Nora’s eyes widened a fraction, but her face remained emotionless, impassive, as the elevator slowly rose to the third floor. Her sister was definitely holding something back. Mackenzie had been joking about the secret room. Now she felt like she was in a weird sci-fi movie.

Nora turned to face her. Her sister was older and thought herself wiser. Understandable. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You have a past, Mackenzie. If anyone finds out about that and what you’re doing here, then we could lose everything.”

“You sound like Rowan now.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry, Nora. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Nora pressed a hand to her forehead and blew out a breath. “I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t a good idea, after all.”

Her heart jumped to her throat. Why was she trying so hard to help if her assistance wasn’t even wanted? But . . . “You said you needed my help, Nora. And I’m here. I’m doing this. Your life could be in danger, don’t you get it? As for the company, you could lose everything anyway. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. If someone gets into your system and steals sensitive data, what happens then? And we could already be too late.”

The doors opened. Finally.

The entire floor was filled with cubicles and a few completely enclosed offices on the north side. But windows all around allowed the view of the forest to saturate the space—well, during the daytime. Right now, she saw her reflection and behind that, darkness. Nora unlocked an office and opened the door. Multiple computers along with four monitors mounted on the wall made Mackenzie smile.

Nora smiled too. “I thought you’d like it here. Better for you to have privacy than to work in a cubicle where someone might see what you’re up to. In the meantime, just use a different last name. How about Calhoun instead of Hanson, if anyone should ask?”

“Okay.”

“And try to blend in and don’t do anything to stand out or draw attention. We have people working on groundbreaking projects, some of which are disclosure projects, so—”

“I get it. Shrouded in secrecy.”

“Yes. They’re kept under wraps, so it’s unlikely anyone will ask you what you’re doing.”

“And if they do, I’ll just say it’s a tented project.”

“Yes. Good.”

“You don’t have to worry. I’m usually invisible to others, and I’ll be in this cave working for the most part.”