“Do you believe her?” Kate asked Graham three hours later as they drove away from the bunker.

“Yes. I don’t see how she could be lying after everything we went through today.” He’d considered everything Temple had said from several angles. “If she’s lying, she’s a damn good actress, and she’s been at it for at least eleven years. Probably longer.”

Kate gripped the steering wheel of the silver Toyota Corolla they’d borrowed from Blair. It turned out Blair had left her personal vehicle behind months ago, so it worked out perfectly that Graham and Kate could use it. After all, they were headed for Montana anyway. It provided transportation and reunited it with its owner.

Tushar had given them the keys.

Kate kept licking her lips. Graham knew she was stressed. He was too. Even hours later, his blood was still pumping with the adrenaline rush, but he hadn’t wanted to spend another night inside that bunker, and he hadn’t wanted Kate inside either. So, they’d left. No one even tried to stop them.

But something more was going on with Kate. She’d changed. Her shoulders were low in defeat. She hadn’t said much in the last few hours, instead letting everyone race around her as if she were in shock. She also hadn’t met his gaze in a while. She was distant. Detached.

She sighed. “Do you think it’s possible someone actually sabotaged our work from the beginning? Causing our exposure to AP12 in an effort to kill everyone and put an end to our research?” Kate’s words were expected. Her tone was filled with defeat, however.

“I can’t even begin to come to grips with that.” He rubbed his thighs with both hands. “It would destroy my faith in humanity.” Though I’m losing that faith right now as I try to read you. She was making him nervous. He needed to reach her.

She nodded, biting her lower lip before releasing it to continue. “Someone sabotaged us today. Do you think Spencer was involved and he’s duped everyone we know?”

“I don’t know. Hopefully, someone can get to the bottom of it. If we’ve been compromised as far back as eleven years ago with the broken beaker that put all our lives in peril in the first place, Spencer couldn’t have had anything to do with it. He would have been eleven. But we don’t know how long this Blue Cell organization has been in operation, nor do we know how many employees they have.”

“How do you suppose those two men found us?”

“The ones with no identification and fake uniforms?” he asked, dripping with sarcasm. He was furious to find out no one would be able to track down where the two men came from. It pissed him off more than anything else that had happened that day. “I don’t know, but I hope our assumption is true, that this Blue Cell group tapped into my computer and saw what I was doing. If Spencer knows anything about it, though, I’ll personally hunt him down and kill him with my bare hands.”

“I keep worrying he set us up.” She shuddered.

Graham gritted his teeth. If they’d been fooled by this Spencer guy, as was certainly possible, Graham would lose his shit. So would Dade and Ryan and about a dozen other people who had fallen for the man’s story. All of their lives were in jeopardy.

“You think Tushar is going to be okay?” She frowned, her expression worried.

“He’ll be fine. No bone was hit. Clean shot. Shelby stitched him up.”

Kate blew out a breath. “Trish was frantic. Out of her mind.”

“Yeah, I noticed that. I was kind of surprised. She and Tushar have been through a lot. I’ve never seen her that unhinged before, though. Trish has always been a rock under pressure. Even when we were all facing death.” Graham frowned. Something was going on with them. That was for sure.

Kate shot Graham a glance. “Not one person mentioned the elephant in the room.”

“Which elephant, babe?” There seemed to be a dozen.

“The lost data.” Kate shivered. “When I saw that fire…”

Graham smiled. “Do you think Temple and Tushar truly believed the data was totally lost?”

She shook her head. “They can’t be that stupid. Surely, when they stop to think about it…”

“Well, it’s done now. The hard drives would have been nice, but I’m sure someone is creating new ones as we speak. Assuming Spencer isn’t a total fuck and didn’t stab us all in the back. It’s easier for now if everyone believes the data is gone. Or at least for Temple to believe it. And tell her superiors. As long as we don’t specifically tell her the data is safe, she has no choice but to report its total loss to her bosses. I’m sure that’s why she never asked and never brought it up.”

“You think someone above her did all this? Someone working for this Blue Cell? It’s so incomprehensible.”

“I don’t know what to believe.” He pointed at the next exit. “Pull off. Let’s get a phone and touch base with Dade.”

She took the next exit, easing the car up to a gas station before cutting the engine. The next moment, she sighed heavily, her hands dropping, her head leaning against the headrest, her eyes closing.

Graham reached across to grab her hand. “You okay?”

“Nope.” She didn’t open her eyes.

He needed to get her someplace where she could unwind as soon as possible. “I’ll run in and grab a phone.”

“’Kay.”

He hated leaving her, but there weren’t many choices. He jogged into the mini-mart attached to the station, grabbed a burner phone and two bottles of water, and was back in the car in less than three minutes.

Kate hadn’t moved. Her eyes were still closed. She was breathing heavily.

Graham ripped open the phone and dialed Dade’s number. Luckily, Dade answered on the second ring.

“It’s Graham.”

“Thank God. You two safe?”

“Yes. Have you heard?”

