Page 9

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Freya clamped her hands over her ears as protection against the strident wail of the fire alarm. What now?

“The fire alarm?” Abe’s hand was already moving to the holster on his hip.

“Yes, except there’s no planned practice alarm for today.” She glanced over at the boxes of carefully collated material stacked at the side of her lab. No way in hell am I leaving them.

Fox made his way to the door. “So. This is probably just a false alarm?”

Freya secured the latches on her laptop. “The power plant features a specialized fire system that will isolate the fire wherever it’s located. Air flow will be reduced to those areas and the fire will be starved. We don’t need to evacuate.”

“We should move.” Fox frowned. “SOP says we treat every alarm as real.”

Freya pulled the case close and gestured at her stacked boxes. “I’m not leaving my archives. It might be a trick to get everyone out of the building.” Not after I came so close to losing it all before.

Abe exhaled a hissing breath. “You and the laptop are the priority. Everything else is expendable. Clear?”

She gave a curt nod but didn’t move. It was going to take a lot more than a faulty alarm to get her to move.

“Abe. I’ll do a quick sweep. You stay here with the package. Maintain comms.” Fox tapped his ear and exited the lab.

Package. Indignation sparked in her blood. “Did he just call me a pack?—”

Abruptly, the alarm cut out, the orange warning light above their heads dying.

Her ears were still ringing.

Freya tipped her head at the now silent alarm. “See. False alarm.”

Ignoring her, Abe yanked the lab door open, the line of his impressive shoulders locked like a rod of steel.

Leaning back, she could see past him. Fox was at the far end of the corridor. For such a big man, he moved surprisingly fast. He flashed a hand signal at Abe before vanishing around the corner and the hallway stretched empty in his wake.

“What did that signal mean?”

Abe turned to face her, the door closing behind him. “He’s conducting recon. Fox will check for anything suspicious.”

“Okay. Look?—”

He swung back and studied the door. “Only your team has permissions and yet intruders accessed the lab yesterday?”

She dropped her gaze to his hand resting on his hip, close to the weapon he carried. “Permissions were all changed yesterday. It’s secure.” Words did not come easily under his intimidating gaze.

He blinked, and something crossed his eyes. A decision made. “Let’s get you out of here.”

“Why—” Freya looked up, her words dying in her throat. What the hell is the noise in the ceiling?

“Ventilation system.” His voice was a soft mutter as his fingers clamped around her upper arm, vice-like and urgent. “Freya?—”

A deafening crack split the air, and the ceiling erupted in a choking cloud of gray and white. Debris hit her exposed skin as chunks of plaster and splintered wood rained down around her.

Abe snagged her waist, pulling her down and twisting mid-air to shield her from the deadly hail. They hit the floor hard, the impact driving the air from her lungs in a painful whoosh and dislodging the laptop from her grip.

No.

Panic pinched her throat as she struggled to breathe, her ears ringing with a high-pitched whine that vibrated through her skull.

My laptop.

She extended her arms, desperately searching for it, but her fingertips brushed only empty air and rough debris.

Abe pulled her closer, cupping the back of her head protectively. He pulled her against him, pressing her face against his chest. Seconds ticked by as she waited for the assault to ease. It felt like hours before the barrage lessened, fading to the faint patter of smaller fragments and swirling dust.

I have to get my laptop.

Freya fought to right herself, pushing up against him and swiping the dust from her eyes. She found herself nose to nose with Abe, the hard length of his body beneath her. Her heart raced, and for a long moment, she forgot to breathe.

“Freya?”

Her lungs restarted with a whoosh, and reality crashed back around her.

What the hell?

She rolled off Abe to her knees, avoiding the power of his gaze.

“Fucking stun grenade.” Coughing, Abe pushed up to sitting beside her.

Stun grenade? She blinked, a sharp intake of breath punctuating her shock. “Where’s my laptop?” Her words sounded odd, ricocheting in her head.

“Are you okay?” Abe gave her upper arm a gentle squeeze. It felt like the only real thing amid the madness, and for the first time, she was grateful he was there.

But her own safety didn’t matter right now. Couldn’t he see that? “My laptop?—”

“Freya.” He grasped her chin, forcing her to look directly at him. “This is important. Are you hurt anywhere?” His brown eyes bore into hers.

She swallowed a mouthful of dust. “I bruised my knee.”

“Anywhere else?”

“No.” She winced in pain, shaking her head, her lungs struggling against the cloudy, gritty air. Ignoring the discomfort, she stretched out trembling fingers, feeling for the missing laptop. “Abe?—”

An intruder dropped from the ceiling in a predatory crouch. Through the haze of dust and adrenaline, Freya registered his impressive build.

Now she spotted her laptop. It lay obscured beneath debris, having skidded across the floor to rest against a cabinet door on the far side of the room.

Behind the intruder.

He tracked the line of her gaze.

Oh God.

She looked away, but it was too late. His head swiveled, tracking the path of her betraying glance with unnerving precision.

Abe surged to his feet with a growl, but the intruder was a blur of motion, launching himself toward the device, dodging Abe’s grasp by inches.

“Stop!” Abe drew his gun and aimed at the thief’s back.

The thief jerked a glance over his shoulder as he snatched the laptop case and dropped it into a sleek backpack.

Abe fired. Freya’s hands flew to cover her ears again, the retort deafening in the confined space of the lab. Crimson bloomed on the intruder’s arm, but if he felt pain, there was no sign of it. He pushed to his feet and sprinted for the exit.

He has to go past me.

Freya lunged, a moment of savage triumph surging through her as her nails raked down his arm. But her grip failed to find purchase.

The man pivoted on his heel and delivered a punch to her belly. The impact of his fist was a sledgehammer. Agony erupted within her, bright starbursts dancing across her vision. The pain was all-consuming, radiating outward in sickening waves.

Abe regained his footing, his stance rock-solid as he sighted down the barrel of his weapon.

He’ll hit the laptop.

“Don’t!” She surged to her feet and barreled into Abe. His gun barked twice in rapid succession, white puffs of pulverized wall exploding close to the intruder’s shoulders. The thief fired at the lab door. Glass shattered as he tumbled through and away.

Freya gasped, the air thick with dust and the metallic tang of spent ammunition, her eyes blurry with tears.

Abe swung around, his face contorted by anger. “What the actual fuck?—”

Ignoring him, she staggered toward the door on wobbly legs, fury igniting her muscles. “He has my laptop.”