Years of hard-won control kept me from shaking apart. I worked hard to hide

the damage of what happened in that alley, despite its repercussions. When those

I thought had my back, walked away, and left me hanging, I did the best I could.

Even under relentless questioning I could see how the incident was being

shaped, so I stuck with selective dissociative amnesia. It was the only protection

available at the time. If I revealed what really happened, I would have been bounced out of the service for mental instability. Instead, the screen of trauma induced, sporadic memory loss resulted in a Section Eight medical discharge.

Kayden’s expression remained impassive. “I read the report you gave to the

inquiry board.” He watched me carefully. “You want to stick to that story?”

“I don’t owe you shit, Shaw,” I spat. Did he really expect me to share anything with him after he, Tag, and the others left me twisting in the wind?

Choking back the accusations, I sneered, “White jackets with buckles and

padded rooms are bad for my digestion. Besides, drool is so not my style.”

Instead of the expected anger, his lips quirked. I looked away and muttered,

“So glad I could amuse.”

“You’re being hunted.” I looked up. His brief show of humor was replaced by a strange seriousness. “I think he already has Kelsey.”

My heart stopped.

CHAPTER 3

“Start talking.”

It was a demand, ice cold and filled with protective rage. A rage

that barely concealed a noxious mix of fear, worry, and sickening terror. Vicious,

graphic images twisted through my mind. If Kelsey was in the hands of the psycho who stalked my nightmares, I knew too well what horrors she could be

enduring. It was times like this when I abhorred how much shit lived in my head.

“Ellery escaped custody.” Kayden’s answer was brutally short.

“Escaped?”

“During transport to Pendleton, five months ago.”

“Five months?” Shock wiped out my higher brain functions and left me

sounding like a parrot. I pushed unsteadily to my feet. When Kayden rose to help

me, I waved him off. Gripping the counter, I kept my back to him and did my best to untangle my gnarled thoughts.

Eleven months ago, I was assigned to a specialized, eight-person team to

unravel the who and why behind the theft and possible sale of information on an

experimental weaponized virus delivery system. It took us five months to

uncover the who and close in. Unfortunately, the cost of bringing in Master Sergeant Reeve Ellery to stand trial for espionage had been high. Too high. Two

of my team came home in flag-draped coffins. One of which belonged to my mentor and friend, Flash.

Ugly memories stirred, a bitter reminder of the price I was forced to pay. A

price that looked as if I was still paying. The question was, why?

Granted, my testimony, as questionable as it was, helped cement Ellery’s conviction, but most of the evidence rested on previously gathered intel. My remaining four team members had been “unavailable”. Actual translation—

hiding behind bigger uniforms or tucked away on classified missions. Which left

me facing Ellery, the inquiry board, and their uncomfortable questions all alone.

A situation that still chaffed my ass.

Old hurts didn’t matter. Couldn’t matter. Finding Kelsey, getting her back, that was all that mattered now. “And you think he has Kelsey? Why?”

“He’s trying to draw you out. The best way to do that is through your

family.” His calm demeanor rankled. “With the Ardens dead, Kelsey is the only

family you have left.”

“Which is why I don’t broadcast our relationship. He couldn’t have found

her easily.” With our foster parents gone, my connection to Kelsey wasn’t common knowledge. Our last names were different, we ran in completely

different circles, and we kept separate residences that couldn’t be linked. Small

things I exploited with ruthless efficiency, especially after I came home.

Paranoid and disillusioned, I didn’t want the trouble surrounding me to touch

her. Unfortunately, there were two people who knew enough about us to change

that. Flash and Tag. But Flash was dead. Warning bells clamored. I shook my head. No, Tag wouldn’t do that to me.

He had no problem walking away before, a nasty little voice reminded me.