Page 52 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

Tag

T he faint hum of the engine on the wind wasn’t close enough to be a threat yet, but I’d been in this game long enough to know that didn’t mean we had time.

Not with Sable in the mix.

Not with Graves pulling the strings.

Faron scanned the horizon with his scope, then slid down the rocks. “We’ve got two options—haul ass in the opposite direction and hope we shake them, or go after the drive now.”

My jaw tightened. “We don’t run. Not with this kind of leverage on the table.”

Aponi folded her arms, her body angled away from us, but her eyes sharp. “It’s not leverage, Tag. It’s a death warrant. The second we go for it, Graves will know exactly where I’m heading.”

“Good,” I said. “Then he comes to us. We control the ground.”

Her laugh was short and humorless. “Control the ground? You can’t control him. You can’t control her.”

I stepped in close, lowering my voice. “Then we use her. Sable’s not chasing us for sport—she’s after that drive. If we make her believe she’s getting close, she’ll draw Graves in. And when he’s close enough, we cut the head off the snake.”

Faron’s gaze shifted between us. “That means bait. And I think we all know who that is.”

Aponi’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not using me as bait.”

I didn’t blink. “You’ve been bait since the day you took that drive. The difference now is, you won’t be alone.”

She shook her head, frustration flashing across her face. “You don’t understand where I hid it. If we go for it, we’re not walking into neutral ground. We’re walking into a place I swore I’d never set foot in again.”

“Where?” Faron asked.

Her gaze locked on mine. “South Lancaster. The old children’s home.”

I felt something twist in my gut. “That’s where you grew up.”

“Yeah, they sent me there when my mother left me,” she said quietly. “And the people still living there… if Graves even gets a whiff of that drive, they’ll be in his crosshairs. I won’t risk it.”

I didn’t hesitate. “Then we get them out first. Evacuate the building, secure the site, then go for the drive. We keep Graves blind until it’s too late for him to stop us.”

Faron gave a grim nod. “If we’re doing this, we move before dark. Every hour we wait, he’s closing the distance.”

Aponi’s jaw worked, her eyes searching mine like she was trying to find a reason to say no.

Finally, she exhaled. “Fine. But if anyone gets hurt—”

“They won’t,” I said, and I meant it. The Golden Team can move them out.

The engine sound on the wind grew louder.

No more planning. It was time to move.