The Girl Who Dared to Endure (The Girl Who Dared #6)(3)

If we weren’t lucky, there was still a chance. If we could make it to the office before they did, grab the hard drives with our AI friends, and start the reset process, then they would be caught in the chaos of the automated systems removing the furniture and bringing the walls down. Having it happen when they were there would certainly lend credence to the idea that it was a glitch. But that was even riskier, because we were planning to leave using an escape hatch, and if we didn’t make it in time, or got injured by the furniture as it rushed by overhead, there was a chance Baldy and the others would see us and know what was happening.

I’d do it—and give up my chance at taking them out—but only if we could do it safely.

I kept listening, and heard: “No, I’m not sure what’s going on. That bitch Champion registered some sort of complaint that Sadie had to attend to.” There was a pause, and I found myself wondering who was at the other end. Accomplice, or someone in charge? “No, I don’t know the details. She authorized me to come up here and get it anyway, so calm down. It’s just a small deviation, not a complete disaster. I’ll get it down to you in a few minutes.”

Oh, this was good—very good. As long as whatever they had to get was in another room and not the office, we would be fine. We could just wait here for them to get what they came for and leave, and then be on our way.

As soon as I thought it, though, I realized I was about thirty-two shades of wrong. Of course they were going into Sadie’s office—the only thing they’d be here for was something computer-related, as she was the head of the IT Department, and the office was the only place where electronics and files were kept. If they noticed the mess on the desk or the three hard drives that had been slaved together and attached to the terminal, they would start to suspect something was wrong and investigate.

Once again, I found myself considering making a run for the office and trying to initiate the reset before they got there. Their voices sounded far enough away, and if Leo and I could just get there, get Jasper and Rose and the stuff we had planned to steal, then start the process…

But if we were spotted while he was still on a net call with someone… If he managed to get word out that the Champion of the Knights was in the head of IT’s quarters illegally… It was so very risky, and I hovered on the edge of the decision. If he ended the call soon, then it might be worth a try.

My hand tightened on my gun, the urge to tell Leo to open the door and get ready to move nearly overpowering as their footsteps thundered closer—still heading toward us, and toward the office, and making me reconsider the plan again. If we made a run for the office, and they caught us in the halls before we could make it there, chances were they could knock us off our feet using a burst of pressurized air from their pulse shields. If that were to happen, we’d lose control over the situation very quickly. Going into the halls to try to reach the office before them was too desperate and too risky. I had to think of something else. Maybe coming up from behind them and shooting them in the back. Maybe—

I opened my eyes as I realized that Baldy hadn’t said anything for a long time. He must’ve ended his conversation with whoever was on the net. On the one hand, that was good for us; now that he wasn’t transmitting, we could do something about him. On the other, it meant I had missed my opportunity to try to make it to the office before them.

“So how mad was he when you told him?” asked a feminine voice. I recognized it, too—as the one Baldy had been talking to right before he’d cut my throat. My fingers immediately itched to touch the spot, to remind myself that my neck was whole and unbroken, but I kept them firmly around the gun, straining to hear.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Claire,” Baldy replied tightly. But then, a heartbeat later, he exploded into, “That stupid order to keep that intrusive little bitch alive is a mistake, and we all know it.”

Claire made a consoling noise. “I know, I know,” she said soothingly. “She chased us from our home, and she’s been getting into stuff left and right. But he wants her alive for some reason, and you have to respect that.”

He went quiet, which only made the sound of stomping feet grow louder. I fought against the fear the noise created, focusing instead on their words. They were clearly talking about me, as I was the one who had accidently stumbled into their home when we were trying to recover some items we needed from the Attic. That was when he had cut my throat, as a cover for their escape. But the fact that they really didn’t want me dead left me feeling two things.

The first being abject fear. They might have orders to keep me alive, but they clearly didn’t like it. If they found us here and got the upper hand, who knew if they would let me live a second time. They might not, if they realized what I was here for—and how much I knew.

The second thing I noticed was that Baldy had mentioned a “he.” That meant there was a leader over Baldy… but was he over Sadie? Or was Sadie over him? Or were they partners?

I waited for them to say more about it, but to my dismay, the next thing I heard was Claire’s voice saying, “What the hell… Why is Sadie’s desk a mess?”





2





My heart seemed to go very quiet in my chest, and I had to put a hand over it just to make sure it was still beating. Stomach churning, I squeezed the pommel of the gun tighter and waited for his reply.