“Let’s go,” she said, her voice sounding more confident than she felt.

Marcus was already holding the elevator door. “Emma went up ahead to let them know about the power situation,” he explained, gesturing them in.

Daniel flashed Juniper a quick smile, his dimple appearing for the briefest of moments. “After you,” he said, and she could feel him close behind her as they entered.

As they crowded into the elevator with Marcus and their files, Juniper couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency, as if every second counted. The documents in her arms seemed to pulse with a life of their own, the weight they contained threatening to spill out at any moment.

The confined space felt impossibly small with the three of them. Juniper’s heart raced as Daniel pressed the button for the lobby, his arm brushing against hers in the process, Marcus politely looking at his device.

She glanced at Daniel out of the corner of her eye, taking in the determined set of his jaw and the intensity of his gaze. In that moment, she knew that whatever had passed between them in the basement was far from over.