Page 69 of Tag
His gaze softened, but there was that hint of steel underneath. “I’ll make sure we do.”
I kissed him, slow and lingering, and for a heartbeat, I could almost believe the world outside didn’t exist.
Then the sharp buzz of his communication unit shattered the quiet.
Tag rolled onto his back with a muttered curse, reaching for the handset on the nightstand. “Tag.”
Callahan’s voice came through, clipped and urgent.“We’ve got a problem. Graves’ people hit a supply convoy in Arizona—took three hostages. They’re broadcasting demands.”
Tag’s eyes met mine, and the warmth of the morning was gone, replaced by the sharp edge I knew all too well. “What demands?”
“Trade.”Callahan’s pause was deliberate.“They want Aponi.”
The air in the room went heavy.
Tag set the communications down slowly, his jaw tightening. “They’re not getting you.”
I sat up, pulling the sheet around me. “You know what this means, Tag. Graves planned this. Even from a cell, he’s still moving pieces.”
He swung his legs out of bed, already reaching for his gear. “Then we move faster. We take the board away from him.”
The moment between us was gone, but the heat in his eyes when he glanced back at me said it wasn’t lost. Just waiting.
And I knew when this was over, we’d find it again.
64
Tag
By the time we hit the operations room, the screens were already lit with satellite images and tactical overlays. Gideon stood at the center table, pointing at a grainy feed of a dirt road flanked by scrub brush and rusting storage tanks.
“Convoy was here when they were hit. Three hostages, all military contractors. Captors are in this warehouse—east side of Black Mesa.”
I studied the image, jaw tight. “And they’re demanding a trade for Aponi?”
Gideon nodded. “They gave us four hours to deliver, or they start killing people on camera.”
Aponi stepped up beside me, arms crossed. “They know we won’t give them me. This is about pulling the team in—making us move on their ground.”
“Exactly,” I said. “Which means it’s a trap. But we’re not walking in blind.”
Callahan tapped at her laptop. “I’ve got a drone inbound. It’ll give us a thermal readout in fifteen minutes.”
“Too long,” I said. “We move in ten.”
Aponi turned to me. “We?”
I didn’t blink. “You’re staying here.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Tag—”
“Non-negotiable.” I glanced at her, letting her see I meant it. “If Graves wants you this bad, he’s going to have backup plans inside his backup plans. I need you safe until we find them all.”
The muscle in her jaw worked, but she didn’t argue—not out loud.
Gideon slid a communication set across the table. “We’ll go in two teams. I’ll take the west wall with Cyclone. You and Vance breach east. Keep it surgical—hostages first, then we sweep for any of Graves’ people we can bag.”
I strapped on my vest, the weight familiar, grounding. “If they’re here for leverage, we turn it on them. No survivors.”
