Page 44 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

Tag

H er voice hadn’t changed.

Cold. Sharp. Unshakable.

I stepped into the fissure, rifle low but ready, eyes locked on the shadow ahead.

Sable.

Helmet off, blonde hair darker now, cut close on one side, curling over her shoulder on the other. That same expression—like nothing in the world could touch her unless she wanted it to.

She stood with her rifle angled down, but I knew better. That weapon could be up and on target before my heart took its next beat.

“You picked a hell of a time to come collecting,” I said.

“You think I want the money?” Her gaze flicked past me—to Aponi.

I felt Aponi’s shift behind me, the gun steady in her hands.

Sable smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “She doesn’t even know, does she?”

Aponi’s voice was calm. “Know what?”

That Graves didn’t just put a price on your head for leverage, sweetheart. He did it because you walked away with something that wasn’t yours. And he’s afraid of who you’ll give it to.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Aponi said, though I caught the tiniest hesitation.

Sable’s smirk deepened. “Oh, you do. And here’s the part you’ll like, Tag—I don’t have to kill you to finish my job. I just have to kill her.”

I moved without thinking, sliding a half step to put myself between them. “That’s not happening.”

Sable tilted her head, assessing me like a puzzle she’d already solved. “Still the hero. Still predictable. That’s why I could take you down in ten moves, easy.”

“Try it,” I said, rifle coming up.

For a long second, the air didn’t move. Even the wind outside the fissure seemed to hold its breath.

Then Sable eased her rifle onto her shoulder. “Not today. I’ve got a message to deliver first. Give it up, or everyone you love will be dead.

She backed toward the shadows, boots crunching on stone, and vanished into the dark like smoke.

The moment she was gone, Aponi let out a slow breath.

I turned on her. “What the hell was that?”

“What was what?”

“You hesitated. When she said you didn’t know what she was talking about—”

“I don’t owe you explanations, Tag,” she snapped. “Not now.”

“The hell you don’t.” I stepped closer, the space between us tight enough I could feel her breath. “If she’s coming for you, I need to know why.”

Her eyes locked with mine, hard and unblinking. “And if I tell you, you’ll never look at me the same way again.”