Page 145 of The Lazarus Protocol

They raced after the others, jumping over dead men on the way to the ladder at the end that would take them up to the deck.

Noah got a good enough look at one of the dead guys. “That’s the head of security we met in France.”

Marina slowed. She kicked the guy on the floor, rolling him to his back. “Petrice. Guess we don’t have to worry about him anymore.”

“I’ll keep watch. Check him for a phone, or some other communication device.”

“Do we need to worry about Adam? If he finds Montrose, things could get ugly.” She knelt by the body and rummaged in his pockets. “I should steal his shirt.”

Noah watched both ends of the hall, spotted movement, and confirmed it was one of the guards before he fired. “I’m gonna run out of bullets if there are many more of them.”

“Cell phone.” Marina backed up from the body and looked at him.

Petrice’s eyes opened, and he grabbed her wrist, sitting up fast. Marina screamed and tried to drag her hand from his hold. She dropped the phone.

Noah lowered the weapon to the man’s temple and pulled the trigger.

She stumbled back, scrambling on the floor to get away. Noah pulled her up and into his arms, ignoring the blood on her. Don’t think about the lack of clothing. “You’re safe.”

She pulled in a shuddering breath and held on tight to him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, her breath a whisper against his collarbone.

Noah had to make sure she was safe still and not get distracted. But he needed to say, “You were captured.”

“So were you.”

“That’s not the point.” He shook his head, glancing back over his shoulder. Clear. “I should’ve kept you safe.”

She stepped out of his arms. “You can’t protect me from everything.”

“I can try.”

“We’re not talking about the illogic of that right now. We’re all in danger, and we will be until we get off this ship.” Marina retrieved the phone from the floor. “It’s an Earthnet cell.”

“Bring it. We could get intel off it.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want this tech anywhere near my systems. It’s too risky.”

“What about the SIM card?”

Marina threw the phone down the hallway. “Not even on a firewalled computer.”

“Let’s go. We need to get to the bridge.” He looked at her. “But first we should find you a shirt.”

FORTY-NINE

Adam kicked the door in and entered, gun first.

Steph right behind him, wearing an oversized T-shirt they’d pulled off a guy on the way to the deck.

Montrose had a napkin tucked in his shirt collar. He was sitting at the far end of a conference table, a plate of what looked like chicken, rice, and broccoli in front of him, knife and fork in his hands.

“It’s over.” Adam leveled the gun at his head.

Montrose lifted one hand. “Before you act too hastily, you should check the closet. I brought along an insurance policy. One I thought you might like.” Interestingly, he looked at Steph right then.