Page 48 of Tag
His tone was low but threaded with steel. Faron stared at him for a long moment before backing off, jaw tight.
Tag turned to me. “You don’t have to tell him.”
That surprised me. “But you want me to tell you?”
“Yeah,” he said without hesitation. “Because if I’m going to keep you alive, I need the whole picture. No half-truths, no convenient silences.”
I looked between the two men—the brother who’d bled for me before I even knew we were family, and the man who’d just kissed me like the world could burn around us and he’d still hold on.
The truth sat heavy on my tongue.
Too heavy.
“If I tell you,” I said slowly, “you don’t get to un-know it. And it’s going to change how you see me.”
Tag’s eyes didn’t waver. “Then let it.”
Before I could decide whether to break, Faron’s radio crackled. “Incoming,” Gideon’s voice came through. “Two vehicles, maybe three, closing fast from the west. You’ve got less than five minutes.”
I was so happy we had Gideon and the team back.
Tag’s gaze locked on mine, intense and unflinching. “Decision time, Aponi. You tell me what I’m walking into—or we both find out the hard way.”
Outside, the low growl of engines was already bleeding into the morning air.
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Tag
The sound of engines grew into a low, hungry roar, bouncing off the canyon walls.
Three vehicles, maybe four.
Fast.
Faron moved to the nearest window, scanning with his scope. “Two trucks, one SUV, all armored. They’re spreading to block the road.”
“That’s Sable,” I said. “She’s closing the circle.”
Aponi was already checking her mag, sliding it into place with a sharp click. “Then we open it.”
“Not without a plan,” I snapped. “They’ve got numbers, high ground, and momentum. We’ve got—”
“Three minutes,” Faron interrupted. “Max.”
I crossed to the back of the room, yanking the tarp off Miguel’s workbench. Beneath it sat a half-disassembled AR, a crate of ammo, and three flashbangs. Not much, but enough to make an entrance.
The engines were louder now, dust clouds rising outside.
“Aponi.” I didn’t take my eyes off the gear as I said her name.
She paused mid-check of her sidearm. “Yeah?”
“Now’s the time to tell me what we’re fighting for.”
Her gaze locked with mine. For a second, I thought she’d stonewall me again. But something in her eyes shifted—like the weight of it all finally tipped.
“It’s a kill list,” she said, low but clear. “Graves’ operations from ten years back. Names of every politician, corporate exec, and military contact on his payroll. Not just here—globally. People who can disappear whole cities if the price is right.”
