“I’ve seen enough. Let’s get out of here,” he said. “You get into that system, stop the attack, and find out where it’s coming from. That’s how we’re going to save our skins.”

When they turned around, he noticed a red light flashing on the far wall. “A silent alarm.”

Mackenzie gasped. “What?” Fear edged her words.

“Come on.” He grabbed her hand, and they ran toward the elevator.

“Wait. No. We should use the stairwell in case the elevator is compromised again.”

His thoughts had been tracking that way as well. Perhaps Mackenzie wasn’t the only person invading the code at Hanstech.

At the stairwell, Mackenzie used her keycard and headed up the steps. How much longer would it work before someone caught on?

“We need to head to the locker room. If anyone finds us, it needs to be at the lockers.”

They entered the second floor. “Hurry,” she gasped. She led him down a long hallway and pushed through a door. “This is the women’s locker room, but you can come too since no one is here.”

She quickly rushed down the long set of lockers, found hers, opened the combination padlock, and grabbed her iPad.

“You really did forget it?”

“I left it for just such an occasion.” Then louder, she said, “Okay, I’m ready to go.”

Tablet in hand, she slammed the locker door, then locked it.

Tilden stepped into view. “I was getting worried about you. The alarm went off.”

“I didn’t hear an alarm,” Mackenzie said. “What’s going on?”

“It’s a silent alarm. Nothing showed on the cameras, though.”

Tilden gave her a curious look. What did the man know about her skills and her reason for being here at Hanstech? Alex didn’t like concealing their actions from the guard, but then again, the less Tilden knew, the safer he would be. And he had the feeling Tilden didn’t miss anything.

“You should follow the protocol. Did you call for security backup?” Alex asked. Listen to me. Telling the guy how to do his job.

“They’re on the way.” Tilden studied Alex. Measuring him. Had he looked into Alex’s background?

“Maybe we somehow set something off.” Mackenzie handed Tilden the keycard.

Tilden glanced between them, his expression unreadable.

Alex wanted—no, needed—for his actions to be sanctioned. He couldn’t wait the full thirty-six hours. This had gone too far, and he had let it. Too many questions grappled for space in his brain. Guilt suffused him. He didn’t want the man to come to harm because of their actions.

“I have a law enforcement background. Do you need assistance?”

The man’s cell buzzed, and he glanced at it. “My backup is here. Nothing’s been breached that I can see on the cameras. Thanks for your offer, but it isn’t safe at the moment. I’ll escort you to your vehicle.”