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While Paige reconstructed her father’s virus documentation in a simple code, Cody made sure the printer was booted up.
It took twenty precious minutes for her to reconstruct her father’s notes, adding in a few fatal errors. Hopefully, she’d hidden them well enough to buy them time to escape before Jason’s kidnappers realized she’d altered the instructions.
She hit the PRINT key. “Ready.”
They shared a long, intense look. Cody swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I’m doing this alone.”
“Not gonna happen.” If anyone was going alone, it was her. The Consortium could grab her anytime. Her team wasn’t infallible. No one was. She might as well fight them now.
The coldness in Cody’s eyes turned to steel. “I’ll take you down if I have to, Penderson.”
She folded her arms over her chest. “Bring it on.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off. “Two against however many is way better than one, even if one of those people is me,” she pointed out. “I can buy us time. I’m good at that.”
She refused to be a liability. Her father and Cody had sacrificed too much to let the bigger mission fail.
40
After a textbook touchdown,the plane’s powerful engine throttled down, the roar fading to a low rumble as the pilot maneuvered off the runway. Cody’s stomach clenched as they taxied toward the low-slung terminal. His eyes narrowed, focusing on two intimidating figures flanking a nondescript sedan. Their black tech clothes and threatening tattoos screamed trouble, even if they weren’t visibly armed.
He handed Paige one of their go bags, a grim reminder of what they were walking into. “Consortium muscle. Let me do the talking.”
To his relief, she didn’t argue. He could feel her vibrating with anxiety next to him, her breath coming in short, sharp bursts. The urge to comfort her warred with the necessity of staying alert.
Searching for something to ease her fears, he found himself quoting, “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?”
“Impressive,” Paige murmured, her voice barely audible over the dying whine of the engines.
“I’m learning,” Cody added, a wry smile tugging at his lips. Learning verses was easy. Learning to trust in the Lord was the hard part. After three years, he still struggled with it. Maybe he always would.
As they approached the exit, his muscles tensed. The familiar weight of his concealed weapon pressed against his side, a cold comfort as they prepared to step into the lion’s den.
He grabbed the door latch. The plane’s door hissed open. A blast of humid air rushed in, carrying the acrid scent of jet fuel. His nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath.
The pilot, a tall, slender, silver-haired man, stood in the cockpit doorway bending down to catch a glimpse out the portholes. His lips flattened into a grim line. “Anything I can do?”
“Thanks, but this is our fight. How about hanging close in case we need a lift?”
The man’s gaze flickered from the doorway to Cody and back. “I’ll fuel up now and run through a preflight. We can be wheels up in five minutes from your signal.”
“Outstanding. Other than that, just stay safe,” Cody replied, his tone brooking no argument.
“You want me to contact Kate?” the pilot asked, hope flickering in his eyes.
“Negative,” Paige answered before he could. “We’re on communications lock down. Please don’t.”
The man glared out the window and turned back to them, his thin shoulders sagging. “Understood. I don’t like it, but I understand. Radio silence.”
Paige smiled at the man, a wobbly but heroic attempt. “We appreciate it.”
The pilot shook his head and headed back into the cockpit. “This is why I got out,” he muttered, his words barely audible over the ambient noise.
Cody faced Paige, eyeing her Kevlar vest, obvious beneath her thin tee-shirt. “You ready?”
“Not even close.”
That made him smile. “Me, either.” He handed her his duffel bag. “You okay with both of these? I need my hands free.”
