“Hibatullah Omar’s. And they’re saying he’s behind the kidnapping.”

Gavin stilled. Of course it would be his. “That’s not possible. Omar’s dead.” Gavin had been a part of the raid that had led to his death. But another terrorist organization could have taken over the compound.

“Somehow he’s risen from the grave. We’ve received satellite footage that he’s up and running again. You know that compound. You lived there for over a year. Now that you’re a private contractor, I need you to put together a team and get Rochelle and the others out of there.”

Yes, he’d lived there. Working undercover as a terrorist, gaining the trust of one of the most horrific murderers in the Middle East. And Gavin had set him up to die. If Omar was truly alive, then he’d know about Gavin’s betrayal.

Already on the ground in Kabul for another reason, Gavin had dropped what he was doing and quickly navigated his team onto this assignment.

Rochelle Denning. Also known as Sarah. He’d met her in Kabul when they were deployed at the same time. Met her and found her fascinating. They’d gone out on three dates, shared an amazing kiss on the last date, and then she quit answering his calls and texts. Not one to tread where he wasn’t wanted, Gavin had let it go in spite of his confusion over her sudden cold shoulder.

The general had said that Caden already called his resources with the FBI, but they wouldn’t be much help in the Registan Desert.

His men would parachute far enough away to remain undetected, then make their way across the open fields of sand to the compound and to the north wall, where Gavin would meet them and lead them inside. With the night-vision goggles and binoculars, he could make out the entrance he’d used to come and go undetected when he was living at the compound.

“There’s no way that’s Omar,” Cole Lawton said, his voice clear in Gavin’s ear. “Over.”

“I wouldn’t have thought so either,” Gavin said, keeping his voice low, “but the pictures don’t lie. Over.”

“Dude, I saw his body. He was burned to a crisp. We’ve got pictures of that as well, remember? Over.”

“Yeah. Over.” And before they could extract that body for DNA testing, they’d come under fire and had to fight for their lives to make it to the waiting bird.

He blinked against the memories. Unlike many of the people he served with, he didn’t suffer nightmares often, but that didn’t mean he wanted to dwell on the stuff nightmares were made of.

“You think they know who they snatched?” Lawton asked. “That she’s Denning’s daughter? Over.”