Running on Adrenaline

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Will reentered the room, his expression taut with quiet determination. “Remi. We’ve got Del stabilized. She’s waking up slowly, but I want her nearby—where we can watch her closely and where Rae can see she’s okay.” He looked at Trey, who gave a quick nod of approval. “We’re putting her in your room, Trey.”

Trey’s eyes widened, then softened. “Yeah. That’s fine. She’ll be safe here.”

“I’ll bring her in myself,” Will added. “And I’ll double the watch on this floor. Nobody gets in without clearance.”

He disappeared again, and I turned to Rae, who had slumped against the chair, still pale, still shaking, but typing steadily on her laptop.

“You’ve been running on adrenaline for too long,” I said gently. “You need something more than grit, Rae. You’re low—aren’t you?”

She hesitated. Then, for the first time in hours, her voice cracked. “I haven’t had a Dexcom on since the fight. I lost the last one wrestling Jason. I’m guessing I’m tanking now, but… I didn’t want to stop. Not until I knew she was alive.”

I didn’t waste another second. I grabbed the emergency kit from the shelf and pulled out a new Dexcom sensor. “Hold still. I’ve got you.”

She flinched slightly as I pressed it into place and activated the transmitter. Within moments, the app buzzed to life on my tablet. She was crashing faster than she realized.

“You’re lucky you didn’t pass out,” I muttered, quickly prepping a glucose shot just in case. “You can run circles around firewalls, Rae, but you’ve got to stop trying to outrun your own body.”

“I know,” she whispered, voice thick. “I just—Del was bleeding. I couldn’t stop.”

“I know,” I said softly. “And you didn’t have to. You brought her home.”

The door eased open again as Will returned, this time carefully pushing a wheelchair. Del was wrapped in a blanket, drowsy but awake, her dark hair plastered to her temples. Her eyes fluttered toward Rae as Will rolled her in.

“Del?” Rae breathed, standing so fast I had to steady her.

Del blinked groggily. “Hey… told you I’d follow your chaos anywhere.”

Rae rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside the chair, gripping Del’s hand. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“You too,” Del mumbled. “You’re limping.”

Will helped transfer her into Trey’s bed while I adjusted the monitors to accommodate her. Trey scooted over without complaint, his eyes flicking between the two women.

Once everyone was settled, I drew the curtain mostly closed and dimmed the lights.

We gathered in a loose circle—me on a stool, Will leaning against the wall, Rae back on her laptop, Del resting quietly, Trey watching with new awareness in his eyes.

“We’ve got tampered footage,” Rae said quietly, screen lighting up her face. “Digital overlays hiding the attacks. Someone wanted us to believe the streets were safe—while they hunted.”

Will swore under his breath.

Trey leaned forward. “And now they know where Rae’s off-grid location was.”

“Which only Del and I knew,” I added, voice hard. “That swamp was locked down. No one else should’ve been able to find it.”

Rae nodded grimly. “I’m thinking it wasn’t about tracking me specifically. When I blocked the last hacker surge, I had to reroute and dump power through backup satellites to kill the signal. I think that spike exposed our coordinates—accidentally.”

“And someone was watching,” Will said.

“Someone waiting,” I echoed. “For a slip.”

Rae narrowed her eyes. “They’ll regret underestimating me. I’ve got the raw data downloading now. Once I pull the original security footage, I’ll have a signature. Whoever did this—whatever they are—they left a trail.”

“And we’ll follow it,” I said.

Because this wasn’t just about protecting our pack anymore.

It was about turning the tide. Together.

And this time, they wouldn’t see us coming.