And that would be a mistake.
A very big mistake.
I glance back at him, irritation sharp enough to cut.
Seriously, Lord.
This man?
This one?
You couldn’t have sent me someone… less distracting?
Jase Dalton is now inside the blast radius.
And if he gets killed…
That’s on him.
I warned him.
3
Jase
Location: Abandoned Coastal Village — Inland
Time: Twenty Minutes Later
We don’t stay on the water.
Too exposed.
Too easy to track.
The skiff gets us close enough to shore, and then we ditch it without ceremony. I pull Mila up the rocky incline behind me, waves crashing below us, the night thick with smoke and salt.
“Where are we going?” she asks, breath steady despite everything.
“Somewhere they’re not,” I answer.
“Helpful.”
“Accurate.”
She mutters something under her breath.
I don’t catch all of it—just enough.
“…should’ve let him drown…”
I almost smile.
We move fast through what used to be a village—stone buildings, half-collapsed roofs, doors hanging open like broken teeth. No lights. No sound except the wind and distant engines.
They’re searching.
Good.
