Page 104 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

Aponi

N ight draped itself over the desert like a shroud, the air sharp with dust and the faint scent of gun oil. The Golden Team moved in silence, a living shadow. Faron led one flank, Raven the other. Tag was beside me—solid, steady, the anchor I hadn’t realized I’d been clinging to for months.

Kaylie’s voice whispered in my ear through the comms, calm but charged with urgency. “North tower—two down. You’re clear to breach.”

We ran low along the ridge, boots sinking into loose sand, hearts pounding in unison. The chain-link fence came into view, cutting through the moonlight like jagged teeth. Tag’s gloved hand brushed mine just for a heartbeat before we knelt and snapped through the steel with bolt cutters.

Inside, the compound was a fractured world of shadows and harsh light. The air was thick with tension, every breath tasting of metal and grit. Shots cracked from somewhere ahead—short, efficient bursts. The team moved like clockwork: precise, unyielding, unrelenting.

My pulse spiked when I caught movement inside a low building. I slipped inside, my flashlight cutting through the dim. Five small faces stared back at me from the corner—eyes wide, cheeks streaked with dirt and fear.

“It’s okay,” I whispered, lowering my weapon. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

The smallest girl hesitated before stepping toward me, trembling.

When I reached for her, she flinched—then melted into my arms like she’d been holding herself together for too long.

My throat burned, but I kept my voice steady as I guided them out, shielding them with my body until we reached the extraction point.

A deafening BOOM split the air behind us, flames licking the night sky—Raven’s work, taking out the armory.

Faron’s voice came over comms, clipped but certain. “Perimeter secure. All hostiles neutralized.”

I stopped just beyond the fence, the desert stretching out before us like freedom itself. Tag’s hand slid into mine, warm and firm.

“It’s over,” he said softly, searching my face as if willing me to believe it.

And for the first time in years… I did.