the elevator to our right, where we’d already opened the door. He lowered the elevator until we could climb up through the gap.
When I checked the com, the connection was good. I poked around on the network for a second just to see if anything obvious came up, but I didn’t see anything. It didn’t matter. If there was the smallest opening, the virus would find it. It was designed to penetrate military-grade installations.
I set up a simple script that would release the virus then wipe the com. It would run after a fifteen-minute timer. I cut the connection to my smart glasses and triple-checked that everything was set up correctly directly on the com. I checked the current time then kicked off the script.
“We have fifteen minutes. We need to be upstairs by then, just in case.”
Ian climbed onto the elevator, then waved off my attempt to help Ferdinand up. “You first,” he said. Once I was on top of the elevator with him, he continued, “This is the control box.” He pointed at the control panel. “This switch needs to be flipped to up, and the manual override set, like so. Then you must hold this button to ascend.”
“Why are you showing me this?” I asked slowly.
“You’re going up on your own,” he said. “I’m taking Ferdinand up the stairs.”
“No,” I said flatly.
“Yes. If they ambush us on the landing, we’ll be sitting ducks if we’re both in the elevator. They won’t expect me to take the stairs.”
“You plan to climb over four thousand stairs carrying another person? You won’t have to worry about me, I’ll be in a cell long before you make it to the top.”
“Want to bet?” Ian asked softly. He had a confident, arrogant tilt to his head that was wildly compelling. “What are you willing to lose?”
I huffed. “My life, apparently.”
“Trust me, Bianca. You know I wouldn’t put you in unnecessary danger. You go up in the elevator and provide a distraction. You don’t even have to shoot at them. Give them some sort of sob story. Tell them I went crazy, but you escaped. Whatever, just keep them distracted. I’ll follow and take care of it.”
“I left my com behind. I won’t be able to talk to you,” I said, grasping at straws.
“But I can talk to you, right?” he asked, a speculative look in his eyes. He turned on his mike. “Testing.”
I caught the signal, just as he’d intended, but I didn’t give in. “Everyone else in the base can hear you, too.”
He turned the mike off again. “I’ll be careful with it. You can do this, love,” he said. “You know you can.”
Maybe I had known that, once, but that same confidence had also gotten me in a world of trouble.
He stepped closer and touched my jaw, a gentle press of fingers that tilted my head up so he could catch my gaze. “You are stronger than you know, Bianca.”
Bitter laughter bubbled out and I couldn’t stop it. “I’m sorry to disappoint—”
He pressed his finger against my lips, cutting off my words. “You do not disappoint me. Never. We are in a Rockhurst mine, rescuing your brother, because of you. Ferdinand is alive because of you. You can do anything you set your mind to. I would never, ever bet against you because that would be a sucker’s bet.”
His expression showed exactly how serious he was. He really did believe I could do anything. I stared at him in wonder, and then let his confidence buoy my own.
“Fine,” I agreed. “Show me how to open the door.”
He did, then he kissed me, a hard press of his lips against mine that I felt in every cell of my body. While I was still reeling, he climbed down and vanished through the elevator doors.
I touched my lips and firmed my resolve. I could do this.
I would do this.
Chapter 26
Fourteen minutes had passed by the time the top of the elevator shaft appeared. I wasn’t sure what would happen if the power died while I was on the elevator and I really didn’t want to find out.
When the elevator platform came even with the bottom of the door, I hesitantly removed my thumb from the button. The elevator stopped and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. We hadn’t plummeted to our death the last time, but then Ian had been at the controls. I still half expected to fall.
I unlatched the doors and pulled them open a few centimeters. The hallway