Page 169 of Without a Trace
And I needed to stop fucking shaking.
I walked until the lights from the villas disappeared behind me, until the jungle swallowed the sound of the others and all I could hear was my own breathing. Rough. Sharp.
They’d found us.
They weren’t supposed to. Not here. Not this fast.
And someone knew exactly where to look.
I leaned against a tree, the bark rough against my back, trying to piece it all together.
They’d said there were three. Zeke took one down. Trace shot another. But that third—the one near the back—he’d gotten too close. Too fast.
That wasn’t luck.
That was access.
And I hated how that knowledge beat inside me. Heavy. Loud.
I thought of Rhett—laughing through pain. Alden’s hand stained with blood. Kane calling out in the dark. Trace—desperate, fucking wrecked. Zeke… calculating.
They all had reasons to be here.
But one of them could have a reason not to be.
My stomach twisted.
Was it Alden? He was quiet when the gunfire started. Too quiet. But that could’ve been focus.
Was it Kane? He was off tonight. Distracted.
Zeke? He always knew more than he said.
Rhett? No. I refused to believe it.
Trace…
God. What if it was Trace?
What if everything—every kiss, every look—was a setup from the start?
I pressed my fist to my chest and breathed.
No. It couldn’t be.
But then again… wasn’t that the point?
You don’t spot a traitor until he’s close enough to make it hurt.
I pushed off the tree.
I wasn’t going to wait for another attack.
I’d find out the truth.
And if one of them was the reason I bled tonight—
They’d learn exactly what kind of fire they lit.
