PrologueDaniel Boone National Forest, Kentucky
Luke pushed his hat back and wiped the sweat from his brow. He took a deep, slow breath of the clean forest air. Bessie, his mother’s favorite mare, nickered quietly.
Habit, more than anything, had Luke take in his surroundings in a long, careful sweep. After two completed tours in Afghanistan—even now his mind skittered away from the thought of his aborted third—Luke didn’t think he would ever break the ingrained need to be almost obsessively aware of his circumstances.
Nothing moved in his eye line; no bushes twitched, there was no reflected sunlight from a telescopic lens, no indication at all made it appear as if he were anywhere other than in the middle of a bloody big forest and completely isolated from the rest of the world.
It shou
