Page 409 of Scars of Fate

No excuse.

Minser might want Kane stopped, but that didn’t make him a hero.

“The weapon beside Elena?” I asked.

“Real. Fully operational. Kane brought it.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

“Help us stop him.”

“I am.”

“You could have told us about the tunnel.”

“You wouldn’t have trusted me.”

“I still don’t.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

The timer passed ten minutes.

“Level Nine,” Minser said. “The permanent Aegis failsafe requires the encrypted source archive, the original physical key, and both registered custodians.”

“We have the source drive.”

“I know.”

“Kane has the tag.”

“For now.”

“What does that mean?”

Another gunshot sounded.

Closer.

Minser grunted.

“Move, Lucas.”

The call ended.

Adam looked toward me.

“He expects us to trust him.”

“No,” Wynn said. “He expects us to trust that he wants Kane dead.”

“That isn’t the same thing.”

“No,” I answered. “But it might be enough.”

I set Wynn on her feet.

She tested her injured leg.