My mother-in-law shaved my head while I slept on the very night the United States Army promoted me into one of the most important commands of my career.

He lunged toward the closet, but the deputy stopped him with one arm.

“Don’t,” the deputy said.

Inside the closet, beneath towels Linda had folded with military precision despite never having served a day, sat a small black device plugged into a hidden outlet.

A signal booster.

Beside it was a storage drive.

Sarah looked at me.

Ryan went pale.

Linda said, “That’s nothing.”