Page 56 of Holding the Line

There was a beat of silence.Then Kai groaned quietly.

“You okay?Where the fuck are you?Are you in a black site?”

Kai laughed.It sounded weak.“I wish.At least black sites have beds.And food.”

Hogan gripped the fence tighter.“Are you hurt?”

“Define hurt.”

Hogan closed his eyes for a moment.“Jesus, Kai.”

He heard Kai take a slow shuddery breath.“I saved her.My sister.She’s safe.”

Hogan exhaled slowly.“Good.You did good.”

“And Eli.I owed him that.I owed all of you that.”

Another groan.

“You sound like shit.”

“Stop with the compliments, you old sweet talker you,” Kai rasped.“Going off grid for a while.Off contact.But I wanted you to know.I’ll reach out when I need you.”

Hogan stiffened.“You think I’ll still be around for that?”

“I think,” Kai said slowly, “you’ll come when I call.Because it’s about something from our past.”

Hogan frowned.“We don’t have a past.I only met you a few months ago.”

Kai didn’t answer that.Just sighed.

“Gotta go,” he said.“But Hogan?Take care of yourself.More sleep.Less smoking.”

“How the hell do you know I’m—”

“See you when I see you, Ace.”

Click.

The line went dead.

Hogan stared at the phone.

Ace.

Something stirred.Something he couldn’t quite reach.A flicker of familiarity, just out of reach.

Then overhead, he heard it.The faint whirr of a long-range drone.

The bastard had eyes on him.

Well, good.Because one day soon, Hogan was going to have eyes on Kai again, too.

They had a past, apparently.

And he was damn well going to find out what the hell it was.

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