The first tendrils of dawn barely illuminated the dense treetops when Damon awoke with an acute awareness that something was amiss. His senses, honed through years of leadership and survival, pulsed with unease. Whether it was the residual weight of the previous night’s grim discovery—the mutilated remains of the investigator—or the simmering tension that had been steadily mounting, he could not say. What he did know, however, was that this was no ordinary challenge.
It was a provocation.
He inhaled deeply, exhaling with deliberate control as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Sleep had been an elusive companion, fleeting and unsatisfactory. Yet, rest was a luxury he could not afford. There were forces at play beyond his immediate understanding, and if the previous night’s event
