Page 70 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

Aponi

T he mine swallowed sound.

Even my own footsteps seemed to vanish into the black before I could hear them.

The lantern glow ahead bobbed slowly, taunting me. Graves wasn’t running—he wanted me close enough to think I had a chance.

My breathing echoed loud in my ears, too loud. I forced it quieter, tighter, my pistol steady in both hands as I edged deeper into the tunnel. Every wall felt like it was leaning in, every shadow a mouth ready to swallow me whole.

From somewhere behind, faint and muffled, I thought I heard Tag’s voice calling my name. Then the dull thud of something heavy striking rock—over and over. They were trying to break through.

I kept moving.

Graves’ voice floated back to me, smooth and infuriating. “Do you know why I’ve kept you alive, Detective?”

I didn’t answer.

“It’s not just the ledgers. It’s what you are. You… you remember details no one else does. You make connections others miss. And that makes you dangerous.”

I rounded a bend, pistol up, but the lantern light was gone. Only the sound of his voice lingered.

“You can’t protect everyone forever. But you can choose who lives. And tonight…” His tone darkened. “…you’re going to make that choice for me.”

A sharp click echoed in the dark. My instincts screamed a half-second before I dropped flat. A tripwire went taut above me, and the tunnel ahead erupted in a shower of splintered wood and jagged rock.

The blast slammed the breath from my lungs. Dust rained down, choking, and my ears rang until the world felt far away.

When I blinked the grit from my eyes, the tunnel had split—two narrow paths leading deeper.

Graves’ voice came again, faint but deliberate. “Choose wisely, Aponi.”

I rose to a crouch, heart pounding, every muscle coiled. I had no idea which tunnel was a trap and which led to him—but I knew one thing.

Tag and the team were out there, breaking toward me. I just had to stay alive long enough for them to find me.

I took the left tunnel and ran.