Page 74 of Faron (The Golden Team #8)

Aponi

I couldn’t sleep.

Every time I closed my eyes, the smoke came back. This smoke was from five years ago.

From him .

I closed my eyes for only a few minutes. I was back in that warehouse.

Dim light filtering through shattered windows.

My gun drawn, heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Caleb shouting something. I don’t remember what.

Then—

A scream.

Not mine.

Female.

Younger.

That part always stuck with me. I thought it was in my head. Shock. Imagination.

But it wasn’t.

There was someone else there.

I see it now—just for a second. A shadow ducking behind crates. Long hair. Bare feet. Hand over her mouth.

She was hiding.

My eyes flew open.

The room was dark, quiet. But my chest felt like it had caved in.

I got up and turned on the light, grabbed a pen and paper. Wrote it down.

There was a girl.

Hiding behind the crates.

She saw me. I saw her.

Did she make it out?

Was that what Caleb meant?

I stared at the words, heart pounding.

This wasn’t just about Caleb. It never was.

It was about whatever that girl saw. Or maybe… what she saw them do before I ever showed up.

And if she survived…

She was a loose end.

Just like me.

I sat down slowly, my hands shaking now.

What if I hadn’t just failed to kill Caleb?

What if I’d failed to save her ?