“Yeah. I know who you’re talking about.” His jaw tightened. “Get out of here, Tae. Now.”

As if in emphasis, shots pinged near them, over them.

In a second, Colt had her on the floor, his body over hers. Oh, this couldn’t be good for his heart. Or hers.

Especially when he leaned in and kissed her cheek, his lips near her ear. “I love you, Tae.”

Then he rolled away and melded into the darkness.

Colt!

She felt naked on the floor without him, all the heat of his body vanished.

No. Please.

The lights had diminished by half, but still the drones buzzed, whirring through the air, bouncing off the walls. Hitting the windows, cracking them.

Tiny bombs of toxin and danger as they exploded.

Run. The word pulsed inside her.

No.

She was done with running. Running, hiding, cowering . . . done.

Through the blink of the patriotic lights, she spotted Colt moving across the floor. Or maybe it was Sergei . . .

But what was she going to do—jump in and save Colt?

She’d seen him fight.

Swollen heart or not, she had no doubt that Sergei wasn’t walking out of here a free man.

She sat up.

What if the drones got free? They could break a window, escape into the night.

She had to shut them down. And not just because of the pox but because of the light they emitted. One lucky shot, illuminated by the drones and—

Nope.

Colt wasn’t the only brave one here.

Wasn’t the only one who was ready to do violence to keep people safe.

She hit her knees, kept her head down, turned, and headed back the way she came.

For a second, after Colt left, Ranger simply stood there, feeling punched.

Because, just like at the compound raid, he couldn’t help but think one of these days Colt was going to end up in a body bag.

But not today.

Ranger could feel the vibrations from inside the hangar, hear the whir of the propellers, the hum of the motors. The banging as the drones slammed against the walls.

Colt, you idiot!

He should have lunged at him, grabbed him back, but his brother was too big, too fast—too Colt—to be stopped.

And now, if their theory was right, his brother was in there, with his fragile heart, getting infected all over again.

Then again, maybe he was the only person who should be in there, with all that toxic biohazard. A guy whose body would repel it.

Still. Colt was in there. With at least one bioterrorist, maybe more.

Ranger stood outside the building, trying to take it all apart.

Breathe. Settle down. Focus. Words he would have told himself while sitting in a sniper nest, seeing things go south.