Chapter 23 · Traceless - Chapter 23: No More Hiding

The screen flickered. Layla's photo stared back at her—hospital gown, empty eyes, a barcode stamped across her collarbone. NULL-00. Subject terminated.

She wasn't looking at it anymore. She was looking at Cole's hand, still pressed to the scanner, blood smeared across the glass. The baby in her arms squirmed, and she adjusted her grip, kept her breathing steady. Forty minutes. Vera was forty minutes out.

"We need to move," Cole said. He pulled his hand back, wiped it on his jacket. The cut across his palm was still bleeding. "If the system logged my access, she's not coming alone."

Layla's phone buzzed. She didn't want to look. She looked anyway.

Evan's name lit up the screen. Three missed calls. Two voicemails. A text that just said: **Where are you.**

Not a question. A demand.

She turned the phone off. "He knows."

"He's known the whole time." Cole was already moving toward the server racks, checking sight lines, counting exits. "Evan's been feeding HQ data since the pairing registry flagged you. He just didn't know what he was looking for until tonight."

"So he used me."

"He tried to." Cole glanced back. "Difference is, you're still here.