In the year 2184, the US is divided. Half the country has moved on with the rest of the world, while in middle America, the survivors of the terrorist biological attack that split the country struggle just to stay alive. Though a century has passed, few people brave going behind the borders meant to contain the danger. Even the privatized military is reluctant to do so.<br><br>But that doesn’t stop recently discharged Sullivan Eberle. Only one thing drives him anymore -- the need to find Raphael Hamada. He doesn’t know why. He only knows he must. If that means a lifetime behind the borders, then so be it.<br><br>Rafe Hamada ran away from the real world when he was still a kid. The last thing he wants is to be found, especially by a soldier who can’t even tell him why it was so important to locate him in the first place. He’d like nothing more than for Sullivan to leave, but turning his back on a man alone and friendless is against everything Rafe stands for ...

Penny Candles

It had seemed like the best possible plan. Strike would kill Rafe if they discovered he was alive. So it was up to Sullivan to make sure they thought he was dead.


“Did you find any of his belongings at your house, ma’am?” he asked.


A muscle twitched in her jaw. “I still don’t understand what you want with it.”


“Since the fire destroyed everything, Strike needs something with DNA on it to confirm it was him.”


“Because our grief isn’t enough for you, I guess.”


When she whirled on her heel to march back to the alcove, Sullivan glanced at the other soldiers and shrugged in supposed solidarity. Their discomfort was growing. Their color was high and Rutledge wouldn’t stop playing with his hat. That was exactly the response Sullivan hoped for. The more Maria pushed, the quicker they’d want to get out of town.


“Here.” She thrust a shirt she’d retrieved from next to the candles into Sullivan’s hands. “I hope your machines choke on it.”


Chapter 64