“It was a setup,” I said. “From the day I was born.”

“Project Cadence wasn’t just about moving cargo,” Mara said. “It was about testing your limits.”

“What kind of limits?” I asked.

“Your psychological resilience under extreme stress,” Mara said. “Your loyalty to the chain of command.”

She slowed the car as we approached the entrance ramp to the Interstate.

“When you were deployed to Kabul,” Mara said, “do you remember the ambush at the warehouse?”

My heart rate spiked at the mention of the warehouse.

“We lost three men,” I said. “I was trapped in the basement for six hours.”

“That warehouse was leased by a subcontractor of Voss’s firm,” Mara said.

I turned my head to look at her, my breath catching in my throat.

“They knew the insurgents were in the area,” Mara said. “They withdrew the perimeter security two hours before you arrived.”

“They left us there,” I said.

“They wanted to see if you would break,” Mara said. “They monitored your radio transmissions.”

“My father let that happen?” I asked.

“Your father protested,” Mara said. “That was the turning point for him.”