Red Awakening (Red Zone 2)

“Are you okay to stand?”

She nodded.

“Good, then you splash some water on your face while I see if I can find shoes that’ll fit you.” He gave her a second to make sure she was steady on her feet before he went searching for lockers.

He found a wall of them at the end of the room. The lockers didn’t look like the metal boxes from his youth—these were cubbies built into the wall. Each with a frosted glass door secured by a palm-print lock. Mace didn’t have time to break the locks, so he used the butt of his rifle to smash the glass.

Third time proved to be the charm. There was a pair of high tech “smart shoes” inside. He took them back to Keiko, knowing that even though they were slightly too large, the upper part would tighten to fit and keep them on her feet.

The bat, who still hadn’t returned to his skin after covering the camera outside the security hub, fluttered around in the air above him. You’d better get back home before she gets mad again, Mace told it.

With a mental sigh, the bat landed on his shoulder and sank into his skin.

When he went back into the restroom area, Mace found Keiko resting against the sink. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her lips trembled.

“Slip your feet into these.” He passed her the ugly, black shoes.

“Wonderful, thank you.” She beamed at him as though he’d given her a diamond ring, and he felt himself blush again. This reaction to Keiko was going to get him laughed out of his team.

“You ready?” It was a dumb thing to ask. He needed her out of there whether she was ready or not.

“Yes.” Her hands were shaking, although she tried to hide it, and it was clear that the thought of walking past the blood and bodies again was freaking her out.

He could help with that.

Without asking, he scooped her up in his arms.

“What are you doing? I have shoes now. I can walk.” She wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Getting you past the bodies. I’ll put you down at the panel. Close your eyes if you need to.” He toed open the door to the security hub.

“Thank you,” she whispered and settled into him.

“Don’t thank me, Keiko. This is the least I should do. I want so much more for you than the horror you’re experiencing.”

“You’ve got such a gentle heart, Mace.”

What the hell? “Don’t even think that shit. If my team hears you say that, I’ll never live it down.”

“Don’t worry.” She rested her head on his shoulder. “I’ll make sure everyone knows you’re a badass.”

“Thanks.” Although he would have been more reassured if she hadn’t smiled when she said it.

Chapter Thirty-Three

“There are a few things I need to know before we blow the system,” Mace said as he deposited her in front of the control desk in the security hub. “First one, how many Freedom fighters are between here and the front doors. Then I want to look outside, see if there’s a way through Enforcement. After that, we can shut the cameras down. Now, stick your magic fingernail in the panel and bring up the feeds from all cameras on the ground floor, inside and outside the building.”

He took up position in front of the screens: legs apart, arms folded, glaring. It looked as though he was about to go to war with the images.

Keeping her eyes away from the rest of the room and the bodies she knew were there, Keiko accessed the panel and sent a command to the network to show the camera feeds he needed. She felt as though she’d been wrung out and hung out to dry. Every nerve ending in her body was raw, and she hated it. Later, after this was over, she planned on having the world’s most epic meltdown. Until then, she needed to be strong—for her and for the freaky Viking who was stealing her heart with the way he cared for her.

“Enforcement’s getting ready for an assault,” Mace said. “It looks like there are only a few Freedom fighters between us and the front doors. If we take the back route, we should minimize how many we encounter, but we need to go now, before Enforcement enters the building.”

Movement on the screen showing the elevators on their floor drew their attention. Two Freedom fighters, a man and a woman, emerged once the doors opened. They were armed. And they were heading straight for the security hub.

Their time had run out.

“Shut down the system now,” Mace ordered as he strode toward her.