LOGIN"If you are watching this, Sergeant Lotto, or whoever is listening," Colonel Harrow’s recorded voice was steady, grave, and entirely authoritative. "I am deeply sorry for the catastrophic loss of your unit. But you need to hear the truth."Jared swallowed hard, his heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped beast."The deployment was never a legitimate military operation," she continued, her eyes cold and serious on the recording. "Your squad was told you were intercepting a rogue operative who was going to sell national secrets to foreign buyers, but that was a complete fabrication. You were sent in as an unwitting hit squad to eliminate whistleblower Graham Karzai, who had discovered massive, treasonous corruption at the highest levels of high command."Kessler’s breath hitched in his throat. "General Richard Voss, Director Davis, ex-president General Jonathan Vance, and some others were actively selling confiscated government weaponry and classified defense intelligence to gl
"Innocent?” Kessler repeated, sounding as if he couldn’t believe his ears. “Yes,” Hayden said, his voice steady. “You must be mad! I was there!” He roared in anger. “I survived it! I know who gave the command!""No, you don't!" Hayden yelled back, his voice ringing with absolute, unyielding conviction. "I swear to whatever God you worship, Jared is innocent!”“Hay,” Jared whispered, his voice urgent as he reached out to stop him. He reached out to tap his shoulder. “Wha… what are you saying??”Hayden turned to Jared. “Jay, listen to me. A military representative came by my office this morning.”Kessler's face changed.“The Department of Defense has actually been investigating Operation 94.” Hayden continued before any of them could interrupt. “But they kept it under wraps because high-level political figures were involved. People who have enough influence to bury what happened for years.”Jared’s breath hitched. He stopped breathing entirely.Kessler shook his head violently. “No. Y
Jared stared into the man’s eyes, seeing nothing but resolve in them. These were the eyes of a man with nothing else to lose. "Everyone hold your fire!" Hayden barked into his earpiece, his voice sharp. "If you’re in the building, step outside immediately and stay at a safe distance. The bastard has the entire place rigged."The man’s head tilted. “Very smart.”Beck suddenly sucked in a loud, choking breath as he tried to get air back into his lungs to prevent choking. Hayden's and Jared’s eyes snapped to him.Jared’s eyes returned back to the gunman within a split second. He coughed hysterically, spitting out mouthfuls of fine dust."That was... fucking horrid," he wheezed out, his chest heaving as his eyes blinked open.Jared almost sobbed from sheer relief. “Baby...”Beck blinked several times before finally focusing on him. “Hey,” he whispered, his voice hoarse but soft. Then his eyes widened with surprise as he shifted to Hayden. “What… How are you here?” He squinted his eye
“No,” Jared whispered, his breathing coming out in broken, uneven pulls. "God, please, please.”“B, hold your breath!” He yelled, his bloody fingers slipping on the glass as he clawed at it. “I will find… Fuck, I don’t know what to do!”He stared at the wiring again, no longer noticing the sweat soaking through his shirt and the tears running continuously down his face. His palms were covered in blood from everything he had tried to break, and his entire body trembled from exhaustion.He slammed his bloody fists on the glass, his entire body trembling from exhaustion and devastation. “Beck…” He sobbed. He could not do this. He could not watch him die. But if he tried anything, whatever failsafe the bastard had set up would do it quicker.The chamber suddenly shuddered beneath his hands, and he jolted, his hand immediately moving for the knife tucked in his waistband. Someone was here. And if that bastard was back, killing him would bring him so much fun. He turned sharply, his e
Jared threw his shoulder against the frame of Myla's chamber, hauling on the steel seam with all his strength, hoping that it would make an opening, even if it was a tiny separation from the glass that he could work with. But nothing budged.There was no handle, exterior latches, or any hint of mechanical emergency releases."Fuck!" he roared, his eyes darting frantically around the vast room.He needed a sledgehammer, a crowbar, a heavy iron pipe—anything. But the room was completely bare, scrubbed clean of any useful item.He moved a few feet away from the box, then ran back at it full force, dropping a heavy, crushing kick straight into the center of the glass.The impact sent a shockwave of pain up his l
"I'm not Troy?" the man sneered, his eyes glinting with pure amusement above his face mask. "Who says so, Sergeant?"Jared’s jaw clenched hard, hot and volatile anger bubbling in his veins as he stared at the man standing ten feet away.He had known Troy Strauss for years. Even fucked him a couple of times.He knew the man’s physical profile like the back of his hand.Yes, a man could drastically buff up, but he could not magically add inches to his skeletal frame.The man standing before him was slightly taller, carried broader shoulders, and held an entirely different posture.And though he sounded hauntingly like the Troy he had known, the na







