I Held Out the Silver Flash Drive Before My Knees Gave Way...

Gabriel read the message twice.

I watched his face instead of the screen. The concern remained, but the controlled calm had narrowed into something more deliberate. He reached for the laptop and pulled the power cable free.

The screen stayed lit.

"Battery," he said.

"Can you shut it down?"

"I can."

He pressed the power button. Nothing happened.

The door handle moved again.

This time someone knocked.

Three measured taps.

My hand found the edge of the chair. "Security?"

"Maybe."

"You said not here."

"I said I know who might have the code. I didn't say I know who is outside."

He walked to the door without making a sound and looked through the narrow interior panel beside it. Rain-colored light cut across his face.

"Is it someone you recognize?"

"No."

That answer frightened me more than a name would have.

Gabriel returned to the desk and opened a drawer. He took out a second cable, a small adapter, and a flat metal key. He worked quickly, but not carelessly.

"What are you doing?"

"Removing the drive without letting the laptop read anything else."

"You said it was offline."

"It is. The office system isn't."

He pointed to a small indicator near the wall panel. I hadn't noticed the green light blinking there.

"The network is active," he said. "Someone is trying to reach this machine."

The laptop screen flickered. The new message vanished.

A hard knock struck the door.

"Gabriel," a man's voice called from the hall. "Open up."

I didn't know the voice, but Gabriel did. His shoulders changed.

"Who is it?"

"Building security."

"Do they know you're here?"

"They know I'm in my office."

"Then why are they pretending they don't?"

He removed the drive and held it out to me. I tucked it beneath the lining at the torn elbow of my coat.

His eyes followed the movement. "Can you walk?"

"I can."

"That wasn't my question."

I stood. Pain pulled at my leg, bright and immediate. I gripped the chair until it passed.

"Yes," I said.

The voice outside came again. "Mr. Cross, we need to check the room."

Gabriel's gaze dropped to the blood on my trousers, then returned to my face. "There are two exits. The lobby is the obvious one."

"And the other?"

"Service stairs."

"Which one is safer?"

"Neither if the access system is compromised."

The answer left us with no clean choice. I hated him for making me see that. I trusted him for not pretending otherwise.

He picked up his phone and typed a number manually, keeping the screen turned away from the office network. A moment later, he spoke in a low voice.

"Don't use the building system. I need a car at the service entrance. No driver connected to this property."

He ended the call before anyone answered.

"You called someone," I said.

"Not from the office system."

"You promised no calls."

"I promised not to call anyone until you told me who could be trusted."

"I didn't tell you."

"No," he said. "You told me the system couldn't be trusted. That's different."

The lock began to turn.

Gabriel crossed the room and slid the metal key into a narrow slot beneath the desk. A panel opened in the wall beside the bookcase. Behind it was a dark passage barely wide enough for one person.

I stared at it.

"That wasn't on the floor plan," I said.

"It's not an exit people use."

The door lock clicked.

Gabriel stepped aside, leaving the passage open and himself in the room.

I understood then. He intended to stay behind.

"No," I said.

His eyes met mine. "Harper—"

"If they find you alone, they can make this look like your decision."

A faint, humorless smile touched his mouth. "You think they can make it look worse?"

"I think I won't leave you here."

For one second, neither of us moved. Then he took the laptop, and I took the doorframe.