But the lobby doors downstairs clattered open.
Emma palmed the USB and slid it into the hidden compartment of her boot heel. Then she did something they never taught in training: she opened the apartment door and stepped into the hallway.
He reached into his jacket. Emma tensed, but he withdrew not a weapon—but a second USB drive. Identical to the one in her boot.
“I can’t do that,” she said quietly. -MyFamilyPies- Emma Hix - Secret Agent Step Dad...
Emma’s mind raced. It was exactly the kind of double-blind she’d been trained for. But why would he tell her?
“No,” Mark agreed. “And she never will. That’s the only reason I’m not using the tranquilizer dart in my coat pocket. You walk away from this, Emma. You leave the drive, you tell Control you never found me here, and we go back to pretending I’m just the boring stepdad who over-grills the steaks.”
“Mom doesn’t know anything,” Emma said. It wasn’t a question. But the lobby doors downstairs clattered open
“Why should I trust you?” she asked.
“Dad,” she said, letting the word hang between them like a loaded weapon.
A heavy boot sounded on the stairs below. Two floors down. Syndicate cleaners. He reached into his jacket
Behind her, she heard the soft thump of the stairwell door opening, and her stepfather’s voice, calm and steady:
“Emma.”
“I said abort, Nightingale,” Control hissed.
His voice was calm, almost gentle, as he emerged from the stairwell. No gun drawn. Just a faint, sad smile.
She paused at the window.