"How did they know?" Harper asked. "We were careful. No electronic signatures. No advance reconnaissance that would have tipped anyone off."
"I don't know. But they knew." Sloane keyed her radio. "Shadow Lead to Actual. We found Overwatch's position. She's not here. Evidence suggests capture, not casualty. Vehicle tracks heading northeast toward Mosul."
Nadia's voice came back tense. "Orders?"
Sloane looked at the vehicle tracks. Looked at Mara's scattered gear. Looked at the direction someone had taken her. Every instinct screamed to follow. To track them down. To get Mara back right now.
But fifteen women were sitting at the extraction point needing medical care. Her team was exposed in hostile territory. And chasing after Mara without intelligence or a plan would likely get them all killed.
"Fall back to staging area," Sloane said, the words tasting like ash. "We regroup. We plan. Then we get her back."
"Sloane—"
"That's an order, Actual. We don't have the resources to mount a rescue operation right now. We get the packages to safety first. Then we come back for Mara." Sloane started gathering what was left of Mara's gear. "One hour. Be ready to move."
She ended the transmission and looked at Quinn and Harper. "Bag everything. Every piece of evidence. Every track. Every indication of who took her and where they went. When we come back for her, I want to know exactly who we're dealing with."
They worked quickly, documenting the scene. Quinn took photos and GPS coordinates. Harper collected physical evidence. Sloane bagged Mara's gear and tried not to think about what was happening to her right now.
When they were done, they moved back toward the extraction point. Fast. Efficient. Professional. But Sloane's mind was racing. Someone had taken Mara. Someone who knew their operation. Someone who'd set a deliberate trap.
And they were heading toward Mosul. Toward Nazari's territory.
That couldn't be coincidence.
They reached the extraction point forty-five minutes later. The team was loaded and ready to move. Nadia took one look at Sloane's face and knew. "How bad?"
"Bad. Someone knew her route. Professional ambush. They took her alive based on the evidence." Sloane climbed into the lead vehicle. "We need to get these women to safety. Then we need to make some calls."
"What kind of calls?" Winter asked.
Sloane looked at her team. At the women they'd just rescued. At the empty seat where Mara should have been. "The kind where we ask for help from people who know this region better than we do."
Nadia's eyes widened slightly. "You're talking about Delta. About Steele's team."
"I'm talking about anyone who can help us get Mara back." Sloane's voice was hard. "She went into Iraq without telling them. Without backup. Without letting the one person who might have actually been able to help know she was in danger. Now she's gone and we need all the help we can get."
The vehicles pulled out, heading toward the staging area. Fifteen rescued women. One missing operator. And a team that was about to learn that sometimes the mission didn't end when you thought it did.
Sloane pulled out her phone and looked at the contact information Quinn had given her months ago. Ghost. Delta Force communications specialist. The man who'd helped coordinate Steele's rescue.
She started typing a message. Brief. Direct. The kind that would get attention.
"We have a problem. Mara's missing. Taken during op near Mosul. Need your help."
She hit send and watched the message go out into the void.
Then she started planning how to get her teammate back.
Because Shadow Veil didn't leave people behind.
Not ever.
Not even when the mission said they should.
THE CALL
Fort Liberty, North Carolina
