Page 35 of Silent Target

The pickup disappears inside the barn.

Before we come to a complete stop, the older man closes the doors behind us. A second set opens on the opposite side.

A matte-black SUV waits there.

Fueled.

Packed.

Ready.

The Ranger tosses Caleb the keys.

“Figured you’d need these someday.”

“Thanks, Hank.”

Hank looks at me. “You must be the young lady everybody’s trying to kill.”

I blink. “Is it that obvious?”

He grins. “If Caleb is risking this much, you’re important.”

Caleb moves our bags to the SUV without answering.

But he doesn’t deny it.

A few minutes later, we leave the orchard by a narrow dirt road.

In the mirror, I watch Hank drive the green pickup back toward the highway—toward the men hunting us.

“Will he be all right?”

“Hank survived three wars. He’ll know when to disappear.”

I believe him.

But something else becomes clear as the orchard vanishes behind us.

Shadow Division isn’t simply a team.

It’s a family built from years of trust and sacrifice. A family that extends beyond the men who wear its emblem to everyone willing to answer when one of them asks for help.

For the first time since Walter Graves smiled at me in that corridor, I don’t feel as if I’m running alone.

Then a bright flash fills the sky behind us.

A second later, an explosion rolls across the orchard.

Caleb slams on the brakes.

His face turns to stone.

“Hank.”

7

CALEB