Chapter 34
Jase
Location: Safehouse — War Room
No one breathes.
The name sits on the screen like a loaded weapon pointed straight at us.
Every instinct I have says the same thing—this changes everything.
Cal is the first to move, pushing off the wall, stepping closer like proximity will somehow make it less real. “That’s wrong,” he says, but there’s no conviction behind it.
Ethan doesn’t answer. His eyes are locked on the data, fingers already moving, digging deeper, verifying.
“Tell me that’s a glitch,” Jonah mutters.
“It’s not,” Ethan replies quietly.
The room tightens.
Because we all know that tone.
That’s not uncertainty.
That’s confirmation.
I step closer to the screen, my gaze narrowing as the profile expands.
Name. Clearance level. Financial ties. Movement logs.
And right there—
connected to Helix.
Connected to everything.
I exhale slowly. “Say it.”
Ethan hesitates for half a second.
Then he does.
“Director Hayes.”
The words land like a detonation.
Jason lets out a low curse. Lance just shakes his head, once, like he’s trying to reset reality.
“Hayes is oversight,” Cal says. “He signs off on joint ops. He’s cleared at the highest level.”
“Exactly,” Ronan replies.
That’s what makes it worse.
I don’t look away from the screen. “How deep?”
Ethan pulls up more data, and the answer unfolds in real time. “Funding approvals routed through shell programs. Black site authorizations signed under alternate directives. He’s not just connected—he’s facilitating.”
Silence crushes the room.
Because this isn’t infiltration anymore.
This is leadership.
Jonah exhales slowly. “You’re telling me the guy we answer to… is part of this?”
“Yes,” Mila says.
Her voice cuts through everything.
Cal turns toward her. “You knew?”
“I suspected,” she answers. “I didn’t have proof until now.”
I finally look at her.
“You still took it,” I say.
A flicker crosses her expression, something between resolve and something deeper. “Yeah.”
“Even knowing what that could mean?”
Her gaze locks onto mine. “I knew what it already meant.”
That lands harder than anything else in the room.
Because she didn’t just steal data.
She exposed something she knew could get her killed.
Or worse.
Ronan steps forward slightly. “If Hayes is on this list, then we can’t trust command. Not any of it.”
Jason nods. “We’re off-grid now. Completely.”
“We already were,” Lance mutters.
Ethan leans back, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t just corruption. This is infrastructure. If we move on this wrong, we don’t just get shut down—we disappear.”
My jaw tightens.
“Then we don’t move wrong.”
All eyes shift to me.
Because they hear it.
This isn’t hesitation.
This is decision.
“We build our own op,” I continue. “No command. No oversight. Just us.”
Cal nods slowly. “Delta Five off-book.”
Jonah exhales. “That’s not risky at all.”
“That’s survival,” Ronan corrects.
Mila hasn’t moved.
She’s still watching the screen.
Still watching that name.
Like she expected it—but hoped she was wrong.
I step closer to her, lowering my voice just enough that the others can’t hear. “You okay?”
She lets out a breath, slow, controlled. “Yeah.”
I don’t believe that.
But I don’t call her on it.
“Come on,” I say quietly.
She hesitates, then nods.
We step out of the war room, leaving the team to start breaking the rest of the list apart.
Mila
Location: Safehouse — Back Hallway
Time: 10:19
The hallway is quiet.
Too quiet after everything we just saw.
I lean back against the wall, closing my eyes for just a second.
Director Hayes.
Of all the names on that list…
That one was the worst.
Jase stops in front of me, close enough that I can feel the heat of him, the steady presence that somehow grounds everything.
“You knew it could be bad,” he says.
“Yeah.”
“But not that bad.”
I open my eyes and meet his. “I didn’t want it to be that bad.”
There’s a difference.
He studies me like he understands that.
Like he sees more than I’m saying.
“You still went after it,” he says.
“I always go after it.”
A corner of his mouth almost lifts. “Yeah. I’ve noticed.”
Silence settles between us, but it’s different than before. Not tense. Not uncertain.
Real.
“You flew missions like this, didn’t you?” he asks.
That catches me off guard.
I tilt my head slightly. “What kind of missions?”
“Ones where you knew you might not come back.”
I hold his gaze.
Then nod once.
“Fighter jets,” I say. “Combat zones. Targets you don’t get a second shot at.”
His expression shifts, something deeper settling in. “That explains a lot.”
“Like what?”
“The way you move,” he says. “The way you decide.”
A small breath escapes me. “Yeah. You don’t hesitate up there. If you do… you’re done.”
His eyes don’t leave mine. “And down here?”
I take a step closer.
“Same rules.”
We’re close now. Closer than we should be.
Closer than either of us is pretending not to want.
“You’re not alone in this anymore,” he says quietly.
Something in my chest tightens.
Dangerous territory.
“You keep saying that,” I murmur.
“Because it’s true.”
I search his face, looking for doubt.
There isn’t any.
That should scare me.
Instead—
it steadies me.
My hand lifts without thinking, resting against his chest, right over his heartbeat.
Strong.
Steady.
Alive.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” I say softly.
His hand comes up, covering mine. “Not before I get you through this.”
A breath catches in my chest.
“Jase…”
His forehead brushes mine, just for a second. “You don’t have to do this alone anymore.”
I close my eyes briefly.
Because for the first time—
I actually believe him.
And that?
That might be the most dangerous thing of all.