Page 209 of Silent Target

Not to win.

To keep Victor away from the evidence.

Rook’s jaw tightens.

Every instinct in him demands that he cross the rockfall.

Instead, he turns.

“Move.”

We climb.

Behind us, gunfire echoes through the collapsing mountain.

Short bursts.

Two men changing positions.

Hunting each other through the dust.

Mac fighting for redemption.

Victor fighting for an empire that has already abandoned him.

48

EVIE

Every shot behind us pulls at Rook.

I see it in the way his shoulders tighten.

He keeps climbing.

That may be the hardest order he’s ever given himself.

The construction shaft grows steeper. I use both hands to pull myself over exposed stone while the Chairman’s journal presses against my ribs beneath my jacket.

Caleb stays directly below me.

“If I fall, I’ll crush you.”

“You won’t fall.”

“You can’t know that.”

“No.”

I look down.

Dust streaks his face. Blood darkens his clothes, and the bullet that struck his armor has left him moving carefully.

Still, his eyes remain on me.

“But I’ll catch you if you do.”

My chest tightens.