Page 42 of Sage Haven
Her photo stared back at me.
Frozen. Unaware. Exposed.
NAME: Sage Holquinn
AGE: 27
LAST SEEN: Sanele
HUNTING FEE: Negotiable
Every detail of her life was laid bare.
Her car. License plate. Copies of her identification.
Her life reduced to data points on a screen.
I skimmed further, pulse pounding in my ears.
DESCRIPTION OF JOB: She’s unstable. She ran away. Needs to be returned. Breathing preferred, but not necessary.
USER: K.O. King
The world around me went silent.
The weight of recognition hit me like a punch to the gut.
K.O. King.
The initials, K.O.
Klay Ovitt.
The man we’d been hunting.
My hand gripped the edge of the table, turning my knuckles white.
Why her?
“What do you want to do?” Castor asked, watching me.
The answer formed before he finished the question.
A perfect, terrible clarity.
A slow grin pulled at my mouth as I met his gaze. “This couldn’t have worked out better if we’d planned it.”
Castor blinked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
I exhaled. Steady. “We use her.”
His expression darkened. “Use her?”
“She’s our bait,” I said, leaning forward. “To get to Klay.”
Castor’s disbelief hardened into something colder. “You’re insane.”
“Maybe,” I allowed. My grin widened. “But better us than some other lunatic.”
