Page 67 of When the Silence Breaks

“Oh, please. He isn’t CIA. I told you they don’t work like that. Maybe he was coerced. We can’t know, but I thought you said no one knew about this cabin.”

“I’d forgotten that Harlan and my grandfather packed horses up here decades ago. Harlan used to be a horse trail guide in his early years too, so he knows the mountain pretty well.”

“Anyone else you’ve forgotten?”

“No. And it doesn’t matter now. We’re in a race against time. I need to be realistic. I’m not sure we can reach the crash site before them, and even if we do, we’re outmanned and outgunned. They have the supplies we don’t have.”

“But you got that extra pack.”

He tugged the pack he’d snatched open and dug through. “Yeah, it’s got survival and tactical gear.”

She heard the distress in his voice. Maybe this was because he’d trusted Harlan to watch his mother. She moved closer to him. “Ryder ... tell me what I can do.”

“Just rest. We’re not out of this by a long shot.”

“Are we going to try to finish it?”

“Let me think, okay?” He pulled out his inReach as it vibrated softly.

“Who is that?” she asked. “I thought you were concerned about a connection broadcasting our location?”

“The device is set to messages only and location sharing disabled. This is a delayed message from my brother. Finally.”

“Can you read it to me, please?”

“Sure,” he said. “Holt says, ‘Someone made a move on my office. This goes deeper than I thought. Alpha-X is aprototype bioweapon. Experimental. Engineered for extreme lethality—non-airborne but incredibly toxic on contact. Part of a program called Project Deliverance.’”

She sucked in a breath. “We kind of already know that.” Though she hadn’t shared the project name with Ryder. What did a name matter anyway?

Ryder kept reading. “‘I accessed a redacted payload manifestfrom ’44. This wasn’t a routine transport. It was bound for a classified containment field test site—mountain dispersal trial. More info to come. It took three favors and a retired DOE guy who drinks too much to even confirm Alpha-X existed. But Ryder—whatever you’re walking into—it needs to stay buried.’”

Ryder typed in a message.

“What’s your response?”

He handed her the device, and she read his text.

Need evac. Have Sarah plus one vial. We’re being hunted. Sending a location ping now—current position. I’ll send a check-in with coordinates within the next two to three hours—should be at crash site and will confirm. You must plan to destroy or render plane & payload irrecoverable. Confirm if you can pull strings.

Relief at Ryder’s resources rushed through her, but that relief was quickly sucked away with the cold blast that hit her face. This was happening. It was far worse than she could have imagined. Sarah clenched her jaw. What if she died on this mountain after all? What about...?

“Ryder?” Her voice croaked out his name.

Behind them, branches snapped.

Sarah and Ryder twisted to peer over the log, but it wasn’t the frantic kind of movement from someone still searching.

“I don’t see anyone,” he said, “but doesn’t mean they aren’t closing in.”

“Could they be getting there another way?”

“This is the only way from the cabin.”

“How’s your shoulder?”

“It’s fine.”

“Does Harlan know this way?”