Page 72 of Hardline Torque
Let them carry him wherever they believed power lived.
Because until they realized their mistake, he was alive.
And when they did—
Well.
Black Tide would already be moving.
And Niko would have done his part.
****
Ethan Rhodes lay onthe carpet because that was where his daughter wanted him.
She sat cross-legged a few feet away, tongue caught between her teeth in fierce concentration, a rainbow of crayons scattered around her like treasure.At three, she took coloring very seriously.Every line mattered.Every choice of color was deliberate.
“No, Daddy,” she told him solemnly.“The whale is pink.Not grey.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Ethan said, hands up in surrender.“My mistake.”
She giggled, utterly delighted with having corrected him, and went back to her work.Ethan watched her for a long moment, the quiet domesticity of it settling deep in his chest.The house was small, but warm.Sunlight streamed through the windows, catching dust motes in the air.A half-packed flight bag sat abandoned near the door—habit more than intention.
He was grounded.
By choice.
The phone rang.
The sound cut through the room like a snapped cable.
Ethan didn’t move immediately.He stared at the device where it lay on the counter, vibrating insistently, a number flashing he didn’t recognize, but felt compelled to answer.
His daughter looked up.“Daddy?”
Ethan forced a smile and pushed himself to his feet.“Hey, bug.Keep coloring, okay?I’ll be right back.”
He stepped into the kitchen, putting the phone to his ear before it could ring again.“Who is this?”he said quietly.“I don’t recognize this number, and if I don’t know who you are, I will be hanging up.”
“It’s Surge.”
Ethan froze.Kael Makani.Leader of Black Tide.And brother to—
“Ethan,” Kael continued.No preamble.No small talk.“We need a pilot.”
Ethan closed his eyes.“I’m out.I don’t do covert missions anymore.”
A pause.Not surprise.Calculation.
“This isn’t for Bravo,” Kael said.“This is for Black Tide.”
“That doesn’t change my answer.”
Another pause.Longer this time.
“They took Niko.”
The words landed with surgical precision.
