Page 90 of Tag (The Golden Team #9)

Aponi

T he lock on the cage wasn’t high-tech. Just a heavy-duty bolt and a thick padlock. Gideon had it picked in ten seconds flat.

I knelt by the bars and whispered, “Hey. It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

Three girls looked back at me with wide, hollow eyes. Barefoot. Dirty. Terrified.

One of them—maybe twelve—stood slightly in front of the others. Her dark curls were matted, her shirt torn, but her chin was lifted. Defiant.

I recognized that look. I’d worn it once.

Tag stepped beside me, gun low, voice calm. “We’re here to help you. You’re getting out of here tonight.”

The tallest girl whispered, “They said no one would ever find us.”

“Well,” Gideon muttered, keeping his eyes on the hallway, “they clearly didn’t meet us.”

The bolt gave with a sharp click. I opened the gate gently, crouched low.

“You’re safe,” I said again, softer now. “Can you walk?”

Two of them nodded. The third—the defiant one—just stared at me.

Then she said it.

“Your name’s not Aponi.”

My blood went cold.

She stepped forward. “It’s Isabelle. Isabelle Hartman. They told us you were dead.”

Tag went still beside me. I rose slowly. “Who told you that?”

She looked me straight in the eye. “The woman with the silver eye tattoo. She said if I ever saw you, to tell you something.”

My throat closed.

“What did she say?”

The girl reached into the waistband of her pants and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Handed it to me.

I opened it with trembling fingers.

It was handwritten—neat, deliberate.

“Chimera always collects its own. Welcome back, Isabelle.”

Below that… a list.

Seven names.

Four were crossed out.

The fifth name was circled: Isabelle Hartman

Sixth: Tag Harris

Seventh: Classified

I stared at the paper like it might catch fire in my hands.

They weren’t just watching us.

They’d marked us.

I looked at the girl again. “What’s your name?”

She hesitated. “Lacey.”

I frowned. “Is that your real name?”

She shook her head. “It’s the one they gave me. My name is Lacey.”

I crouched down again. “Well, we’re taking it back. You ready?”

Her eyes burned with something fierce. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Tag’s voice came in low behind me. “We need to move. Now.”

I grabbed Lacey’s hand, motioned for the others to follow, and led them out into the night.

The tower was down. The guards were either unconscious or dead. Raven signaled the all-clear as we sprinted back to the extraction point.

The wind picked up as the helicopter landed. Tag helped the girls inside, one by one, while I climbed in last—still clutching the list.

Lacey curled up beside me, resting her head on my shoulder like she’d known me forever.

I looked across the cabin at Tag.

They knew our names.

They knew our faces.

And whoever that woman was with the silver eye…

She wasn’t done yet.