the hardware st

dy canvas bag onto the front count

l. He stared at the blood pooling on his clean counter.

rrifying, fluid blur. In less than two minutes, he stripped a flawless, int

's nerve. He scrambled to his safe, counted out five th

ails, a high-voltage electric fence kit, and

door closed behind him, t

nked its horn down the street. Two w

ton's brain. The adrenaline from the cougar kill rapi

. The street spun. His l

on tunneling. He crashed into the dark, damp al

til he hit the wet pavement. Cold sweat poured down his face. The walls of the alley seemed t

nd. He was going to

ced through the ro

thetic whimper. L

verrode the panic. He pulled his knife and crawled toward th

he found a cardboard box. Insi

of his knife to pul

was turning blue from the cold. H

is scarred, blood-streak

d up with a tiny, freezing hand and wrapped her fingers

hest. The roaring in his head vanished instantly. His heart s

As the blanket fell away, his

aded needle scars near her v

d off his tactical jacket and wrapped the baby tightly agai

ted a partial footprint. It was a custom Italian leathe

ps. Child Protective Services

e mashed the canned beans into a soft

leep against his chest. Her ti

l that had been empty for eleven years was su

ed her

avily encrypted number belonging to a dark web br

lackgate," Alton said coldly. "I want a clean Social Security Number an

ading high-level blackmail material for a simple fake SSN was a

the post office. Eden was legally his daughter-

blowing bubbles on the bed. He made a silent vow. If an