Page 9

9

Beatrice

We sat on the deck in silence.

Mike was curled at my feet. Mandy lay beside Raven, ears flicking at every sound. The ocean was dark, restless, and the night felt like it was holding its breath.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Raven said, voice low.

But I did.

Because Slate wasn’t going to wait.

And if I didn’t start trusting someone— really trusting someone—people I cared about were going to die.

“I was twenty-one when the government recruited me. I had just graduated from college,” I said, staring out at the water. “One of my friends' fathers worked for the CIA. I met some other CIA agents. They said I was bright. Calm under pressure. They thought I could get away with more because I was an unknown. There is corruption everywhere, but mostly in our government. They tricked a twenty-one-year-old girl into thinking she would be helping her government.

Raven didn’t respond. Just listened.

“They trained me to go places people like them couldn’t go. Places where a pretty blonde who knew how to fight didn’t raise any alarms. My Dad had died when I was seventeen, and I thought, what the hell. I could get in, get eyes on things, make contact, disappear. And for a while, I believed in it.”

I paused. Swallowed.

“But Guatemala changed that,” I said.

Raven shifted slightly, waiting.

“We were embedded near a village that had become a trafficking hub. My job was to identify the buyers—follow the money. What I didn’t know was that the Agency had no intention of rescuing the victims. They’d cut a deal to protect the pipeline in exchange for intel on bigger fish.”

I clenched my jaw. “So I went rogue.”

“You took them down,” he said quietly.

“I tried,” I corrected. “I got most of the kids out. Burned the place down on my way out. But some of them—my contacts—my friends—didn’t make it. Slate killed them before I set the place on fire. Slate was there. He ran the place, mostly the trafficking. He saw everything. I didn’t know if he got out. I hoped he didn’t.”

“But now he’s here,” Raven said, his gaze hard, as he watched me.

I nodded. “The symbol on the woman’s hand… it wasn’t just a warning. It was a signature. They want me to know they remember what I did.”

“Who’s they ?”

“The Wolfthorn Syndicate,” I said. “Private contractors. Ex-military. Funded through black markets and American tax dollars. They don’t just kill you. They erase you.”

Raven leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You think they’re here for you?”

“I know they are.”

He was quiet for a moment. “How long do we have?”

I looked him in the eye. “Not long. I’m surprised they haven’t already killed me.”

* * *

That night, I locked every door.

Checked every window.

Raven stayed with me that night. He held me in his arms, and I felt safe. For the first time in years, I wasn’t afraid to go to sleep.

I woke up in a sweat, having a panic attack. Raven reached over and pulled me to him, until my breathing got under control.

* * *

Two miles down the beach, a figure crouched beside a boulder, watching the waves.

He spoke softly into a communication device.

“Target has confirmed location. Ledger is with her.”

A voice crackled back through the earpiece.

“Wait for the go order. We take her and him.”

The figure smiled in the dark.