Chapter 18 Ethan
Ethan
We don’t destroy the implant.
We turn it.
Jonah crouches over it, tools already out, fingers moving fast and steady.
Careful.
Deliberate.
Like one wrong move changes everything.
“Give me something believable,” he says without looking up.
I don’t hesitate.
“Safehouse,” I say. “Twenty miles east. Abandoned industrial site.”
Ava turns slightly toward me.
“You want them to hit it?”
I meet her eyes.
“I want them to commit.”
Not probe.
Not test.
Commit.
Ronan nods once from across the room.
“Make it worth their time.”
Jonah adjusts the signal, tapping commands into his device.
A soft pulse flashes across the screen.
Then—
“It’s live.”
That’s it.
Line cast.
Hook set.
Now we wait.
Ava steps closer.
Quiet.
Close enough that I feel her before I look at her.
“You’re sure about this?”
I let out a slow breath.
“No.”
Her lips twitch.
“Good,” she says softly. “Me neither.”
That almost pulls a smile out of me.
Almost.
Aaron leans back against the wall, arms crossed.
“How long before they take the bait?”
Jonah glances at the scanner.
Doesn’t even hesitate.
“They already are.”
Of course they are.
Ava shifts slightly beside me.
“They want him back.”
I shake my head.
“No.”
I glance toward the implant.
“They want to erase the problem.”
And we just made ourselves the center of it.