Chapter 13
Never Supposed To Survive
Elena pulled Adrian down behind the archive table.
He should have protested. He did not. His body came hard against the floor beside hers, breath controlled, one hand braced near her hip without touching.
Footsteps entered the dark.
Not Mara. Mara moved like a person who had made peace with violence. This person hesitated at every third step.
Adrian's mouth was close to Elena's ear. "Service door."
She pressed two fingers against his lips.
The choice shocked both of them.
His breath stopped under her hand. Not because she had silenced him. Because she had chosen contact in the dark and he understood the difference.
The intruder crossed toward the server rack. A small light flared: phone screen, shielded by a palm.
Elena could see only shoes. Polished. Men's. Not Grant's; Grant wore arrogance even in footwear, narrow Italian leather. These were security issue.
Adrian's hand moved, slow, asking before it settled over Elena's wrist. He did not remove her fingers from his mouth. He held them there.
The absurd intimacy of it nearly broke her concentration.
The intruder inserted a drive into the emergency console.
Mara had said the backups were air-gapped. Apparently someone disagreed.
Elena withdrew her hand from Adrian's mouth and pointed once. He nodded.
They moved together.
Adrian was not steady enough for this. Elena knew it. He knew it. The room knew it in every uneven breath he took.
A voice sounded from the doorway.
"She was never supposed to survive the vows."
The intruder froze.
Elena froze too.
It was Grant.
He stepped into the archive with a flashlight in one hand and a gun held low in the other, aimed at no one yet.
"Adrian," Grant said into the dark, almost gently. "I know you're in here."
Adrian's fingers closed once around Elena's wrist.
Then he let go.