“Yes. Tushar spoke to Ryan. Ryan called me. Listen, I know you have Blair’s car. I’m going to text you an address. Go straight there so someone can sweep it.”

“You think the car could be bugged?” Graham asked.

Kate flinched and then wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her biceps. Her eyes were still closed. It felt like she was hiding from him. And it was starting to scare him to death.

“Who narced on us, Dade?” Graham asked, forcing himself to focus on the call when what he really wanted to do was shake Kate and make her look at him.

“I don’t know yet.”

Graham sighed. “You sure you trust your hacker? Because I’ve gotta say, I’m incredibly suspicious.”

“I do. We’ll talk more later. Get the car swept before you do anything else.”

“Okay. And then we’re going to find a hotel. We’re both too shook up to drive very far tonight.”

“Put some miles under you after the sweep first. I don’t want it to be easy to find you. I’m not fond of you stopping at a hotel where you might be recognized. Let me see if I can line up a safe house between there and here. I’ll text you that also.”

“Sounds good. I don’t like anything about this. We need to figure out what the fuck is going on and fast before someone gets killed.”

“I agree. You sound strong. You able to make the trip here without an issue?”

“Of course. I’ve been almost full-speed for days. Hell, I’ve been awake for nearly three days straight downloading the data. Please tell me you’ve verified it’s safe.” He cringed. If this car was bugged, all of Blue Cell knew too much already. Hell, Graham and Kate had discussed the data even before this call.

“It’s safe. You succeeded. We all owe you, man.”

“You don’t owe me anything. I’m one of the team. But I’m anxious to get to Montana and help get this resolved as fast as possible.”

Kate still hadn’t looked at him, but she turned her face toward the driver’s side window and seemed to be staring out at nothing.

“Listen, we need to get moving. I’ll call you if we have any problems.” Graham opened his door and climbed out of the Toyota as he ended the call. He rounded the car, opened the driver’s side door, and reached for Kate’s hand to pull her out.

“What are you doing?” she asked, finally meeting his gaze.

He stared down at her for a moment, trying to read her. Yeah, she was checked out, though he wasn’t sure why or what to do about it. “Driving. Trade seats with me.”

She nodded and left him standing there without argument.

As soon as they were both buckled in, he pulled away from the gas station and headed for the address Dade had texted him. It was about twenty minutes north, and when Graham pulled off the road, he found a beat-up older model Chevy waiting for them next to an abandoned barn.

“What is this place?” Kate murmured.

“No idea. Probably just an easy spot to meet someone without getting caught. Wait here.” He climbed out of the car, left the door open, and headed for the man who shoved off his vehicle as Graham approached.

The guy nodded at Graham, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he took quick strides toward the Toyota and started examining the entire body. He pulled a device from his pocket and scanned the exterior along the bottom. “Can you pop the hood and the trunk for me?” he asked.

Graham reached inside and did as the man requested. The only reason why Graham didn’t bolt was because he trusted Dade. But this guy was an odd bird.

He looked like he’d been working on cars for his entire life without taking frequent showers. His fingernails were black. He had on worn coveralls that might have been khaki at some point. His hair was long, but pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Graham guessed him to be about sixty.

After about two minutes, the guy reached under the hood and lifted something out, holding it up for Graham to see. “Tracker. You’re good now,” he stated matter-of-factly, as if he found GPS devices on cars every day and didn’t even feel victorious about it.

Graham shuddered. “Jesus. Did it record us?”

“Nope. Just a tracker.” The guy shut the hood. “I’ll dispose of this for you.” He tapped the hood with his hand. “Get moving before someone tracks us here.”

Graham nodded and slid back into the driver’s seat. He pulled out without a word and drove a bit faster than he normally would to put some distance between them and that fucking tracker.

Kate had pulled even further into herself, her arms wrapped around her middle, her lips pursed.

Graham drove for half an hour before he got another text from Dade. Another address. He didn’t even question it or speak. He simply typed it into the car’s GPS and took the next exit to head in the direction of the address.

Kate didn’t ask what he was doing or where he was going, and she was making him more nervous by the minute.

There was nothing he could do but drive and get them to this address as quickly as possible, and then he intended to pin her down and figure out what the hell was going on in her head.

It took another hour to get to their destination. They had left the highway several miles ago and turned about four times, each road getting progressively sketchier until at last they were on a gravel drive that led to a lodge.

Kate spoke for the first time since they’d left the gas station. “Where are we?”

“No idea. I’ll go inside and figure it out.” As he stepped out of the car, he decided it might be a vacation spot for fishermen or hunters or something. The lodge was large enough to have at least a dozen rooms inside. Like a hotel.

He entered the front door and headed for the check in area. An older woman behind the desk met his gaze and smiled. “Graham?”

He startled. “Yes.”

She held out a key. “You’re in cabin six behind the main lodge. If you head around to the left, you can’t miss it. It’s been stocked with food for a few days.”

