

He’d murdered his partner right in front of me.

Lark wiped the blade clean on the dead man’s gear, then called toward the door, his voice casual and conversational. “Hey! Can you guys give me a hand in here? I need some help.”

Two guards from the security checkpoint responded immediately, their boots heavy on the floor as they approached. They trusted him.

I should have screamed, warned them, donesomething, but all I could do was try to breathe.

The moment they stepped through the doorway, Lark raised his suppressed rifle and fired. Twice. The sound was so much louder than in the movies.

Both men dropped where they stood, their bodies hitting the floor with dull thuds.

I couldn’t look away. Three dead men. On the floor. In front of me.

Black spots crowded my vision, and bile climbed up my throat. My whole body shook. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be happening.

Were the shots loud enough that someone would hear them over the Code Blue beeping throughout the facility? Where was the third guard from the checkpoint?

Lark removed the security badge from one of the men’s belts and turned to face me.

Oh fuck! Will! He’s going to kill me!

Will’s smile filled my memory. Lying naked next to him. For once, letting my barriers down and feeling what I wanted to feel. No telling myself it was wrong, no second-guessing.

Saying the words I’d told him a million times over, but so different this time.

And now I was going to die.

But instead of raising his weapon, Lark leaned against the wall, studying me with narrowed eyes. “I know you’re a hacker, and I know you’ve been into Haddad’s server. You’re going to get me his research.”

I sucked in slow breaths—as slow as possible. If he was giving me a chance, I had to take control. Otherwise, I’d be useless, and he’d kill me as easily as he’d killed the others.

“If you scream, I’ll shoot you,” Lark continued calmly. “And don’t bother denying you know about Haddad. Claire showed the whole Pendragon crew how your team worked together to get you into his server.”

Pendragon. My mind raced. The name was familiar in the military contracting sphere. But didn’t they workforthe US government? What did it mean?

And how was Claire involved? Was she working for Pendragon? Why take me into the Atlantic server room and let me?—

Pieces clicked into place. Not the whole puzzle, but enough to get started. She’d set me up. Given me the chance to do my thing, and when I did, she’d grabbed the video as proof. Then, she’d brought in this team.

That doesn’t make sense. If this is about the Meridian server, why bring up this Haddad guy?

“You’re going to help me?” Lark asked, still calm, as though the scent of blood filling the room didn’t make him want to vomit. “Brie?”

I blinked at him. I was supposed to say yes. But my voice didn’t work.

He stepped closer, brandishing the knife.

There was nowhere to go. The plastic around my wrists wouldn’t stretch or break. I couldn’t get away from him.

“If I called you Brie Reynolds, would that get your attention?”

An adrenaline spike surged through my body, and my feet found the floor, pushing the chair away from him. He knew who I was. Who Ireallywas.

But if he knew, why didn’t Claire know? Why’d she call us John and Jane Doe?