Page 287 of Vicious Temptation

The mechanical room beyond hums with generators and air handlers. I move between the pipes, keeping one hand pressed against my abdomen until I reach the opposite exit. My fingers are starting to feel clumsy around the grip of my weapon. I flex them once before cracking the door.

No one’s there, so I push through.

The hallway is empty, and the security office sits at the end. I punch in the code I memorized weeks ago. When the lock clicks, two analysts spin toward me, surprise written on their faces. One reaches for the panic button, but I’m across the room before he can.

I strike him across the temple with the handle of my gun before driving my shoulder into his partner. Pain tears through my side on impact, but I use my momentum to send him sprawling over his chair. His head slams against the console, and his body goes limp.

I straighten with a grimace as the monitors continue cycling through camera feeds from every floor.

This is exactly what I need.

Moving toward the console, I begin working through the building’s security systems, triggering fire alarms, unlocking emergency exits, rerouting cameras, and overriding the elevators. Within seconds, the building erupts into chaos. Red strobes flash across the security feeds as emergency protocols clash with tactical commands. Agents converging on the lobby veer off course, some heading toward evacuation routes while others respond to alarms on opposite ends of the building.

The confusion buys me one thing bullets can’t: time to get the fuck out of here and warn Remi. I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me or let me get close enough to touch her again, but none of that matters if Helios gets to her first.

I exit through a rear door and follow a narrow maintenance corridor behind the elevator shafts until I reach a concrete stairwell few people outside Helios even know exists. Elena made sure I knew every inch of this building during my training, and now I’m using everything she taught me against the organization she trained me to serve.

The stairs open into the underground parking garage, where engines roar to life as response teams flood in through the vehicle entrance. A black SUV swings around the corner, and the driver reaches for the radio mounted on the dash, but he spots me a second too late.

I yank open his door and drag him from the seat. Another burst of pain sears through my wound, but I drive my elbow into his jaw before he can draw the pistol at his hip. He collapses onto the pavement with a groan.

“Come on, Braga. Almost there,” I mutter as I climb into the driver’s seat and slam the door.

Because apparently getting out of this building wasn’t going to be that fucking easy.

I floor the accelerator, but I’m not fast enough to clear the gate. The reinforced arm crashes into the windshield with a deafening crack, then snaps off its hinges as glass explodes through the cabin. I throw an arm over my face and keep my foot down, driving the SUV through what’s left of the barrier and into the street.

Sirens erupt behind me, but Philadelphia keeps moving ahead, completely unaware that the woman I love has just become a target of one of the most powerful organizations in the country.

I grit my teeth. They’ll have to kill me before they ever lay a hand on her.

Once I’ve put three blocks between myself and the Helios building, I pull my phone from my pocket and dial the only person who might listen long enough to warn them.

He answers on the third ring.

“Matteo.” My voice comes out rough. “Please don’t hang up.”

“I only answered to tell you what a piece of shit you are and that if I ever see you again⁠—”

“Yeah, I know.” I glance in the rearview mirror as I weave around a delivery truck. “Maybe I am, but there’s no time for that. You all need to leave. Right now. They’re coming for you.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? Your people?”

“They’re not my—” I stop myself because none of that matters. “Yes. They’re assembling containment teams as we speak, and they could already be on their way.”

“What the fuck did you do?”

“I tried to stop it.” The admission burns on the way out. “I made it worse.” I bury the gas. “Get Remi. Get your parents. Everyone. And don’t let Zara out of your sight.”

The line goes quiet.

“Braga...”

“She isn’t safe. None of you are.”

“What the fuck is going on?”

“I don’t have time to explain.”