Alina woke with a violent gasp.

Air tore into her lungs like she’d been drowning. Her hand flew to her chest, her heartbeat pounding out of rhythm — too fast, too hard, as if her body knew before her mind did that something was wrong.

Very wrong.

She sat up.

The basement was dimly lit by the glow of the screens. Patricia was standing stiffly near the desk, shoulders tight, posture defensive.

And—

There was someone else.

A woman stood by the open vault, her back half ...