Chapter 5 - The Sister Who Took the Bait
I was out the door before Vale finished shouting my name.
The south path twisted between dunes and low fences. Sand filled my shoes. Behind me, the admiral called for security to hold position, but I knew the dark better than any ballroom guard.
I found Chloe near the maintenance gate, one arm pinned behind her back. Kessler stood beside a black SUV, holding a phone against her cheek.
"Tell your sister to come alone," he said.
"She's here," I answered.
He smiled. The scar by his mouth pulled white. "Still the hero."
I held my hands where he could see them. "Let her go."
"You kept a copy, Harper. I know you did."
"A copy of what?"
"Don't insult me. The convoy manifest. The real one."
Chloe looked from him to me, confused and furious. "You said you had evidence she was a fraud."
"I said I could give you the truth. You heard what you wanted."
Even now, embarrassment burned hotter in her face than fear.
I stepped closer. "She doesn't know anything."
"Neither did those civilians when your father signed them away."
My heart thudded once, hard. "Kessler, that was your operation."
"Operations belong to whoever gets to write the final report."
He shoved Chloe toward me. I caught her as the SUV engine roared. A second person was driving. Kessler climbed into the passenger seat and disappeared into the night.
The girl who used to sneak into my room during thunderstorms now looked at me as though I'd brought the storm myself. I wanted to shake her. I wanted to wrap her in a blanket. It was possible to love somebody and still be furious with them. I'd never felt that truth so sharply.
Chloe was shaking. I checked her wrists, looking for injuries. She slapped my hands aside.
"You knew he'd be there," she accused.
"No."
"You set me up so everybody would think you're some kind of secret hero."
"He could have killed you."
She blinked, and I saw the terror she was too proud to name.
A phone slipped out of her purse and landed screen-up. An unfamiliar contact had sent her instructions all afternoon: ASK ABOUT SOMALIA. MAKE HER SHOW HER BACK. KEEP THE ADMIRAL AWAY.
There was one more message, sent after Kessler escaped.
May you like
GOOD GIRL. PHASE TWO STARTS AT MIDNIGHT.
THE SCARS THE ADMIRAL REMEMBERED
