Cary stood outside Argos, sweat dripping down her neck. Her stomach knotted as she glanced at the camera above the entrance. No red blink. It meant Tasha had disarmed the security. Or, her best friend had been caught and was now being tortured by Argos until she spilled the plan, or worse, she was already in prison. And Argos had disabled the alarms, waiting inside for her with a cavalry or well-armed hunters. She hoped she was wrong and the lack of lights meant success.

“You okay?” Levi asked, standing behind her.

“Fine.” A hot gust of air blew her hair into her face, but the wind did zilch to cool the fire burning in her stomach.

She hated the idea of Tasha being drawn into their scheme and didn’t want her one true friend getting hurt because of her. If something bad happened to Tasha, she’d never forgive herself. She didn’t throw friends in front of the firing squad.

Night embraced the building and no light shone behind a single window. It should have been empty at twenty minutes to midnight.

The heat from Levi’s body radiated against her back.

“Do you have to stand so close?” She could barely get air into her lungs, suddenly feeling claustrophobic.

Levi scanned the road behind them. “Hurry up. I don’t need anyone to suspect us of committing a crime.”

She placed her palm against the panel and entered her five-digit number in the pad next to it.

The lock clicked open.

“Tasha, you’re a star,” Cary exclaimed. She bounced on her toes as she pushed the door open and rushed inside, Levi hot on her heels. He closed the door softly with a click, locking them inside.

Cary half-expected a gang of Argos hunters to pop out of their hiding places and train their weapons on her. Every muscle tensed, and her ears strained in anticipation for the blaring alarm. Nothing.

Levi flipped on the flashlight.

She made a beeline for the dark brown door behind reception and punched her pin number into the pad. They stepped inside the main area.

Darkness strangled the next room. Only the EXIT lights in the far corner were on, throwing green illumination across the empty cubicles.

Memories flooded back from her last visit to the building: The way Brent set her up, and her colleagues quickly believing him, to the point that she had to bolt out the back door. She’d spent her entire life expecting to get caught because of what she was… And when she started to believe she was safe, it happened.

“You going to just stand there?” Levi pushed past, targeting the circular metal staircase at the back of the room.

Okay, get your head in the game.

Quick to catch up with Levi, she followed his strides to the second floor. A dark corridor lay ahead with offices on either side. Her pulse accelerated. Coming up on the first room to her right, she held her breath and peered inside. No surprise attacker. Levi flashed his light into the next room. He continued, his beam bouncing down the corridor, Cary hurried after him. She scanned each room just in case Levi missed anything.

Levi came to a stop near a door with the name Brent Moore etched on glass. Were they really doing this? It wasn’t too late to leave.

“You’re up,” Levi said.

Stepping closer, she stared at the scanner on the wall near the door and wiped her brow. If anything was going to go wrong tonight, this was the spot for it. Brent kept his office locked for a reason.

Fuck… If we get caught… Torture, imprisonment, and death guaranteed.

But Cary knew that if she didn’t make a move, she might as well give herself in to Argos because she had nowhere else to go. Plus, Levi was also marked, and she couldn’t be responsible for him dying. She had to do everything in her power to protect them both.

Under different circumstances, the warmth of the heat pad on her palm would be soothing, but not now. She closed her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek. To her relief, instead of the alarm, a ding sounded.

Levi entered, scanning the room, and Cary crept in behind him. Brent’s desk was bare, with the exception of two folders in the corner and an unopened scotch bottle. A dying potted plant was in the far corner alongside a filing cabinet. No laptop in the docking station.

Levi dove right into the cabinet, pouring over dozens of files. “Invoices and boring crap.” He tugged at the bottom drawer but that groaned and stayed locked. Rattling it only made noise. “Fine,” Levi said. “I accept the challenge.”

