Page 8 of Shadow's Edge

“The nanny was out walking her in a stroller when she was attacked. She’s now in hospital in a critical condition. The kidnappers also used a signal jammer to block all security footage in the area.”

“They were fucking prepared,” I muttered, disgust curling in my gut at the thought of some bastards snatching a kid.

Duke nodded. “This wasn’t random, it was a targeted hit on a high-profile civilian. That means we’re moving out soon to find Perry Menzie, and we need toknowwho can do what. So, let’s get started on that.”

“Where’s Kyle?” Preacher cut in, glancing around.

Duke’s grin widened. “She’s…waiting.”

The Ghosts started laughing, some shaking their heads as if they were in on a joke we weren’t privy to.

“Kyle is an experienced sharpshooter, as you know,” Duke chuckled. “Right now, she’s just waiting for us to get into position.”

The rest of the Knights started scanning the tree line, looking for her. I had already been discreetly doing the same, but I still hadn’t spotted anything unusual. She wasn’t at the compound, it was too far away, so where the hell was she?

Sighing, Preacher pinched the bridge of his nose. “Duke, man, I appreciate you looking out for her, but I’m seriously not fucking happy about what I found out yesterday. She’s a fuckinggirl, she shouldn’t be?—”

BOOM.

The watermelon next to him exploded, splattering his face and shirt with sticky red pulp.

Chaos erupted as the Knights immediately drew their weapons, diving behind trees and taking cover on instinct. The fact that Istilldidn’t know where Kyle was had just turned into a serious fucking problem because we now had an unknown shooter with us in their sights.

And yet, Duke and the Ghosts were laughing.

“You little shit,” Duke chuckled, shaking his head. I finally noticed that all the Ghosts had throat mics, advanced comms gear most of us were familiar with in theory but not practice.

Through his laughter, Duke turned to Preacher, reaching out to help him up. “Looks like she didn’t appreciate the shit coming out of your mouth.”

Preacher wiped the watermelon from his face, scowling.

Duke smirked. “These new mics stay live instead of needing to be activated manually. So, yeah…she heard everything.”

The Ghosts broke into another round of laughter, and even I couldn’t help the grin pulling at the corner of my mouth.

Wherever she was, Kyle Ghost had just made one hell of a statement.

We all turned in circles, scanning the treetops, rooftops, anywhere she could have set up her shot. Now that the initial panic had settled and we knew we weren’t under attack, just dealing with a sniper with a grudge against her old man, it became a different kind of problem.

“You won’t find her,” one of the Ghosts said seriously. “If she doesn’t want to be seen, you won’t see her.”

KYLE

“Shit, my bad. My finger slipped,” I muttered to Duke while simultaneously listening to Hunter over the other comms channel. One earpiece connected me to my team, the other to him. Multitasking at its finest.

That didn’t mean I hadn’t heard what that asshole had said about me earlier, like Preacher actually gave a shit.She’s a fucking girl.

Asshole.

“What are you doing?” Hunter asked, his voice calm and familiar.

“Cleaning my new scope. I had an asshole between the crosshairs.”

Hunter snorted but didn’t comment further. After we hung up, I returned my focus to the scope, watching as the men below swept away the watermelon shrapnel. I’d been lying up here on the clubhouse roof for the past forty minutes, waiting for my cue to start taking out targets.

But my focus wasn’t just on the range. The senator’s daughter had been kidnapped, and every second we wasted playing target practice made me itch to move. The idea of some bastard laying hands on that little girl made my stomach churn. I wanted to be out there, tracking them down, ending the nightmare before it even started.

At least now, with Hunter and his team working with us, I felt better. I knew how they operated—efficient, tactical, ruthless when necessary. Exactly what we needed. Because the guys I was currently watching through my scope barely looked like they could tie their own damn boots.

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