Page 31 of Shadow of Misty Mountain

Travis closes his eyes and I see his hands tremble. “I saw the blast. Given where he was, I knew it would save him from being tortured or dying slowly. There was no way anyone could survive it. Pushing that detonator and killing my best friend is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

My legs start to fold beneath me, and I sink to the edge of the bed.

“I knew if I surfaced, they’d kill me and try to blame the failed op on me and my team. I faked my death two days later,” Travis continues. “Blew up the extraction gear, dumped my tags in the rubble. Took the money and fake identification we’d stashed for an emergency, adopted the alias—Jack Stratton—and ran.”

My head spins. “Why? Why not report Carlton? Go public?”

“Because no one would’ve believed me. Carlton was protected. That op was never officially authorized. If I’d come forward, I’d have been court-martialed, silenced, or worse, and they’d have smeared the honor of every single one of my men. They would have altered the records to show they died in disgrace. So instead I started writing and a portion of the royalties gets sent each month to their survivors.”

“But Nick…”

“Left me a note for you. Each of us had left a note for whoever survived. Nick knew if I lived, I’d protect you. That’s what I’ve been doing. Or trying to.”

I stare at him. “You’ve been hiding in the woods writing bestsellers under a fake name.”

He laughs once, bitter. “Books are the only thing I can control anymore.”

“And Carlton?”

“Still out there. Still covering his tracks. My guess is he’s the one who threatened you, and I’d bet money he’s the one who sent that sniper. He knows I’m alive. And now he knows you’re connected to me.”

I suck in a sharp breath. “You think I’m a threat to him?”

“You are. You always were. Nick told you his suspicions. You had access to his journals. Then you started researching who Jack Stratton really was. You connected the dots back to me. That means you’re smarter than he expected. And that makes you dangerous.”

I stand, walk to the window, needing air that isn’t thick with secrets and ghosts. The snow outside reflects the pale dawn, and for the first time in days, the storm has cleared. But the real one’s just getting started.

“We have to expose him,” I say quietly. “Whatever it takes.”

Travis nods. “We will. But I’m not letting you walk into this blind. From here on out, you don’t leave my side.”

I turn, and he’s already there, towering over me. His hands settle on my hips. “You mean it?” I ask.

“Every damn word,” he says. “I should’ve told you sooner. But I was afraid.”

“Of me?”

“Of what you’d think. Of what it would cost.”

I lift my chin. “You don’t get to protect me by cutting me out. You did what Nick wanted and saved him from a horrible end. I don’t blame you for his death, and I know you well enough now that I know what it cost you.”

His gaze is molten. “You’re not getting cut out. You’re mine now. And if Carlton wants a war—we’ll give him one.”

My heart hammers, but this time, it’s not from fear. It’s from knowing we’re done running. It’s from knowing Travis Holt is all in… and so am I.

“Okay,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel. “Let’s burn him down.”

He leans in, presses a kiss to my forehead, and whispers, “We start today.”

And just like that, the lines of battle are drawn.

I’m still trying to process the wreckage of everything Travis just told me. My pulse hasn’t settled, and my thoughts are tripping over themselves, tumbling through memories and flashes I’d locked away for years. Nick’s face. His voice. The way he made me promise to find Travis if anything ever went wrong.

It all makes sense now. The ghost missions. The classified files that didn’t match the story. The way Nick’s journals and his post-op reports were delivered to me anonymously. The way themilitary shut the whole thing down so fast, like they were afraid of what might leak. I thought I was being paranoid. I wasn’t.

Carlton.

I repeat his name in my head like it’s a curse. Travis’s story plays in a loop—the mission in Syria, the setup, the betrayal, Nick choosing to cover his best friend’s escape when he knew there was no hope for him. Travis surviving only because my brother made that choice.

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