My name is Evelyn Vance. The Pentagon signed my transfer papers two years ago, stripping me of my Top Gun status and sticking me in the cockpit of a bloated, lumbering C-130 Hercules transport plane. To the world, I’m just a transport pilot. To the three stealth jets closing in on my tail right now, I’m supposed to be...
Part 1
My name is Harper Quinn, and thirty seconds ago, I thought I was sitting down for a simple family photoshoot. Now, two sets of polished acrylic nails are digging into my shoulders, pinning me down into an Italian velvet salon chair while an electric razor buzzes against my ear like an angry hornet.
"Hold still, Harper," purred Marissa Caldwell,...
Part 1
My name is Harper Quinn. Just eight months ago, I was an ER trauma nurse in Los Angeles, fighting to save lives under flickering fluorescent lights. Tonight, seven months pregnant, I was fighting for my own dignity in a gilded Beverly Hills mansion, pinned to a velvet chair while an electric buzzer vibrated against my skull.
"Keep her still,...
Part 2
Officer Higgins stood over the principal’s computer, his arrogant smirk cemented on his face as he waited for the precinct’s database to pull up my mother’s file. He leaned back on his heels, twirling his handcuffs around his thick index finger.
"Let's see what we have here," Higgins muttered mockingly. "Probably a string of unpaid parking tickets. Maybe some...
Part 2
The office door opened, and my mother walked in wearing a tan field jacket, dark trousers, and combat boots. Major Adrienne Reed did not look angry. That was how I knew someone was in serious trouble. Captain Lena Morales and Sergeant First Class Jonah Price entered behind her. Neither touched a weapon. They did not need to.
Mom looked...
Part 2
I pulled the heavy silver badge from my pocket and let it catch the harsh fluorescent light of the hangar. I didn't shove it in his face; I simply held it at chest level, letting the embossed seal of the Department of Defense Inspector General do all the heavy lifting.
"I am Lead Auditor Riley Vance," I said, my...
Part 2
Aircraft 214 reached the runway threshold as I switched the radio to the emergency command channel. “Viper Two-One-Four, abort takeoff. This is Lieutenant Colonel Ellison under Inspector General authority.”
The pilot answered immediately. “Ellison, tower shows me fully released.”
“The release is fraudulent. Hold position.”
A second voice broke in. “Viper Two-One-Four, continue mission.”
I recognized Colonel Grant Mercer, the wing’s deputy...
PART 2
The heavy metal door burst open, slamming against the concrete wall with a deafening crack. Mercer instantly stepped back, dropping his flashlight and instinctively dropping his hand to his holstered weapon. I braced myself, expecting to see a precinct captain or another dirty cop stepping in to help him finish the job.
Instead, two people strode into the room,...
Part 2
Rusk did not step away. His fingers closed around the envelope, but the second agent crossed the room and caught his wrist before he could lift it.
“Bad choice,” the man said. “Special Agent Marcus Bell.”
Chief Harold Danner stormed in behind them, red-faced and still fastening his uniform jacket. “This is my station. You don’t enter without calling me.”
Ortiz...
My name is Clara Vance. To the boys in the platoon, I was just the quiet girl carrying the heavy trauma kit—a Navy Petty Officer First Class who belonged behind sandbags, not leading a breach. They didn't know about my childhood on the shooting ranges of Montana, or my graduation from the elite Special Operations Combat Medic training. They...