Kneeling, he set the flashlight next to his leg and pulled the drawer above it completely out and set it on the carpet. Cary crouched next to him. She picked up the flashlight and pointed it into the cabinet, but saw only filed papers. She ran a hand across them and retrieved a fat folder, curiosity getting the better of her. Flicking through the documents, a figure of $50,000,000 grabbed her attention. She opened it. Payment to Argos from a private investor with no name mentioned. No header or any other details, except the date and the sum of the money. Close to seven months ago. More flipping and she found more invoices, same amount, paid every month for the past year. “What the fuck is he doing with so much money? They can’t be spending this much on R&D.”

Levi studied the files and shook his head. For a second, Cary swore she didn’t recognize the guy. Here was a stranger who drove her insane with desire. He had the heart of a saint and the libido of a sex-devil, but in truth, did she really know Levi? For the past several months, he’d made it clear he detested demons, and she’d mostly ignored the fact that he’d eventually discover what she was. Any fool could see the train wreck heading her way. Exhaustion washed her, emotions stretched so thin she had no idea how to disentangle herself from her feelings, her pining, and her misapprehensions. She craved his attention, but thinking she might get it back? That was her fooling herself.

“One thing I know: Brent’s been ripping me off,” Levi said. He shoved the file back in and checked the next one, then froze. “What’s that?” Pushing the files to one side, he reached into the drawer and pulled out a leather-bound notebook.

Cary leaned over Levi’s shoulder for a better look. “Open it.”

He flicked through the pages, each one filled with handwritten notes. He folded the book open and on each line were people’s names, some with addresses next to them, others a cell number, or simply a town name.

“Oh shit, I think that’s it,” Cary said. “For once, things are going our way.”

Just then, they heard a loud sound from outside. Cary jerked upright and dashed to the window on the opposite wall. Peeling back the blinds, she peered outside. Below, a blue car was parked on the street, and a dark figure was pulling a bag from the back seat. The person closed the car door and walked toward the entrance.

“Someone’s here.” She sprinted to the office door and shut it quietly. “Give me the book,” she said, whispering. “I have to find out if Thomas is in there.”

Without waiting, she snatched the book and started flicking through it while Levi held the flashlight on the pages. “It’s going to take too long,” he said. “Take the book with us.” He shoved the drawers back into place in the filing cabinet.

Cary shook her head. “Brent will know someone took it.” Her grip on the book tightened.

“So? He won’t know it’s us.”

The downstairs door clicked shut.

Every hair on Cary’s arms stood on end. “Fuck! We’re going to get busted.”

Levi switched off his light. They both squeezed into the tight spot underneath the desk. They kneeled side-by-side as footsteps and a familiar voice came closer.

“Tom, there’s something wrong with the security cameras,” Brent’s voice said. “They’re not on. Can you come down here and fix it.” A pause. “Yes, now.”

“Brent!” Cary hissed. A shudder ran through her. “We’re in his office. We’re beyond fucked.” Levi put his finger to her lips to shush her.

She hugged the book to her chest with one hand, sweat collecting across her back.

Levi’s breath fluttered across her cheek.

Bad idea to break into Argos.

They both tensed when they heard the sound of a door opening across the hallway.

Cary peered out from beneath the desk. Her heart did an extra jump at the sight of two pairs of legs emerging into the corridor from the room across from Brent’s. They hurried past the room and headed for the stairs, probably about to leave.

Cary exchanged glances with Levi. He stuck two fingers up and mouthed, two people? Someone else had been in the building this whole time! She’d definitely seen only one person get out of the car.

The glint of a gold buckle on one of the men’s dress shoes snagged her attention. Brent was the only person she knew to wear such obviously expensive shoes.

Tasha’s warning about bad things going on at Argos came flooding back.

When the clap of a door sounded, Levi pushed Cary out in front of him.

Cary jumped up and bolted to the window. She pulled the blinds to the side and peeked out. Brent and the other figure walked to the car, except the newcomer was unstable on his feet, swaying as if drunk. He took a step forward and Brent shoved him to the car, but the man collapsed to the ground. Brent dragged him to his feet and into the backseat. Brent glanced around, then skirted the hood of his car to the driver’s side.

“What’s he doing?” Levi stepped alongside Cary, staring down at the road.

“Brent just shoved the guy that left the building into the car. He looked like he was drugged or something. Shit’s going down here.”