Page 139 of Broken Oath

“Wouldn’t Madow’s people have seen her?”

“She looped the security feed before entering. The system recorded her on a secondary backup she either missed or wanted me to find.”

Rook knew which one he believed.

She wanted them to see this.

The woman turned toward the door.

Then stopped.

Every muscle in Rook’s body tightened.

Slowly, she looked directly into the camera.

The recording was two days old.

Yet it felt as though she were staring at him now.

Waiting for this exact moment.

She stepped closer.

Her cap and the angle of the camera concealed most of her face.

Not enough to hide the exhaustion in her eyes.

The kind that settled into a person’s bones.

The kind sleep never touched.

She reached toward the camera.

Instead of disabling it, she activated the audio channel.

Her voice filled the room.

Low.

Calm.

Controlled.

“If you’re watching this, James…”

Rook froze.

James.

Not Commander.

Not Callahan.

Not Rook.

Nobody called him that anymore.

Not since before the mountain.