Page 13 of Tag
“She came back to the warehouse,” the voice whispered. “She tried to help us. She broke the lock on one of the cages. They caught her.”
My stomach dropped.
“She screamed your name before they dragged her away.”
Aponi’s eyes met mine—wild, full of fire. “We don’t have twenty-four hours.”
I was already on my feet. “Then we don’t wait.”
12
Aponi
The sun hadn’t risen yet, but the sky was turning that bruised purple color that always made my chest tighten. Don’t ask me why. Maybe it had something to do with my Indian heritage. Who knows.
It felt like something bad was about to happen.
Maybe it already had.
Tag stood across the room loading mags like his hands were made of stone—methodical, silent, relentless.
My vest sat on the table, waiting. So did my badge. But tonight, that badge didn’t mean a damn thing.
Tonight, I wasn’t a cop.
I was a woman who’d seen too many girls disappear—and this time, I knew exactly where they were.
I checked my sidearm, then the knife in my boot. My hands were steady. My heart wasn’t.
Tag’s voice cut through the quiet. “There’s a back entrance we missed last night. Hidden behind a pile of old tires. Blueprints show it leads to the lower level. Probably how they’re moving the girls without being seen.”
“Any idea how many men are inside?”
“Gideon says four, maybe five. Two with military training. The others hired muscle. No cameras, but trip wires in the south hallway. We’ll disable them from the roof access before we enter.”
I nodded, committing it to memory. “And Kaylie?”
“She’s alive,” he said. “One of Gideon’s informants saw her in a room near the north wall. They’re watching her.”
I swallowed the knot in my throat.
He moved toward me then—slow, careful, like I might break if he came too close.
“I need you to promise something,” he said.
I looked up. “What?”
“If things go sideways in there, you don’t try to be a hero.”
My brow lifted. “That’s rich coming from a guy who literally stepped between me and a gang leader last year.”
He didn’t smile. Just stared at me with those storm-gray eyes that saw way too much.
“I mean it, Aponi. I’m not losing you tonight.”
Something in me cracked open.
Not because I needed saving.
