Page 261 of Broken Oath

The truth slammed into us.

Marcus Lane.

The ambush.

The executions.

The false casualty reports.

The truck bomb.

The cargo ship.

Every attack.

Every lie.

Every murder.

All of it connected.

Sniper stared at the screen.

“So they killed six men because Wade’s team was still alive?”

“Because they had already made the mistake of taking prisoners once,” Sarah’s father answered.

The room went still.

He pointed at Wade’s photograph.

“They captured SEALs. They hid them beneath a mountain and spent five years trying to make them talk.”

Then he looked at Hammer, Shark, Tex, Viking, Ridge, and Bishop.

“Five years later, those prisoners were still alive. Still resisting. Still a threat.”

Sarah’s face tightened as the full horror of it struck her.

Her brother hadn’t been killed quickly.

He had endured five years in the hands of men who needed something from him.

Her father’s voice dropped.

“They learned from that mistake.”

I already knew what was coming.

Hearing it still tore open something inside me.

“When Shadow Division got close to the same secret,” he continued, “the men behind Marcus Lane didn’t want prisoners.”

My jaw locked.

My hands curled into fists.

Across the room, six photographs waited beneath the light.