Page 197 of Rangers Mountain Rescue

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I don’t realize how tight my chest is until I hear him again.

“Yeah,” I answer.

The door opens, and he steps back in.

Different.

Still him—but sharper somehow.

Every line of his body coiled tight, eyes scanning the room before they land on us.

On me.

On Dylan.

And just like that—

Something in his shoulders eases.

Not much.

But enough that I see it.

“Hey, buddy,” he says, voice softer now.

Dylan looks at him, still half-confused, half-awake.

“Did you shoot something?”

I almost laugh.

Almost.

Havoc huffs out a quiet breath.

“Yeah,” he says. “Something that shouldn’t have been here.”

Dylan nods like that makes perfect sense.

Because somehow, to him, it does.

Kids are strange like that.

“Stay with your mom,” Havoc adds, his tone gentle but firm. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

Dylan leans into me again, already trusting him.

Already safe in a way that makes my chest ache.

Havoc straightens, eyes shifting back to me.

“We’ve got a situation,” he says.

“I figured.”

“Front and back entry were compromised. One down inside. We’re sweeping for more.”

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