Page 51 of Shadow's Edge

Data had always been the definition of controlled chaos. With his short mohawk, big gauges, tattoos snaking down his arms, and thick-framed glasses, he looked more like a cool nerd than the tech genius he was. He was always typing, always building something technical, and always moving. His ADHD made him restless, but he had found an anchor in his work. This, though, this was different. This wasn’t just his usual wired energy, this was pure fucking fury.

Preacher beat me to it. “Jared?”

Duke stiffened beside me. My jaw clenched. I fucking hated that guy.

“What about him?” Duke snapped, patience gone in an instant.

Data bounced on the balls of his feet, his jaw tight, and then he dropped the bomb. “It was him.”

Silence. The kind of silence that suffocates a room, thick and choking, heavy with unspoken rage.

“It can’t have been, Data.” Duke’s voice was low, edged with something dangerous. “He wasn’t there.”

Duke knew the details of Kyle’s mission, knew who had been deployed and who hadn’t. When he told us weeks ago that Jared wasn’t involved, we had been relieved. Now, that relief was gone.

Data reached into his bag, pulled out a thick folder, and handed it to Duke. “He arrived six days before the op.”

Duke’s fingers tightened around the file as he flipped through the pages, his eyes scanning the reports with the intensity of a man bracing for the worst. Then he froze. Yanking out the last page, he stared at it for half a second before his face twisted into something murderous.

“You didn’t think to tell me she asked for this shit?!” His roar exploded through the hospital room.

Data didn’t even flinch.

“Did you read what it says?” Duke snarled, shoving the paper toward him. “He gave away their exact fucking location!”

“She asked me not to,” Data replied, holding his gaze, his voice steady. “She was worried that the rat in the MC would pass it back.”

Preacher got up and paced toward the window, his shoulders tense, his fists clenched. Jared had handed them over. Threemen had died, and two more had lost their fights after making it back. Kyle had almost bled out on foreign soil because of him.

I flexed my fingers, trying to keep my rage in check. “What the fuck is he up to?”

Duke’s face was stone. “I don’t fucking know.” Then his expression darkened, his voice dropping into something lethal. “But I’m gonna find out.” He turned, already moving. “Data, with me.”

We didn’t say a word as they left. Preacher and I sat in silence, knowing there were ears everywhere. But when our eyes met, we didn’t need to say a fucking thing.

Jared was a dead man.

And I was going to make damn sure he felt every second of it.

Chapter 13

Jagger

Aweek had passed since Kyle woke up, and though she was stable and cleared for discharge, nothing else truly mattered until she was home. Security at the Compound had been reinforced—every weakness patched, every vulnerable spot fortified. We even had more men coming in, men we could trust.

Preacher was still dealing with Satan, the President of 412, who had his own share of problems, but none of it took priority over her. Kyle was the first move in a game that was about to shift, because everything had already changed.

And now? It was our turn to strike.

We had been prepared for the worst, bracing for the inevitable breakdown that the doctors and shrinks had warned us about. PTSD was aminefield—unpredictable and volatile. There was no straight line, noone-size-fits-allreaction with it either. But as the days passed, it became clear thatKyle wasn’t breaking, she was focusing.

Every detail she learned, every piece of evidence she compiled, every breadcrumb she passed onto Duke, it all pointed to onething:retribution. I wasn’t a shrink, but maybethatwas the key for her.

Preacher had tried talking to her, easing in where he could, but she kept thingsstrictly business.He didn’t push, but hestayed—always nearby, always watching. And I had seen it, thoserare, fleeting momentswhen Kyle thought no one was looking, when her walls were down just long enough to see what was beneath.

Confusion. Hope. She wanted to trust him, she just didn’t know how.

I had stayed with her every night. I wasn’t taking chances, not withJared still out there.The bastard hadvanished into the wind, but Kyle had been right, he couldn’t hide forever. Duke had putfeelers out everywhere, and it turned out we weren’t the only ones who wanted him dead. There werepeople out there who owed the Ghosts, and they were looking.

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