Page 51 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

Aponi

W e didn’t stop until the trucks were hidden behind a ridge of sunbaked rock, far enough from the canyon that no one could track us without leaving a trail.

The air out here shimmered with heat, the sun already climbing.

“I didn’t think you were coming back for me,” Kaylie said from the back seat. “I’m glad all of you are still alive because I never learned to drive.”

We chuckled, “I’ll teach you to drive,” I said.

Faron kept watch on a rocky outcrop while I found the med kit in the back of the truck. Tag sat on the tailgate, pale beneath the dust, his shirt dark with blood at the shoulder.

“Shirt off,” I said.

The wound was ugly—clean entry, but the edges were raw from him moving. I worked fast, flushing it, wrapping it tight, my fingers brushing warm skin.

“You should’ve let me take that shot,” I said quietly.

His eyes found mine, steady despite the strain. “Not happening.”

I finished the wrap, securing it with a strip of tape, but didn’t step back. “You almost died for me.”

“You almost died because of me,” he countered.

We stayed like that for a long beat, the air thick with things neither of us wanted to say yet. Then Faron’s voice carried from above. “All clear for now. You two had better start talking before she finds us again.”

I glanced at Tag, then at the ground. “Fine. You want the truth? Here it is.”

I leaned against the side of the truck, arms crossed, keeping my voice steady.

“It was three years ago. I was working with a civilian outreach in Phoenix—rehab programs for vets. I had a friend who got me involved. I would fly out there once a month. One of our guys, Benji, used to run tech for a defense contractor. He got drunk one night and told me about something he’d copied before Graves’ people burned his office to the ground.

Said it was too dangerous to keep, so he hid it. ”

“The flash drive,” Tag said.

I nodded. “I didn’t believe him at first—until Graves’ men came after him. I found him dying in his apartment. His last words were to ‘get it to someone who can use it.’ So I took it. I never thought it was this big. How could they know I had it?”

“What’s on it exactly?” Faron asked, dropping down from the rocks.

“It’s not just a kill list,” I said. “It’s proof—transactions, orders, audio recordings tying Graves to assassinations, coups, black-site prisons. If it goes public, he’s finished. But it’s also a death sentence for anyone named in it. There are a lot of well-known people.”

Tag’s gaze darkened. “Where is it now?”

I hesitated. “Hidden. In a place only I can get to.”

“And you didn’t tell me because…?” he pressed.

“Because the second I do, you’re a target for more than Sable,” I said. “Graves will send armies. And I’m not willing to paint that on your back.”

He shook his head. “Too late for that.”

The wind shifted, carrying the faint sound of an engine from somewhere far off.

We all heard it.

Our quiet moment was over.