“Shut up!” Maya shouted, and Becca knew she’d hit her target where it hurt the most.
“You’ve got her.” Jay leaned in to whisper in Becca’s ear. “Keep pushing and she’ll come running.”
With a sharp nod of acknowledgement, she laughed, a low, mirthless sound that ricocheted off the hangar walls. “Tell me, what’s it like to always be the runner-up, Maya? I mean—you tried so hard with Mom and Dad, with everyone, and you still came in second. Every damn time. That had to suck.”
“Shut up!”
“You never stood a chance. You know that, right? You were the spare. Twin number two. You were never going to measure up. Even now, you’re reaching for things you’ll never have. Power. Control. Love.”
“Shut up and get your loser ass out here. Right now!” Triggered by the provoking words, Maya’s precarious grip on her control started to slip.
“That’s it,” Jay encouraged. “She’s cracking.”
“You always thought you were so smart. Better than anyone on a computer.”
“I am better!”
“What you are is delusional,” Becca huffed. “You’re nowhere near as talented as Jay. Hell, you’re not even as good as I am. That’s why he asked me to code the key to control Dominion.”
“You’re lying,” she spat. “Jay coded the key.”
Becca shook her head. “Wrong again. Jay coded the lock. I coded the key. There’s no way to control Dominion without both scripts.”
“That…that’s impossible,” Maya stuttered, her eyes flicking to the soldier beside her. “It was our project. We worked on it together. You had nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, I had everything to do with it. Jay didn’t trust you. Any of you. So tell me, Maya, what happens when Johnson figures out you lied about the codes? What happens when he learns the truth? When he realizes you duped him to save your own ass? What then? God, I can only imagine how disappointed he’ll be to discover he picked the wrong fucking sister.”
“You’re lying,” Maya screamed. “Give me Jay or Nik dies!”
“You want him?” Becca yelled back. “Think you can take him away from me? You already tried and failed once, remember? Jay never wanted you. Still doesn’t want you, but sure, come on in and give it a whirl, bitch.”
“Enough!” Beyond incensed, Maya hauled Nik to his feet. “Let’s go,” she ordered, fury making her movements choppy as she shoved him toward the open hangar door.
From his concealed vantage point, Adam’s voice came through the comms, measured and authoritative. “HVT in motion. One civilian hostage being used as a human shield. I have eyes on a single, armed escort bringing up the rear. Maintain watch and hold positions on your assigned targets.”
A flurry of acknowledgements crackled through the comms—each voice distinct, confident, sharp with purpose, and hearing them, steadied Becca’s nerves. These were the people she trusted most in the world. Whatever happened next, she wasn’t facing it alone.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Maya stormed forward, shoving Nik ahead of her like she manhandled hostages on the regular, and Becca had to work at keeping her panic under control. She’d spent the last two years planning for this moment—though she never imagined it would happen like this—with Jay by her side and a team of black ops commandos backing them up.
Even so, Maya was unpredictable. A threat despite the level of precautions they’d taken.
Three meters. Two. One.
Nik crossed into the shadows of the hangar first, Maya close on his heels. The operative behind them continued to follow, scanning his surroundings until his head disintegrated in a savage spray of blood and bone, the sharp crack of Adam’s sniper rifle reaching them a half second after the damage was done.
Dead before the echo even faded, the soldier collapsed mid-stride, a lifeless heap on the tarmac as the newly repaired hangar door slammed closed, preventing any attempts to escape while scattered gunfire erupted outside.
“Put the gun down,” Jay ordered, rounding the corner of the crates, his pistol leveled toward Maya’s chest.
“You first!” she shouted back, shifting positions and putting Nik between them.
“Don’t hurt him!” Becca yelled, observing everything on the screen from her concealed location. “Nik isn’t the way out. Put the gun down and let’s talk.”
“Open the door!” Maya ordered. “Jay and I leave. You get Nik. That’s the deal.”
“God, you’re as psychotic as ever. You hear that?” Becca paused to let the sound of the helicopter reach them. “That’s your ride taking off. There’s no way out of this, Maya. By now, your men are dead or gone, your plan has fallen apart, and the only way you get off this island is in handcuffs.”
