THE K9’S SECRET

PART 2 — THE DOG WHO REMEMBERED

“Someone is hunting the survivors, Grace.”

I couldn’t speak for several seconds.

“Commander Hayes? You’re supposed to be dead.”

A weak breath came through the phone.

“There’s no time to explain. Listen to me. Trust nobody wearing a military uniform. Not even the officers standing beside you.”

I glanced toward the two police officers.

“Where are you?”

“Somewhere they can’t find me. The transmitter Rex brought contains the names of everyone involved in Operation Black Horizon.”

My stomach tightened.

Operation Black Horizon.

The mission that had destroyed my military career three years earlier.

“That’s impossible,” I whispered. “The entire operation was classified.”

“Someone inside our command sold the mission details. Your team was deliberately sent into an ambush.”

I looked down at Rex.

The German Shepherd was sitting beside my legs, watching me carefully.

“Why did you send him here?”

“Because he remembers you, Grace. And because he carries something you left behind.”

Before I could ask another question, the call disconnected.

I immediately tried calling back.

The number was no longer available.

“Grace?”

Dr. Miller, the emergency department director, approached me.

“Are you all right? You’ve been standing there for five minutes.”

I quickly put my phone away.

“I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t.

I looked at the injured technician being transferred to another room.

“Has anyone examined the device he was holding?”

“Military intelligence is on the way,” an officer answered.

I remembered Commander Hayes’s warning.

Trust nobody wearing a military uniform.

“Please don’t let anyone touch that transmitter until the hospital security team documents everything.”

The officer frowned.

“That’s a military matter.”

“And this is a hospital. The man carrying it nearly died in my trauma room. I’m responsible for preserving evidence.”

He stared at me but said nothing.

Then Rex suddenly stood up.

His ears pointed toward the hallway.

A low growl vibrated through his chest.

I followed his gaze.

A tall man in a dark military uniform was walking toward us. Two armed men followed him.

His name tag read COLONEL VANCE.

“Where is the K9?” he demanded.

The police officer stepped forward.

“Colonel, the dog is currently under medical observation.”

“I’ll take custody of him.”

Rex began barking.

Not his usual warning bark.

It was a furious, unmistakable alarm.

Colonel Vance stopped.

“Control your animal!”

I moved between him and Rex.

“He’s injured and distressed. You can’t just take him.”

The colonel looked at me.

For a moment, his expression changed.

“Whitmore?”

My blood ran cold.

I hadn’t used that name professionally in three years.

“Have we met?” I asked.

He smiled faintly.

“Your military records say otherwise.”

Then he leaned closer.

“Stay out of something you don’t understand, nurse.”

He turned and walked away.

Rex continued growling until the colonel disappeared around the corner.

I knelt beside him.

“It’s okay, boy.”

Then I noticed something beneath his collar.

A tiny metal capsule, hidden inside the fabric.

My hands trembled as I opened it.

Inside was a folded piece of paper.

There were only four words written on it.

GRACE — FIND THE SURVIVOR.

And beneath them was a location.

Fort Raven.

The abandoned military training facility where my entire team had disappeared.

I looked into Rex’s eyes.

“All right, partner.”

For the first time in three years, I knew what I had to do.

I wasn’t running anymore.