The main bolt of the panic room door snapped with the sound of a pistol shot.

The steel door swung open an inch, sticking on its safety chain.

Through the gap, Vanessa’s pale, beautiful face appeared in the dim red light.

Her eyes were wide, her blonde hair damp with melted snow.

In her gloved hand, she held a heavy, black handgun, pointed directly through the opening.

“Step away from the terminal, Nathan,” she said softly.

“Or I start shooting through the gap.”

Nathan stood perfectly still, his body blocking the screen, which now read eighty percent.

I squeezed Emma’s shoulder, my heart stopping as the gun barrel aligned with Nathan’s chest.

“You won’t shoot,” Nathan said, his voice deadly calm.

“You need the decryption key on this drive, and only my biometrics can activate it.”

Vanessa smiled, a cold, empty expression that didn’t reach her eyes.

“I don’t need your biometrics alive, Nathan,” she whispered.

She pulled the slide of the gun back with a sharp, metallic click.

The screen behind Nathan beeped.

*Download Ninety Percent Complete.*

“One more step, Julian,” Vanessa called out to her partner behind her.