For some reason, he was stunned. “Thank you.” He took the key, still looking at her, surmising she was the owner of this lodge and the outbuildings and also worked for SURVIVE. “We appreciate it.”

She nodded and turned to help the next customer who’d entered behind him.

Five minutes later, Graham had steered them around the building and down a winding road until he found the marker for cabin six. It was isolated enough between the trees that each cabin was rather private.

Kate climbed out of the car and helped him grab their meager possessions from the trunk, and then they made their way onto the quaint front porch and into the cabin.

“Wow. Cute,” she whispered as she dropped the bag she was holding.

He set his down next to hers as he shut the door behind them and flipped on the lights. The cabin was nestled in the trees, so the lighting coming in the windows was dim. It was also getting close to evening, the sun dipping low in the sky. “You really have to enjoy the company of whoever you stay with in this cabin,” he joked.

She ignored him as she took several steps toward the center of the room. One room with a bathroom off to the right. Queen-sized bed. Kitchenette. Loveseat. Armchair. Fireplace. That was about it. But it was decorated by someone who loved trinkets and wall hangings. The owners had a lot of pride in their cabins.

Kate sighed. “I’m exhausted. I think I’ll take a shower if you don’t mind.” She turned around to grab her bag without looking at him and padded toward the only space in the room where anyone could get privacy.

He watched her, itching to grab her arm and dig into her brain, but deciding against it and letting her spend some time alone first.

For several minutes, he stared at the closed door, listening to the shower run, his heart in his hands as he feared what she would say when he finally shook it out of her.

He was head over heels for this woman. The last several hours had stressed him out more than he could imagine possible. He’d spent the time driving in silence, imagining the worst scenarios. All of them ended with her telling him to take a hike. That she’d changed her mind and didn’t want to be with him after all.

He was scared. Out of his mind.

Forcing himself to move, he finally checked out the refrigerator to see what kinds of provisions they had and then tucked his bag of clothes next to the bed. There wasn’t much else to do, so he was pacing the small space when she emerged.

She wore a tank top and shorts. Normally she dressed similarly for bed, but this time she had on a bra. And he wanted to read her thoughts. “How’s the shower?” he asked, instead of the dozens of other questions running through his mind.

“It’s good. I left you some hot water if you want.”

What I want is for you to look me in the eye and tell me what the hell is going on…

He was quick. Less than ten minutes later he stepped back out wearing nothing but his jeans. He hadn’t taken the time to shave, but she’d never seemed to mind in the past. In fact over the last ten days together he had only shaved a few times. After that first day when Kate had shaved him, he’d gone several more without and then done so himself. He hadn’t wanted to take the time tonight either.

He headed straight toward her where she stood at the sink in the kitchen area staring out the small window at probably nothing.

This had to end. Whatever was going on in her mind, he wanted to be let in. So he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his front. He angled his head around to kiss her temple. “Talk to me.”

She sighed, her chin dipping. “Sorry I’ve been so quiet.”

“You’re allowed to be quiet. It was a stressful day. I get it.”

He felt her swallow as she lifted her head and tipped it toward his cheek. “It was more than stressful, Graham. It was too much.”

“I get that. I’ve never been tied up by two madmen waving guns in my face before. It was intense.”

She twisted in his arms, giving him a bit of a shove so that he had to step back. “Intense doesn’t even begin to describe this day. Those men could have killed you.”

He held her biceps even though several inches separated them now. “I don’t think they intended to kill me. They wanted the data.”

“They had guns,” she shouted. “They shot at Tushar. They shot at me. I had to shoot one of them. Tushar had to kill them.”

He nodded. “Okay. I mean, you’re right. It wasn’t the sort of day I want to repeat.”

“Yeah, that’s just it. I don’t want to repeat it either. Ever.”

Where was she going with this? That morning she had been soft and smiling and seemed eager to take their relationship to the next level. Now? It was as if she blamed him for what happened and didn’t want anything to do with him. “Kate? What’s going on?” Fear crawled up his spine, the kind of fear anyone would feel when they suspected the person they loved was about to break up with them.

“Nothing.” She squirmed free. “I just realized this isn’t going to work. I’m sorry. I thought…” She bit her bottom lip and turned back to face the window. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, softer.

He struggled to speak, his mouth opening but no sound coming out because he didn’t know how to respond. He only knew he needed to get this back on the tracks before she destroyed him in exactly the way she’d worried he had the ability to destroy her. “What’s not going to work?”

“Us.” One word. One horrifying word that made his knees buckle. What the hell had he done today to change her mind about them?

“Kate…” He fisted his hands at his sides, still standing right behind her but not touching her. “Did I do something?”

“No,” she blurted, spinning toward him again, her head shaking. “No. God, no. You didn’t do anything. I just realized we aren’t on the same page.”

He felt faint. “How did you decide that? We’ve been on the same page almost from the moment I woke up. The same page. The same paragraph. The same sentence. What changed?”

She blew out a breath, and he knew everything between them was about to implode.