Chapter 1 - The Woman They Left to DieThe helicopter that wasn't supposed to be thereThe helicopter came in low enough to make the dust rise from the alley.
For three seconds, I thought I was hallucinating.
The world around me had narrowed into fragments. Concrete. Blood. Gunfire. Rotors. My own hand pressed against a wound that felt deeper every time I breathed.
Then the aircraft swept between two buildings.
No markings.
No lights.
No friendly transponder.
Just a dark tactical silhouette cutting through the morning haze.
My pulse monitor inside the insignia at my collar vibrated once.
SIGNAL RECEIVED.
Then again.
KEYSTONE PRIORITY RESPONSE.
My eyes closed.
Someone had heard me.
Not Julian.
Not Croft Security.
Someone who understood exactly what had happened.
The helicopter landed fifty yards away.
Two doors opened before the skids had fully settled.
Four operators jumped out.
Black uniforms.
No visible insignia.
Suppressed rifles.
The lead operator tore off his helmet the moment he saw me.
"Kalin."
I knew that voice.
"You're late."
His face tightened.
"You're bleeding out."
"That's what I was trying to tell everyone."
He crouched beside me and ripped open a trauma bag.
"Who did this?"
I looked past him.
At the end of the alley, Julian was standing beside Clara.
They were watching.
Julian's expression changed when he saw the operators.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Fear.
That was the first moment I understood.
He knew who they were.
"Julian."
He froze.
I pushed myself onto one elbow.
"You know these people."
He didn't answer.
Clara's hand tightened around his arm.
The lead operator glanced toward them.
"Do you know those two?"
I almost laughed.
"My husband."
The operator's jaw clenched.
"And?"
I swallowed.
"His mistress."
Clara took one step forward.
"You need to get Kalin medical attention."
The operator looked at the blood on her borrowed armor.
Then at the medical kit clipped to her belt.
Then back at me.
His expression became completely unreadable.
"Take the vest off her."
Clara stiffened.
"Excuse me?"
"That armor belongs to Kalin."
Julian stepped forward.
"This is a Croft operation. You don't have authority here."
The operator calmly turned toward him.
"You're right."
He raised his radio.
"So I'm not asking for permission."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Julian stopped.
The operator spoke into the radio.
"Target compromised. Domestic partner involved. Initiate extraction protocol Black Glass."
Julian went pale.
I saw it.
A tiny reaction.
But I had spent thirteen years learning to read tiny reactions.
Black Glass wasn't a rescue protocol.
It was what my unit used when an operation was compromised by someone inside the target organization.
It meant nobody left until every question had an answer.
Two operators moved toward Clara.
She backed away.
"Julian."
He stepped in front of her.
"You can't take her."
One of the operators pointed a rifle at the ground between them.
"We're not taking anyone."
He looked at me.
"We're taking her."
Julian finally understood.
His face lost all color.
I was loaded onto the stretcher.
My wound was sealed properly this time.
The medics cut away Clara's dressing and shook their heads.
"Who sealed this?"
I looked at Clara.
"She did."
The medic examined the wound.
"She almost killed you."
Clara immediately started crying.
"I didn't know."
The operator didn't look at her.
"Did you know she was shot?"
"Yes."
"Did you know she had a penetrating wound?"
"She said she was hurt."
"Did you have her trauma kit?"
Clara hesitated.
"Yes."
"And her armor?"
Silence.
The operator looked toward Julian.
"And you?"
Julian said nothing.
The helicopter doors remained open.
I could feel myself fading.
The medic leaned close.
"Kalin, stay awake."
I forced my eyes open.
"Tell me something."
"What?"
"Why are Keystone operators here?"
He looked at the insignia near my collar.
"You know why."
"I want to hear you say it."
His expression hardened.
"Because your beacon transmitted more than the ambush."
My heart skipped.
"What did it transmit?"
He didn't answer.
The helicopter lifted.
Below me, Julian and Clara became smaller.
But before the clouds swallowed them, I saw something.
A second vehicle.
Parked near the west alley.
Black sedan.
Rear window halfway open.
Someone inside.
Watching.
My instincts snapped awake.
"Stop."
The medic frowned.
"What?"
"That car."
He looked down.
"Which one?"
"It's not Croft."
The pilot banked.
The black sedan accelerated away.
My collar insignia vibrated again.
A new transmission appeared on the monitor.
THREAT CLASSIFICATION UPDATED.
Then a second line.
KALIN VALE IS NOT THE PRIMARY TARGET.
My throat went dry.
I stared at the screen.
"Who's the target?"
The operator finally looked at me.
His answer was quieter than the rotor noise.
"Your husband."
I closed my eyes.
Because suddenly the shooting didn't look like an attempt to kill me.
May you like
It looked like bait.
And Julian had just walked straight into the trap.
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