Free Promises in the Dark by Stephanie Tyler

rather than a hack—she’d be protected from a hacker. But she lives alone, has no real social life. She wouldn’t be expecting someone to sit down at her computer and download from it.”
    “How do we know her staying here doesn’t put the post in jeopardy?” Mace asked.
    “DMH would be crazy to try to grab her here,” Caleb said, although that didn’t convince any of them—if DMH needed her that badly, they would go to any lengths. But Noah had to have weighed both the risks and the consequences before making his decision.
    “What about clearance protocol?” Mace asked.
    “I’m keeping her computers here—I’ll give her a couple of brand-new ones with a program installed that lets me monitor what she’s doing. I’ll give you a copy of her program on a Zip drive for her to load. Put her on a separate network and you’re good to go,” Gray explained.
    “She could still hack into the base’s security, if she’s as good as you say,” Mace argued.
    “She’s in a shitload of trouble. She’s going to cooperate if she wants to get out of this mess,” Caleb said grimly.
    “If she’s not DMH’s decoy,” Mace muttered, and if Vivi wasn’t, for sure she had a large target painted on her back.
    Reid and Kell had spent half an hour going through her place, gathering all the computers and files and backup equipment. Everything electronic. They also found a lockbox that contained her birth certificate and social security card, passport too, and they’d grabbed her purse, with her wallet and checkbook.
    But they’d left everything else behind. And, from the looks of the surveillance tapes, they’d gotten out with little time to spare. Better not to let the enemy know what the military was up to. As of now, DMH had no idea that Delta had taken Vivienne out from under them.
    “You ready?” Mace asked.
    “Yeah, you guys can go,” Cael said, but before he could enter the room, his phone vibrated in his pocket.
    He pulled it out. His older brother’s name flashed on the screen. He flipped open the phone and Dylan was talking before Caleb could say anything.
    “Cael, have you heard from Zane?”
    Those words hit Cael like a punch to the gut. “Not for a couple of weeks. Why?”
    A pause, and then, “He’s missing.”
    Cael turned and put his forehead against the file cabinet, the cool metal soothing him. Even though the door was closed between them, he kept his voice low so Vivienne wouldn’t hear anything. “He’s MIA?”
    A long silence and then his brother Dylan admitted, “It’s not an official mission.”
    Excellent. Even worse. “Tell me everything.”
    “He went to get Olivia.”
    “The doctor? D, that was your mission.” But even as he spoke the words, he knew that wasn’t true. Zane had been as much a part of Dylan’s search, if not more so. But this was beyond.
    “He wanted to go in and get her so we wouldn’t lose her while I was delayed tying up some loose ends in … well, that’s not important. Look, I’m sure he’ll check in—probably just got a little off course.”
    “ Off course and DMH don’t go in the same sentence.” Cael had followed the intel on Olivia through Dylan, knew about the clinic bombings and the woman’s possible escape. “What’s his last known location?”
    Another unnaturally long pause. “He’s … ah, near Freetown.”
    Freetown. If Dylan were here in front of him … “He’s back in Africa by himself?”
    “He’s been before.”
    “With his team.”
    “He’s the one who insisted, Cael. I didn’t force this on him.”
    Caleb broke out in a fine sweat. As many bad dreams as Zane had experienced in his first years with the Scott family were as many waking nightmare scenarios Caleb thought about when it came to protecting his younger brother. “Find him, D.”
    “I will. I’ll keep you posted. Call me if you hear first.”
    “Same.” Cael shut the phone, knowing arguing would get them nowhere. Dylan’s energy was better spent