Part 2
I let my eyes go dead, slumped my shoulders against the stone wall, and let out a loud, sloppy hiccup just as Laurent stepped onto the terrace. I clutched my empty champagne flute, swaying slightly.
"Oh, hey there, Frenchie," I slurred, pasting a goofy, vacant smile on my face. "Was just... looking for the bathroom. These fancy clubs... too...
Part 2
The moment his fingers dug into my bicep, muscle memory from fifteen years of special operations kicked in. I didn't strike him—that would blow my cover and escalate the situation to deadly force. Instead, I shifted my weight, dropping my center of gravity by a fraction of an inch, and applied a swift, agonizing pressure point lock to...
Part 2
“Move the barrier,” I said.
Blake gripped it. “You are not authorized.”
The technician checked the alarm. “Seventy seconds.”
I could have revealed my identity.
Instead, I looked at Mariah.
“What does procedure say when a restricted system enters thermal runaway?”
“The senior technician may request emergency escort for an approved expert.”
“Do it.”
Mariah keyed her radio. “Emergency technical escort requested. Contractor Natalie Reed is...
Part 2
My tires screeched against the asphalt as I sped away, my heart hammering against my ribs. They know. Do not go home. Meet me at the safehouse immediately.
The text from David Sterling, Grandpa Arthur’s fiercely loyal estate attorney, glared at me from the dashboard. I didn't even know what safehouse he meant, but my phone chimed again with...
Part 2
Miriam read the petition twice.
“They moved faster than Henry predicted.”
“Can they freeze the trust?”
“Temporarily, if a judge believes you may be vulnerable. But filing this petition triggered the anti-coercion clause.”
She called the trust company and placed every discretionary distribution on hold. Then she requested an emergency hearing and preservation order for my grandfather’s home, cameras, medical records, and...
Part 2
Gravity seized the ten-ton metal beast, yanking it toward the black ravine. My stomach leaped into my throat as the cabin tilted past sixty degrees. The driver let out a terrified scream, his hands blindly clawing at the empty air.
"Grab my vest!" I roared, bracing both of my combat boots squarely against the shattered dashboard. The metal beneath...
Part 2
The fuel spread toward the bus in a shining ribbon.
“Nina, foam line now!” I shouted.
Firefighters redirected the hose while I cut Walt’s boot with a trauma knife. The leather tore. His foot came free just as the truck shifted again.
I dragged him by the back of his coat. A firefighter caught his shoulders, and together we rolled behind...
Part 2
"Reaper! Stand down!" The words tear from my throat, loud and commanded with absolute military authority.
Declan freezes. His grip on my collarbone slightly loosens, but his broad chest is still heaving rapidly. "Reaper" was his elite operational call sign, a highly classified detail absolutely not listed in any of his civilian medical files here at Ironwood.
"Who... who is...
Part 2
I did not answer Crane.
The radio crackled again.
“Red Canyon, winds are increasing. Confirm landing zone.”
I stood. “Courtyard landing. We will clear the west side and mark the power line.”
Crane shook his head. “That courtyard is too small.”
“So is the time we have left.”
I assigned tasks before he could argue. Two staff members dragged patio furniture inside. Another cut...
Part 2
The colonel placed the flight recorder on a table beneath the aircraft’s wing.
Lieutenant Reed stepped back, suddenly aware that the ceremony had become an investigation of his judgment.
The retired colonel introduced himself as Daniel Shaw, former commander of the 91st Expeditionary Support Group. He had authorized the memorial exhibit and preserved the original recording.
“This aircraft’s public history was...
