Page 59 of Hollow State

Wynn was right about everything. They'd joked about windows, but what he wanted to give her was ordinary. He wanted to take her somewhere with a horizon and watch her choose to be outside.

And none of that was going to happen if they waited in a bunker for Finch to decide when this war was over. Every single thing Black Hollow had accomplished had come after Finch had determined what happened next.

Defense. All of it.

And cracking open ORACLE wouldn’t change that.

Darwin had let himself believe it would. It was the one door Gideon could open, and looking for evidence that proved what Finch had done seemed like the only answer. But Darwin couldn't take Finch apart from inside his digital filing cabinet.

Everything they actually needed was in one building on the other side of this city. The contracts. The approvals. The signatures. The people who'd signed off on Bralorne Backcountry, Emma Pryce, and anything else Finch had done. None of them had ever believed anyone would come and look.

They needed to get inside Hyperion.

The light changed, and he crossed with everybody else.

Darwin had spent his entire career on the side of the argument that said he shouldn’t become the thing he was fighting. He turned that thought over for the length of a block while his mind still struggled with the realization that what his team had been doing wasn't working.

They needed to change tactics. They needed to beat Finch at his own game.

Darwin saw the team’s car halfway up the block. It took all his energy not to glance over his shoulder. If someone were following, Coulter would have told him.

He opened the rear passenger door and climbed in.

Neve immediately eased out into traffic.

Coulter turned around in the front seat. "You alright?"

"Define alright."

"You're not dead or bleeding," Scout said. "Wynn would call that a win."

"She would," Darwin agreed as he leaned back. "But let's not count our chickens until we're at the bunker."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Wynn read the same paragraph for the fourth time and finally gave up. She set the book face down on her stomach and sighed. Gideon had promised her that Darwin was safe. That he'd gotten into the hospital, and out, without a major incident and that he was on his way home—without injury.

That was something.

Now, she just had to be patient. Something she was usually pretty good at, but not with stuff like this.

The pillow under her thigh had gone flat, and her thigh muscle ached. She leaned forward, punched the pillow twice, and pushed it back where it belonged. Her leg thanked her for about ten seconds before the low steady throb kicked in again.

She picked the book up and stared at the first word of the paragraph and tried to register its meaning. She knew what the word meant, but as she moved to the next one, and the one after that, she couldn't make sense of the sentence.

The door opened.

Turning her head, she gasped. "Darwin?" She sat up taller, clutching the pages of the book between her fingers.

Kicking the door shut, he closed the gap between them. "I didn't mean to startle you." Threading his fingers into her hair, he brought his mouth down on hers so fast she hadn't even had a chance to blink.

She released the novel, letting it slide off her lap. It hit the floor with a soft thud.

His warm, soft tongue slipped between her lips. He tasted like powdered sugar and coffee.

She fisted his shirt, closed her eyes, and pulled him closer. His knee pressed down on the mattress next to her hip as her back hit the headboard. She groaned.

"Are you okay?"