Page 49 of Tag
Faron swore under his breath.
I felt the air in the room change. “Where is it?”
Aponi’s jaw tightened. “Safe. For now. But if he gets it back, he’ll erase every witness who’s ever breathed his name. Starting with me.”
That was all I needed to hear. “Then we make sure he never gets it.”
Outside, the first truck rounded the bend, headlights cutting through the dust. The SUV swung wide, blocking the only route down from the ridge. Doors flew open. Shadows spilled out—six, maybe seven operatives, all armed.
And then she stepped out.
Sable.
No helmet this time. Just that cold, fixed stare as she slung her rifle forward.
“Aponi,” she called, voice carrying across the canyon. “Last chance. Come with me, and they live.”
I felt Aponi stiffen beside me.
Faron glanced between us. “She’s not bluffing.”
“Neither am I,” I said.
I yanked the pin on the first flashbang and met Aponi’s eyes. “Stay close.”
The grenade clattered onto the dirt outside—
Light.
Sound.
Chaos.
We moved.
39
Aponi
The flashbang went off like the sun detonating at our feet—white heat, teeth-rattling thunder, and the sharp ozone tang of spent powder.
Shouts erupted outside, the clean rhythm of rifle fire breaking into staccato chaos.
Tag was already out the door, moving low, rifle tucked tight to his shoulder. I followed, my gun a familiar weight in my grip. Faron flanked to our left, drawing the fire from the SUV while I covered Tag’s right.
Dust churned under our boots, clinging to sweat and grit. The canyon walls threw back every shot until it felt like we were in the middle of a war drum.
“Two on your right!” I shouted, catching movement in my periphery.
Tag pivoted, double-tapping both targets before they hit the dirt. He didn’t pause—just kept moving, eyes locked on the ridgeline ahead where Sable had vanished.
More shadows appeared through the haze—Graves’ operatives regrouping fast. One dropped behind a rusted-out water tank, spraying rounds to pin us in.
Faron took him out, voice crackling in my earpiece. “Pushing left!”
That’s when I saw her.
Sable.
